Ofsted's "good" rating of Kent children's services is an important marker in the authority's recovery from its 2010 "inadequate" judgment. It also built on progress from the "adequate" ratings handed to safeguarding and looked-after children services in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
The good rating was delivered despite what Kent chief executive Paul Carter calls "significant headwinds", the greatest of which was the influx of unaccompanied asylum seeking children coming into care in 2015. However, the general rise in the looked-after children population has added pressure.
Kent is one of the largest English authorities and the council works with up to 10,000 children at any one time. It is also an area that has a growing children's population and is likely to rise further due to large numbers of new housing developments under construction.
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