A TROUBLESHOOTER brought in to improve a council’s failing children’s services has 'a big challenge’ ahead of her as she aims to make improvements.

Eleanor Brazil has been drafted in by the Department for Education (DfE) to improve Slough Borough Council’s (SBC) children’s services, after two 'inadequate’ Ofsted reports, and will be challenging those that are leading the service to deliver improvements.

Nicky Morgan, the secretary of state for education, proposed that Mrs Brazil, 61, was appointed as commissioner for children’s social care at SBC, and she will oversee the creation of a new independent trust to control the children’s services after the council was stripped of its control in February.

“It is a big challenge,” Mrs Brazil said. “It is a task that is an important one.

“I think the level of priority it has been given by the DfE and secretary of state is important and I do not minimise the complexity of making that level of change - improving children’s services isn’t easy.

“My role is to both challenge what they [the council] are doing and to support it, and also to bring my experience and knowledge to better that.” Mrs Brazil, who has worked in social care since 1998, has also been brought in by the Government to aid other councils children’s services, including in Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Leeds, as well as Haringey Council in the aftermath of the Baby P scandal.

Slough is only the second authority to have been stripped of its children’s services, after Doncaster Borough Council, where Mrs Brazil has also been overseeing the transition to the Doncaster Children’s Services Trust, and she will split her roles between the two.

“Some of the issues [in Slough] are similar [to other authorities] around recruiting good, permanent, experienced social workers, but that is a national challenge,” she said.

“Partnerships are very important in how the council works with the police, health authority and schools. It is crucial from authority to authority and that is an issue in Slough and how effective the partnership work is.” She added: “I am looking forward to it.

“I know that council has plans to improve services and I want to review these to see if they are going to move as fast as they are going to and are as rigorous and broad ranging as they need to be.” Mrs Brazil estimates that the trust will take around one year to be set up, and is due to be discussed at the SBC cabinet meeting next month.