CHILDREN were left in need and at a risk of significant harm because of management failures, an inspection into Monmouthshire council’s children’s service has found.

Although a Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) report found no widespread or serious failures at the council, it found management's oversight of practice was insufficient - it said.

It also said senior staff were “insufficiently well sighted on front line work in children’s services” when the CSSIW visited children’s services last November.

Although the department worked to identify children who needed protection, the quality of information recorded on referral forms was sometimes of a poor standard.

The council was slow to process children’s cases when there were no obvious signs that they were at significant harm and referrals were “not timely”, leaving them at potential risk. Assessments’ quality was inconsistent.

A lack of transparency and engagement meant children and their families were sometimes unclear about what the help they received or the need for protection was for.

The authority had already admitted that before last April there was insufficient attention given to improving frontline practice, the report states.

Members of the council's children and young people committee will discuss the findings at a meeting on Thursday.

The CSSIW noted there had been a “greater focus and attention to improving practice in children’s services particularly in the last six months” – but that they need to be continued.

The council’s chief executive Paul Matthews said: “I am proud of the high level of enthusiasm and commitment that our team has demonstrated to deliver consistent improvements over the last six months.

“The report contains a number of recommendations that the council is working hard on to secure continued improvement. It was particularly pleasing that inspectors found that senior managers were committed to achieving improvements in the provision of help and protection for children and families.”