CYP Now - Sunderland’s children’s services rating jumps from 'inadequate' to 'outstanding'

Sunderland Council’s children’s services, which was deemed 'inadequate' by Ofsted, has improved so much its rating has jumped straight to 'outstanding' in just three years.

Jill Colbert with Catherine Hearne, board member at Together for Children, Louise Farthing, cabinet member for children’s services and Patrick Melia, chief executive at Sunderland. Picture: Sunderland City Council

The service, which is delivered by Together for Children, was handed the lowest rating in 2015 and again, following the trust’s takeover, in 2018.

Inspectors who visited the council last month said it had been “transformed” and is “making a real difference to children’s lives”.

The report notes that “inspectors evaluated social work practice to be of consistently high quality and relentless in significantly improving the experience of children and young people”. It also highlights that the significant improvement is “even more impressive given that it was during a global pandemic”.

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