News / Education
Children’s services in Sth Glos rated inadequate
Children’s services in South Gloucestershire Council has been rated as inadequate by a government watchdog.
The Ofsted report follows a four-week inspection last November and December for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers. While adoption services were rated good, it concludes that overall services in South Gloucestershire are inadequate.
Ofsted highlighted a requirement to urgently review all cases currently or recently allocated to managers. The council said that these reviews have now taken place.
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Inspectors also say a more consistent approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risk of child sexual exploitation is needed. The council says it has already started working on ways to strengthen practices in this area.
Peter Murphy, director of children, adults and health at the council said they were “deeply disappointed with the outcome”.
He added: “We have set up an improvement board specifically looking at our 0 to 25 disability service to ensure the needs of our most vulnerable children and young people are being met. This remains a top priority for the council and a robust improvement plan is being developed to address all the recommendations in the report.
Cllr Jon Hunt, chair the committee, added: “I share the disappointment in the outcome and I feel it is only right to apologise to those children and their families who have not received help and support quickly enough. The needs of children, especially vulnerable children and their families must always come first.
“To bring about the necessary improvements, the council must act swiftly and decisively but I have every confidence that we have the right people in place to drive the changes forward.”
Inspectors also highlighted a number of strengths in the Children’s Service, including:
- Social workers know children well. Children’s views are heard and those who are in need receive appropriate support
- Adoption performance is rated as good. Children who cannot live with their birth families are routinely considered for adoption and are found caring homes quickly
- Children whose needs are clear are referred to the access and response team and social workers and managers swiftly refer them to the right service
- Staff feel well supported and cared for by visible and approachable managers. Practitioners are proud to work for the council and consistently say that services are improving.
Read more: Labour warns against privatisation of children’s services
Main image credit: Just Kids/Creative Commons
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