The Ofsted unannounced inspection, published today, found the county’s response to child protection referrals does not meet statutory guidance and does not ensure that children are adequately safeguarded.
Inspectors said referrals were sometimes closed prematurely without children being seen and some assessments were not undertaken until some months after the referral had been received.
On the day of the inspection, concerned inspectors referred five cases to senior managers for urgent review of decisions made about risk of serious harm to children. The report said that the council responded quickly to these concerns, with one visit taking place that day.
Nottinghamshire County Council said that it had seen a 43 per cent rise in referrals of children at risk in the past 12 months and announced a safeguarding improvement programme set up to oversee all work to strengthen and improve the service provided to vulnerable children and their families.
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