WILTSHIRE Council will spend up to £500,000 on consultants, advisors and extra training for managers in a bid to turn around its failing children’s services department.

The extra cash was approved after Ofsted failed the safeguarding services run by Wiltshire Council in collaboration with the police and health authorities and other charitable organisations.

Council leader Jane Scott said: “We fully accept that it wasn’t good enough and we are taking very swift and very positive action. There has been no holding back on resources.

“We would like to be judged ‘adequate’ and hopefully ‘good’ by the time of the next inspection.”

Independent senior social workers are being paid to review the cases where children might be at risk.

Almost 500 cases have already been reviewed since the March inspection.

“In some cases there were issues uncovered where we needed to take action and these have matched the issues Ofsted uncovered,” said Carolyn Godfrey, the council’s corporate director for children’s services.

“This action includes increased visits to families, gathering more information, and meeting with other agencies.”

She said the extra funding would pay for the three auditors who have been combing the case files and three social workers to cope with any increased referrals.

“I believe we may have more referrals because of the coverage of this report,” she said. “Safeguarding is going to be on everyone’s mind after this.”

The funding will also pay for additional managers.

“We need to be able to support our staff,” said Mrs Godfrey. She said all of the social workers and managers were temporary agency staff and have been hired for an initial three to six months.

“They are very experienced people,” she said.

Ofsted inspectors said that the council’s ability to turn around the safeguarding findings was ‘adequate’ and they were praised for not cutting the budget for its frontline services The report said: “Political and managerial ambition and prioritisation across the partnership are at least adequate and provide a clear direction of travel.

“There is a strongly evidenced commitment from all partners to ensure that the well-being and safety of children and young people are central to service planning and delivery.”

An independent board will be established to monitor the department’s work more closely, while inspectors are expected to return in six to nine months to check on progress.

The report also criticised Wiltshire Police. It said: “The established practice by police of using Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to hold some children or young person in custody where they have committed an offence is inappropriate.”

But it accepted that the policy was under review and other out of hours support services were available.

Fran Lewis, director of Splitz Support Service, which helps families suffering from domestic violence across the county, said: “I think there is a good relationship with social workers and the voluntary sector organisations working with them.

“Most of the time it works really well but when it doesn’t it is because of communication. We have got to keep families together in a safe environment and the only way we can work together is by getting round the same table face to face.”