The first reaction of many directors of children's services may wellhave been to punch the air with glee. The much-maligned joint areareview is to be scrapped as part of a dramatic overhaul of theinspection of children's services. Annual performance assessments willalso cease to exist after March 2009. Instead, local authorities willface a "comprehensive area assessment" of their services.
"We're seeing the end of improvement through inspection and a movetowards falling back on inspection as a safety net, which I think is asit should be," says Martin Rogers, co-ordinator of the Children'sServices Network.
Inspections for prevention
All of this has come about because of the local government white paperStrong and Prosperous Communities, which proposes a new, singleperformance framework for local authorities, with key changes to the waychildren's services are assessed and inspected, and a shift in focus tounder-performing authorities.
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