Tag Archives: Children’s Services

‘Confusing, euphemistic, unclear, vague’: Flemming unravels

Posted on February 6, 2018 by insidecroydon

BBC Radio London’s Vanessa Feltz was withering in her criticism of an abject on-air performance by one of Croydon’s most senior councillors. Listening in to the car crash interview was WALTER CRONXITE Answers provided by Alisa Flemming, the Croydon Council … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Government grant for child asylum seekers is ‘unacceptable’

Posted on February 2, 2018 by insidecroydon

Croydon Council is to contest the central government grant it has been allocated towards the costs of supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, with just £370,000 towards the £3million costs being described as “unacceptable”. Croydon deals with 10 per cent of UASCs … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Here’s Minister’s letter that Newman didn’t trust you to see

Posted on January 30, 2018 by insidecroydon

Inside Croydon today publishes the letter sent last month by the then junior minister for children and families, Robert Goodwill, to Tony Newman, the leader of Croydon Council, in response to the findings of a report on the borough’s failing … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Litany of council failures before brutal death of toddler

Posted on January 30, 2018 by insidecroydon

The death of a two-year-old in a brutal murder in Wolverhampton in 2016 has been linked to the failures of Croydon’s children’s services department. Croydon children’s services has responsibility for the borough’s fostered and adopted children, unaccompanied asylum seekers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Children's Services, Crime, Croydon Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Whitehall orders Camden to take charge of children’s services

Posted on January 26, 2018 by insidecroydon

An independent commissioner has recommended that Croydon’s crisis-hit children’s services department needs outside help, after failures of leadership and management. WALTER CRONXITE reports Pressure continues to mount on Tony Newman, the council leader, after the Department for Education last night … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Alisa Flemming, Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Jo Negrini, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

DfE sends in Camden officials to assist with children’s services

Posted on January 3, 2018 by insidecroydon

The press release issued by council leader Tony Newman just before Christmas proclaiming success in turning around Croydon’s failing children’s services department turns out to have been the epitome of “fake news”. Others might be less charitable, and more accurate, … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Maria Gatland, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council withholds Brazil’s report on failing children’s services

Posted on December 21, 2017 by insidecroydon

Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on the somewhat partial announcement from Tony Newman’s propaganda department that ‘you’re all doing very well’ As they wind down before Christmas, Croydon Council’s press office this lunchtime issued the latest “You’re all doing very … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Negrini’s plea at secret Town Hall meeting to save her own job

Posted on October 17, 2017 by insidecroydon

KEN LEE reports on a Town Hall meeting to discuss one of the biggest crises in the borough’s history, and which locked out the press and public Jo Negrini, the £185,000 per year council chief executive, issued a thinly veiled … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Stuart Collins | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Extra meeting on children’s services now ‘councillor training’

Posted on October 13, 2017 by insidecroydon

Mystery surrounds what’s on the agenda for Monday night’s council meeting, or who’ll be allowed to attend. By WALTER CRONXITE Monday’s council meeting on the crisis in children’s services, called in place of a scheduled cabinet meeting, looks set to … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Negrini offers council staff £500 to recruit social workers

Posted on October 13, 2017 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE reports on the increasingly desperate-looking efforts at the council to deal with the crisis in the borough’s children’s services Croydon Council has offered all its staff a £500 reward if they can help solve the borough’s social worker … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Council criticised by Ofsted stages modern slavery conference

Posted on October 9, 2017 by insidecroydon

Croydon, where the council’s children’s services department is being carefully monitored by a government-appointed commissioner following “inadequate” findings by Ofsted inspectors, is to stage a conference on modern slavery next week. One of the more worrying findings of the Ofsted … Continue reading →

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Extra council meeting called over children’s services shambles

Posted on October 3, 2017 by insidecroydon

Croydon is to hold another emergency meeting of the full council in two weeks’ time to discuss the crisis over the borough’s children’s services, when there are sure to be further calls for council leader Tony Newman and members of … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Union leader: ‘Our social services are on their knees’

Posted on September 24, 2017 by insidecroydon

There is a crisis in the nation’s social care system after “years of chronic underfunding” which has “left many parts of the service on its knees”, according to the head of one of the country’s largest public service workers’ unions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Croydon NHS Trust, Health, Mayday Hospital | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon’s leadership may be resigned to change at the top

Posted on September 19, 2017 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on last night’s potentially defining meeting of the council The body language spoke volumes. There, sitting behind council leader Tony Newman, the Labour councillors’ heads were down, the arms folded. Facing unremitting questioning after Ofsted … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Mike Fisher, Phil Thomas, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Croydon’s Ofsted crisis: This is too important for politics

Posted on September 18, 2017 by insidecroydon

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The children’s services report is the greatest crisis to confront the council since the riots six years ago. Except, says STEVEN DOWNES, it is just the local reflection of a national collapse of social work “This is too … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018 council elections, Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Maria Gatland, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fitzsimons: Councillors ‘naive’ in believing senior officials

Posted on September 18, 2017 by insidecroydon

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on how some at the Town Hall are beginning to face up to uncomfortable truths Croydon’s councillors are becoming increasing angry about the way they have been misled over the handling of the children’s services crisis … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jan Buttinger, Jo Negrini, Sean Fitzsimons, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Children’s services director responded to parents with threats

Posted on September 18, 2017 by insidecroydon

Ian Lewis, the council director for children’s services who left his job just before the publication of the critical Ofsted report into his department’s performance, has been accused of threatening worried parents who had turned to Croydon Council for help … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Education | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Staff in ‘inadequate’ Children’s Services paid £1,500 bonus

Posted on September 18, 2017 by insidecroydon

Croydon Council’s chief executive, Jo Negrini, last week rubber-stamped a £1,500 per person bonus payment to social workers, personal advisers and line managers in the children’s services department – less than two weeks after that department had been issued with … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Council leader forced to resign over critical Ofsted report

Posted on September 16, 2017 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE reports on another local government Carr crash over failures to provide adequate social services The pressure is mounting this weekend on Tony Newman, the Labour leader of Croydon Council, over his and council officials’ response to the highly … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018 council elections, Barbara Peacock, Bromley Council, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Stephen Carr, Tony Newman, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Council claims ‘immediate action’ taken on children services

Posted on September 4, 2017 by insidecroydon

Croydon Council this morning claimed that it “has taken immediate action to improve its children’s services after an Ofsted inspection rated some areas of the service inadequate”. The council statement made no mention of the departure of two senior figures … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Two key figures leave council over Ofsted inspectors’ report

Posted on September 4, 2017 by insidecroydon

The council’s director of children’s services and the “independent chair” of the Croydon Safeguarding Children Board have both left their posts, Inside Croydon has discovered on the day that an Ofsted report found Croydon’s children services department “inadequate”. No council … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Education, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Negrini tells staff: ‘There are some things that we don’t do well’

Posted on September 4, 2017 by insidecroydon

While the government has had to step in to safeguard vulnerable children in the borough, Jo Negrini, Croydon’s £185,000 a year chief executive, has failed to apologise for her organisation’s failings nor taken responsibility for the shortcomings highlighted in today’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Education, Jo Negrini, Youth Services | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments