A common complaint is that the inspection methodology applied is too reminiscent of an education model and this does not work well when evaluating social care services. There is a feeling that Ofsted needs to devise an effective framework that supports the assessment of qualitative work rather than number crunching, with a strong focus on listening to the social care sector. Many social workers lament the loss of expertise that took place when Ofsted absorbed the Commission for Social Care Inspection function of inspecting children's social care services.
Inspections are inevitably a performance management exercise and CAA is no different given that services are judged to be either adequate or inadequate. No children's service wants to be on the receiving end of a red flag, which inevitably comes with sanctions and public humiliation.
On a more positive note, the work of the children's rights director, Roger Morgan, in relation to the experiences of children in residential care and secure children's homes is to be commended. In a similar vein, the work of HMI prisons, led by Anne Owers, has been exemplary in terms of scrutinising institutions where children and young people are incarcerated.
What children desperately need are inspection regimes that get to the heart of the issues, appropriately challenge services and concern themselves with promoting positive and effective change.
VIEWPOINT 2: LOCAL AUTHORITY OVERVIEW
- Andrew Cozens, strategic adviser, children, adults and health services, Improvement and Development Agency
The CAA is intended to give a broad local narrative for partners on their progress with key outcomes for people and the place.
Children's services have that whole population focus and featured prominently in its design. So why were managers so aggrieved about the findings? Kim Bromley-Derry, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, went as far as to say that the approach to grading was simplistic, providing a single score and a couple of paragraphs to describe a complex web of services.
CAA results suggest a year of transition for the inspectorates, rather than a bold statement of intent. They have the feeling of an aggregate of service judgements held together with a short and formulaic storyline. Government departments' policy priorities still cast a long shadow over their work.
Children's services feel particularly battered this year. Unannounced safeguarding inspections seem to trump all other evidence of progress. There are concerns too, from all types of departments, about how the data and evidence is distilled into the overall judgment.
Ironically, this more streamlined approach has taken away the opportunity for other service areas to shine in the way that previous service inspections allowed. This is not an argument for a return to segmenting services, but reinforces the case for a more sophisticated understanding of where councils are, and what direction they are heading in.
So what should be done given the present financial climate? We need a single approach to measuring competence of organisations and inspections to confirm the safety of vulnerable people. Aside from that we need a greater focus on partnerships and more emphasis on self-evaluation, peer challenge, self-regulation, and stronger accountability to local people for progress against local priorities.
VIEWPOINT 3: DIRECTORS OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES
- Kim Bromley-Derry, president, Association of Directors of Children's Services
The inspection of children's services departments has been in a state of change for the past 18 months. Not only have new frameworks for inspecting particular services been introduced, but these frameworks are being brought together with a wide range of inspections and regulatory activity across public services. There were bound to be problems when introducing a system of such complexity. There is, however, much to be welcomed in the new approach such as the emphasis on talking to staff and service users and the increased scrutiny of case files.
But there are still problems with the way inspections are carried out and the results reported and we are committed to playing a full part in the review of both CAAs and the children's services inspection frameworks to ensure that these problems begin to be addressed. In particular, the promise of the reduction of the burden of inspection has not been fulfilled. The CAA process is not yet truly "place-based", in that it has not succeeded in providing a seamless assessment of all services. There are also questions about the consistency with which the frameworks are applied and the way in which the annual local authority rating is produced and published.
We believe that some of these issues can be addressed through constructive dialogue and challenge and that this should be done as quickly as possible. However, we also strongly believe that at a time of tight financial constraints it is necessary to review the size and role of the inspectorates and what the sector can do for itself. Colleagues can provide an element of informed challenge and support - sharing good practice and building capacity in the system - that, with the backing of a tightly focused inspectorate, could drive improvement while reducing costs.
VIEWPOINT 4: YOUTH SERVICES
- Susie Roberts, chief executive, Confederation of Heads of Young People's Services (Chyps)
We value the streamlining of inspection processes so that they indicate how well public services serve young people, their families and communities and improve the quality of their lives. The holistic approach inherent in CAA enables more consistent and transparent reporting.
Oftsed's four-year inspection cycle of local authority youth work, which was published in March 2009, highlighted the valuable contribution that effective youth work makes to young people's development as part of broader services for young people. The framework provided quality indicators that youth services valued and which were very useful as a self-assessment tool.
But under CAA youth services don't receive the same level of scrutiny as, for example, schools and social care. A recent survey of Chyps members found that they clearly believe there are many benefits of having their services inspected. In particular, it helps to drive improvement locally and helps to demonstrate how youth work services are improving outcomes for young people.
Since the switch to the new inspection regime in April 2009, few integrated youth support services have benefited from an objective assessment of their policy and practice against national standards. We would like to see inspectors directly observe youth work practice taking place and involve young people in a meaningful way in the inspection process.
Critical to this is to accord the same importance and therefore level of inspection and reporting for all services that sit within children's trusts. Heads of integrated youth support services and their leaders and managers welcome the challenges and opportunities that being engaged in formal inspections offer.
Our National Task and Finish Group, which is informing the development of quality standards across the full range of integrated youth support services, is due to be published in March and will aim to address the concerns raised by the lack of inspection.
GREEN FLAGS
The following local authorities were highly praised for aspects of their children and young people's services:
Birmingham - Homeless services for young people
City of London - Cultural events and opportunities for young people
Cornwall - Improving skills and further education
Croydon - Providing work and training for young people
Ealing - Supporting looked-after children and care leavers into further education
Hackney - Improving infant mortality rates
Hillingdon - Partnership working to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
Kensington and Chelsea - Improving educational results
Kent - One-stop advice services Kent Numbers of young people in employment, education or training
Leeds - Families helped to become more financially independent
North East Lincolnshire - Numbers of 16- to 18-year-olds in employment, education or training
Oldham - Numbers of young people in employment, education or training Oldham Tackling teenage pregnancy
Slough - Improving skills
Sutton - Environmental awareness
Westminster - Community engagement
Wolverhampton - Improving safety in the city centre
York - Working together for disabled children
Source: Oneplace
RED FLAGS
The following local authorities have been criticised for aspects of their children and young people's services:
Barking and Dagenham - Poor levels of child health
Birmingham - Returning home after a stay in hospital
Bradford - Reducing infant mortality
Cornwall - Safeguarding children and young people and looked-after children
Coventry - Teenage pregnancy
Doncaster - Poor prospects for children and young people
Essex - Safeguarding children
Halton - Teenage pregnancy
Haringey - Safeguarding children
Leeds - High numbers of young people involved in burglaries
Leeds - Keeping young people safe
Leicester - Improving life expectancy and reducing health inequalities
Manchester - School absence
North East Lincolnshire - Child health inequalities
North Lincolnshire - Health inequalities, including a high teenage pregnancy rate
Sefton - Youth offending
Stockport - Improving quality of life in poorer neighbourhoods
Stoke-on-Trent - High levels of smoking
Suffolk - Learning and skills outcomes
Telford and Wrekin - Raising aspirations and preparing children and young people for the world of work
Thurrock - Improving educational standards and aspirations
Trafford - Working together with other local organisations
Warrington - Safeguarding children
Source: Oneplace
THE FLAG SYSTEM
Comprehensive Area Assessments aim to show how well a broad range of public services are performing across an area. Red flags are given by inspectors to highlight where an aspect of those services is particularly underperforming. Green flags are awarded to show where an area is excelling.
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