Ofsted praises council for ‘outstanding' work on adoption and leadership

An inspection of Cheshire West and Chester Council, which was rated overall as “good”, found that the director of children’s services, Gerald Meehan, and the senior management team have worked hard to successfully communicate their clear vision of high standards of practice.

"Social workers have stayed with the authority, raising their standards and contributing to the improvements," the inspection report states.

"This outstanding leadership has resulted in good-quality services that respond to the needs of children and families quickly and effectively."

Only one other council, Trafford Council, has achieved two “outstanding” judgments from Ofsted.

Ofsted's findings represent a major turnaround for the local authority. The council had previously been rated “adequate” for child protection following an inspection in October and 2012, and “inadequate” for services for looked-after children in November 2010.

Inspectors, who began the four-week inspection in November, said significant work by both leaders and staff had "reinvigorated" partnerships with other agencies to develop a shared approach to the assessment of risk and the understanding of thresholds.

"As a result, key strategic priorities such as children who go missing or who are at risk of sexual exploitation are clearly focused on children and families who benefit from effective multi-agency working."

Meehan himself was praised as a "calm and purposeful leader who understands his services very well".

The adoption service was also singled out for praise. Inspectors said children are considered for adoption at an early stage and creative family finding means that children who are considered difficult to match are adopted, and siblings are adopted together.

"Performance against the adoption scorecard is very strong and reflects the excellent practice in the service of robust case tracking to prevent delay and fast tracking second-time adopters," the report states.

Meanwhile, following a separate inspection, children's services at Middlesbrough Council have been rated as "requires improvement" by the inspectorate.