The start of this year saw the launch of a new inspection regime for children's services. Ofsted has said the inspections of local authority children's services (ILACS) framework will be more proportionate, risk-based and flexible than before, allowing it to prioritise inspection where it is most needed.
Alongside standard inspection activity and monitoring visits, the system, which replaces the Single Inspection Framework (SIF), places a greater emphasis on self-improvement with a new annual meeting with Ofsted to share results of self-evaluation.
"I think it is very important inspection is seen as part of a system and as part of local authorities' approach to self-improvement and development," says Ofsted's national director for social care, Eleanor Schooling.
Councils are free to carry out self-evaluation in any way they wish after the sector rejected the idea of a standard template.
"That was good because I think people are now more confident they are going to be looking at the right things," adds Schooling.
The kind of social work data children's services leaders need to be looking at is stuff they should be auditing anyway, she explains.
Annual meeting
The results of self-evaluation, action taken and progress made are what will be discussed at the new annual meeting with Ofsted, which will be with the regional senior inspectors or those "who know that authority well already" and may also be attended by the regional director - depending on the size of the region.
"We would expect the director of children's services to attend and for them to determine who else comes," says Schooling. "But it would probably be the assistant director responsible for social care or chief social worker and that means you have then got people who are close to the practice itself and really understand it.
"It is not intended to be one of those enormous meetings with a cast of thousands. It is supposed to be a thorough conversation about the quality of social work."
There is no set timetable for self-evaluation and Ofsted does not expect it to coincide with the annual meeting "so it would be perfectly appropriate if the authority had been through the process six months earlier", says Schooling.
"Inspectors will want to look at plans for improvements and what has happened so far because we are really looking at whether the leadership has got the capacity, drive and intent to actually carry things through," she adds. "We don't want to sit there and hear a series of promises - we do need to be convinced that something has already happened and will happen."
For example, inspectors will be interested in responses to any previous inspection issues and may want to talk about the scope of a focused visit to explore a particular area that needs work.
If they have concerns that may trigger further intervention. "More often than not if we were worried we'd hopefully agree a focused visit," says Schooling.
"If we were just extremely worried and all the other data told us that social workers were leaving in droves, children were not being seen at the proper time, then we could just have an inspection - that is always there and open to us," she adds.
Over a four-year inspection cycle, authorities can expect to receive one inspection and two focused visits, looking at one of a range of topics set out in guidance on the new regime. Topics include "front door" services that receive contacts and referrals, the protection of vulnerable adolescents, permanency planning and services for care leavers.
At the time of writing, 24 annual engagement meetings and eight focused visits had already taken place.
While the annual meeting may at first seem less daunting than other contact with the regulator, Schooling hopes "it will be treated with the same seriousness as other events".
"It is less scary because it is only an afternoon instead of four weeks so at least you don't feel a month of your life needs to be focused on this," she says. "But I would always want a bit of tension in that relationship because we are the inspectorate. I wouldn't want people to feel too relaxed about it because it does matter."
The discussion and any action points will not be published. However, there is an expectation that results of self-evaluation will be shared with partners and neighbouring councils as part of wider efforts to boost quality - most probably through new regional self-improvement alliances currently being established with the support of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS).
Sharing findings
The way findings are shared will vary from region to region, explains Schooling. "The regions are setting up systems where they can do more improvement together and share one another's self evaluation," she says. "Some regions are doing that in a very structured way and making sure they collect everybody's [self evaluation] and have an event to talk about it. Others are doing it in a more fluid way.
"The structure isn't important but what is important is they find a way of challenging one another."
The formation of regional alliances is still in its infancy, according to the ADCS, which says pilots are ongoing.
"Several areas are involved in piloting different aspects and we are coming together to share early learning from the pilots over the next few weeks," says an ADCS spokeswoman. "We hope to launch later this year but it's all very early days at this stage."
In numbers
- 24 annual engagement meetings
- 8 focused visits
- 2 focused visits over four years
Source: Ofsted
INSPECTION SHORTS
SOCIAL CARE
Children's services at three councils have been moved out of "inadequate" following fresh inspections of provision. Services at Cumbria County Council and Somerset County Council were upgraded to "requires improvement" while Rotherham, which was at the centre of a child sexual exploitation scandal, saw its rating jump from inadequate to good after Ofsted inspectors found the quality and impact of children's services had been "transformed".
EDUCATION
Ofsted's chief inspector is to be quizzed by MPs after backing a primary school head teacher who banned Muslim girls aged under eight from wearing the hijab. Amanda Spielman gave her public support to Neena Hall, who introduced the policy at St Stephen's School in Newham but later reversed the ban. "Schools must have the right to set school uniform policies as they see fit, in order to promote cohesion," Ms Spielman told a Church of England school conference last month.
EARLY YEARS
Reports compiled by inspectors investigating complaints or compliance issues at early years providers will now be shorter and focus on the breach of regulations and actions taken rather than the initial concerns raised. The change is set out in updated guidance for Ofsted inspectors on the drawing up of "complaint and compliance action summaries", which are published alongside other inspection reports on the regulator's website.
EDUCATION
Inspectors have criticised health and care service providers in Durham for ignoring the views of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The finding came out of a joint local area inspection of SEND services by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission. "Children, young people and families have too little say in strategic decision-making about the services and support they need," states a letter from the inspectorates to Durham County Council and the area's clinical commissioning group.
HEALTH
The vast majority of women are now asked about their emotional wellbeing after the birth of a new baby as part of efforts to improve postnatal mental health support, reveals the latest maternity care survey carried out by the Care Quality Commission. The 2017 survey, which gathered the views of more than 18,400 women, found 98 per cent had been asked about their emotional state by a midwife or health visitor, while 78 per cent said they were told who they could contact if they experienced emotional changes after birth.
