CHILD protection services in Worcestershire have been graded 'inadequate' - with a damning Ofsted report highlighting "serious failures".

The chief executive of Worcestershire County Council today said "I'm sorry" after inspectors gave her authority the lowest possible rating for children's social care.

Ofsted says it found evidence of "widespread and serious failures" during a detailed investigation which took place in October and November.

The inspectors also say "corporate failure" has left children "at continued risk of significant harm" in a brutal verdict.

In its highly critical 40-page report, Ofsted also criticised the role councillors have played in the service's struggles, saying they have "not taken sufficient action" to keep children safe.

They also said services have "significantly" worsened since 2012, when Ofsted last visited and deemed it to be adequate.

Inspectors said children are dealt with inconsistently, management oversight "lacks rigour", caseloads remain far too high and too many youngsters are "left in situations of escalating risk" without being taken into care.

The report states: "There are widespread and serious failures in the services provided to children in Worcestershire, who need help and protection and children looked after.

"Services for care leavers are inadequate, because young people leaving care do not consistently receive the necessary support to make a successful transition to adulthood.

"Services for children in need of adoption require improvement.

"Elected members (councillors) and senior leaders have not taken sufficient action to ensure the protection of vulnerable children.

"This corporate failure leaves children in Worcestershire at continued risk of significant harm."

Back in March 2012 the council had an improvement notice lifted and was graded 'adequate', but Ofsted had not paid County Hall a single visit until just before Christmas.

During a media briefing at County Hall today, chief executive Clare Marchant admitted it was not good enough and said the findings had been difficult to read.

"I want to say sorry to children and families, where the level of service that we have provided has not been good enough," she said.

"We accept the findings and I can assure you, we are working hard to improve outcomes for children."

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County Hall's Conservative leadership has responded immediately by announcing it will pump an extra £3.5 million into children's services, saying it is "very disappointed" by the verdict.

The cash is on top of the current spending of around £77 million, which was already a record sum.

A new 'eight-point plan' has also been put together focusing on more support for staff, better information sharing with third parties and more attention to what children are saying.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, cabinet member for children and families, said: "I am very disappointed by the outcome of this inspection, but having been in this role for six months I am already beginning to see improvements."

During today's briefing he said he was working hard to "rectify" the problems, something inspectors did recognise during their visit.

A spokesman for the NSPCC said Ofsted had painted "a deeply worrying picture" of children's services.

He said: “This report paints a deeply worrying picture of a stretched department with deep-rooted problems.

“Relying less on agency workers, and reducing caseloads for staff, will be key to stabilising the workforce and ensuring sustained improvements are made.

“A coherent plan and strong leadership was required to address serious concerns raised in a peer review in 2015, but these have been lacking.”

There are currently 732 children in care in Worcestershire, 431 on special 'child protection orders' and another 800 getting lesser forms of support.

But the number in care has surged over the last decade - it stood at just 530 back in 2009.

OFSTED REPORT - THE MAIN FINDINGS

There are "widespread and serious failures" in the service

Councillors and senior officers have failed to ensure children are safe

Children's services suffers from "a lack of management oversight"

Senior leaders were "unaware of the critical issues" identified by Ofsted during the inspection

Leadership is "inconsistent" and there is an "insufficient number of staff at all levels"

Thresholds for children being dealt with are "applied inconsistently"

Caseloads have been decreasing but "remain too high", leading to some children getting a "poor quality service"

Some children are "left in situations of actual and escalating risk of significant harm" due to "relevant agencies" not being involved with child protection strategy meetings

"Not enough children" are seen alone by social workers

Assessments on pre-birth children are taken too late

The "scale and the gravity" of the weaknesses to children's services are "significant"

The service has "significantly deteriorated" since 2012, when it was graded adequate

There is "strong political support" for change and the pace of that change has "very recently accelerated"

Despite some recent changes "services remain fragile" and it is "too early to see any sustained impact"

TIMELINE - KEY EVENTS IN RECENT YEARS

September 2010 - Bombshell as Ofsted grades Worcestershire's children's services 'inadequate'

March 2012 - Ofsted return and say services are better, giving it an overall rating of 'adequate'

February 2014 - council tax goes up two per cent to pump an extra £4 million into children's services

May 2014 - We reveal how the numbers of children in care had rocketed 22 per cent in five years to 651, with the council saying it could hit 1,000 by 2022 "if trends continue"

May 2015 - Councillor Liz Eyre quits as the cabinet member responsible for children's services, and is replaced by Councillor John Campion

June 2015 - The results of an independent safeguarding 'peer review' are made public, highlighting "significant concerns"

July 2015 - Cllr Campion admits the service is not good enough and says the rate of improvement has "not been good enough"

September 2015 - Corporate director Gail Quinton quits after six years in the role, leaving for a new job in Coventry, resulting in Simon White taking over as interim director

October 2015 - Complaints over children in care rise 44 per cent in two years, to around 300

November 2015 - The council admits it is struggling to recruit and retain children's social workers, saying it is offering new recruits £4,000 'golden hellos' to try and boost the number of applicants

December 2015 - A draft budget of £77 million is drawn up for children's services, a record sum, which is voted through two months  later

February 2016 - Catherine Driscoll is appointed permanent director to the £139,000-a-year role

May 2016 - Councillor Campion is elected as West Mercia's police and crime commissioner, prompting him to quit the cabinet, sparking a reshuffle

May 2016 - Councillor Marc Bayliss takes over, giving children's services its third different cabinet member in less than 18 months

August 2016 - Worcestershire's Safeguarding Children's Board, an independent watchdog, says it "cannot be assured" services are robust

October/November 2016 - Almost five years since its last visit Ofsted launches an inspection

January 2017 - Ofsted grades the services 'inadequate', with inspectors saying the situation has "significantly deteriorated" since 2012