In 2006, the government updated its statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children, to make it clear that all organisations providing services for children must have appropriate whistleblowing procedures in place.
In 2009, Ofsted set up a whistleblowing hotline through which frontline staff working with children and young people can raise concerns about safeguarding practice.
Since setting up the whistleblowing helpline, an internal evaluation suggested that people are not clear about Ofsted's powers in relation to whistleblowing. This consultation sets out to clarify what it can and cannot do about concerns in children's services.
For example, Ofsted is able to take action when concerns are raised about child protection regarding a specific child or children, or allegations are made about a systemic failure in a local authority. It doesn't however have the power to take action or investigate an individual's dissatisfaction with local services, nor follow up complaints relating to individual cases.
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