In the case of Milton Keynes, for instance, the Ofsted report criticised such things as poor marketing, a "piecemeal" inclusion of young people in the running of the partnership and overall "unsatisfactory value for money".
"I'm not surprised," says Weinstock. "It is a very new service and I would be the first to admit that performance is patchy. The biggest challenge is now to get the quality of the service uniform."
When it comes to Connexions as a whole, she feels there is plenty to be proud of. "I'm sure there will be other bad Ofsted reports. But there have also been some very good ones, such as the ones for Coventry and Warwickshire, and for the West of England. We know from those and from customer surveys that Connexions is starting to make a difference. When it is working at its best, it is doing what it was supposed to do. It is joining up the services that were identified as previously operating in separate silos, so that young people no longer get passed from pillar to post."
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