Multi-agency inspection identifies child protection weaknesses

A joint targeted area inspection of the London Borough of Croydon, conducted by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation, highlighted effective work "in many areas of practice", but said that some areas needed improvement.

"Some aspects of multi-agency work are delivering well for children and young people but, in other service areas, multi-agency and individual agency work requires significant improvement," the inspection letter states.

The report states that Croydon is "unique" as an area, because of high numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, who make up almost half of the population of looked-after children, high numbers of children placed by other local authorities in the borough, and increasing levels of deprivation.

"The demand for services is increasing the pressure on the police, health services, probation services and the local authority to ensure that there are sufficient resources to meet needs," the report states.

"To enhance the core statutory services, children missing and at risk of child sexual exploitation are supported by the local authority through the commissioning of a wide range of voluntary agency specialist services.

"This was seen to be making a real difference to children, young people and their families. However, there remain inconsistencies in response to some children at risk of child sexual exploitation and those who are missing."

The report states that although no children were deemed to be left at immediate risk of harm, insufficient levels of staffing in the school nursing service and the multi-agency safeguarding hub meant that there was not always a timely identification and assessment of children's needs.

"Some children have to wait too long for a social work assessment, or for an investigation to be undertaken by the police," the report states.

The report adds that the local authority is undertaking immediate remedial action and considering what additional resources are required to address concerns.

A spokesman, on behalf of the statutory agencies in Croydon, said: "Our main priority has always been to protect our most vulnerable children and make them safer, and we are pleased that the inspection found that we are doing this successfully and that no children were identified at risk of harm.

"A number of our services were highlighted for making a real difference to children's lives and we are determined to build on these strengths.

"We are already making the necessary improvements that were identified in the report so that we can provide the best possible service to all children and families in Croydon."