Inspectors find 'significant' improvement after murder that shocked the Midlands

Inspectors find 'significant' improvement after murder that shocked the MidlandsNew council leader 'really pleased' with watchdog's findings after children's services

inspectionCommentsNewsSam Greenway Local democracy reporter12:12, 03 Jun 2025Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.(Image: Copyright Unknown) Inspectors said Solihull Council’s children services had

improved again following their latest visit.

Social workers were providing more timely and “child focused” support to the borough’s children who need help and support, the watchdog Ofsted said.

‌ The new leader of the Conservative-run authority, Coun Karen Grinsell, said she was “really pleased”. Inspectors are due to return later this year for a full inspection.

‌ READ MORE: Solihull villager takes green belt cottage extension fight to appeal

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The monitoring visit by inspectors, which took place in late April over two days, was the sixth and final since services were judged inadequate in November 2022.

Article continues below That followed intense national scrutiny following the murder of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in Shirley in June 2020.

In January 2023 Ofsted said Solihull children were not getting the help they needed while inspectors identified “serious and widespread failings across all service areas”.

The watchdog’s inspectors praised improvements made during previous monitoring visits held since then.

‌ Ofsted’s letter to Solihull Council on the latest visit has now been published.

Inspector Rebecca Quested said they had been found “significant progress” since 2022 in the operation of the Integrated Front Door (IFD) - the contact point to make concerns about children

and young people.

The inspector said there was “greater stability” within the social worker workforce, as well as lower workloads “enabling social work practice to improve”.

‌Solihull Council House(Image: Sam Greenway LDR) “This means the response to children who need help and support is now timely and child focused and that children and families’ experiences

have improved considerably,” the inspector wrote.

Inspectors found:

‌Partnership working had been considerably strengthened with more partners co-located within the multi-agency safeguarding hubNew arrangements to support families was leading to families and

children receiving the right support at the earliest opportunityA recently-launched ‘family helpline’ was judged to be providing a point of contact for those who needed early helpThose

making referrals about a child were “responded to promptly by confident and experienced social workers”Concerns children had experienced significant harm were “recognised and responded to

with effective and timely multi-agency strategy meetings”Decision-making was based on “clear analysis” that included “capturing the voice of children in terms of their experiences” Ms

Quested said the leadership of the council had been found to prioritise the needs of children.

“The effectiveness of the strategic quartet – the chief executive, the leader of the council, the lead member for children and the director of children’s services – has driven forward the

improvement plans through continued political and financial commitment to children in Solihull," she said.

‌ However, it was noted that assessment of young carers “does not capture children and families’ wider needs, and most do not reference or include information from wider agencies”.

The watchdog said senior leaders had recognised this and had a plan for more co-ordination in this area.

New Solihull Council leader Coun Karen Grinsell.(Image: Solihull Council)‌ Ms Quested added: “Social workers and managers like working in Solihull.

“They are energised and excited by the changes that have been made to support children and families.”

Coun Grinsell - who is also cabinet member for children and education - said: “We are really pleased with the outcome of our sixth and final monitoring visit by Ofsted.

Article continues below “The positive findings are the culmination of lots of hard work over the last 18 months as we have been on a robust improvement journey.

“At the latest visit, inspectors could see that significant progress has been made. We look forward to welcoming Ofsted back for a full inspection later in the year.”