Ofsted rates children's services at London council 'inadequate'

In the first inspection of provision at Barnet Council for more than five years, Ofsted uncovered "widespread and serious failures in the services provided to children and their families".

Child protection had previously been rated as "good" in January 2012.

Inspectors criticised inconsistency around thresholds and large numbers of poor-quality assessments that are leading to children and families receiving inappropriate plans.

Ineffective information sharing between agencies was blamed for delays that were leaving children at risk of significant harm. Children who went missing from care did not always receive return home interviews, meaning young people could be left unprotected from dangers such as sexual exploitation.

Inspectors did find some examples of effective early help for families but warned that these services were not co-ordinated well enough. Systems to recognise and address radicalisation were found to "work well".

"Since the local authority was last inspected in 2012, there has been a significant deterioration in the quality of service provision," said Ofsted's inspection report.

"Inspectors identified a legacy of widespread poor practice and ongoing systemic failures and services that neither adequately ensure the safety, nor promote the welfare of children and young people."

The report noted that Barnet has been taking action to address its problems since January 2016 but so far "these have been ineffective in improving core standards of social work practice for children and their families".

Ofsted also declared Barnet Safeguarding Children Board inadequate. The board, inspectors found, was poor at monitoring practice and its struggles to secure sufficient funding from partner agencies had harmed the board's ability to deliver its functions.