Inspections: Joint targeted area inspections

Joint targeted area inspections were introduced in early 2016 in a bid to boost understanding of the way key partners in an area work together to safeguard vulnerable children and young people.

Rather than focusing on one key player, such as the local authority, they seek to explore the relationships, pathways and information sharing between agencies that are so vital in providing an all-round picture of a young person's true circumstances and in ensuring they do not slip through gaps in the system.

Inspections are undertaken by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMI Probation). Each includes a "deep dive" element looking at a specific issue. To date, JTAIs have focused on child sexual exploitation (CSE), domestic abuse and, most recently, neglect, with inspections on this theme running from May to December 2017.

Unlike the Single Inspection Framework regime for councils, services are not awarded a rating for how well they perform, but are given a comprehensive account of where inspectors feel they are doing well and areas for improvement.

Child sexual exploitation

The first JTAIs focusing on CSE were conducted in Central Bedfordshire, Croydon, Liverpool, Oxfordshire and South Tyneside between February and June 2016.

The headline message from the Time To Listen report was that "tackling sexual exploitation can be done" and there was evidence progress had been made. However, more work was needed to ensure children and young people received good support from all agencies in all areas.

"Poor practice by some professionals and some key agencies means that some children at risk of exploitation still do not get the response they need quickly enough," says the report.

The sharing of information and intelligence by local authorities, police, health and other key agencies was key to understanding patterns of CSE, disrupting and deterring perpetrators, and helping and protecting children.

Raising awareness among the wider community was also found to be "crucial", with schools having a key role to play.

In South Tyneside, 94 per cent of taxi drivers have been trained in identifying child sexual exploitation and training is a condition of receiving a licence. As a result, between 2014 and 2015, there was a 53 per cent increase in reports from taxi drivers of concerns about child exploitation to the police.

Specific issues included the need for a better understanding of why children go missing both on an individual and strategic level.

Domestic abuse

The deep dive theme for the second round of JTAIs from September 2016 to March 2017 was on domestic abuse and the impact on children, with inspections in Bradford, Hampshire, Hounslow, Lincolnshire, Salford and Wiltshire.

While individual areas like Hampshire were found to be doing well when it came to ensuring the best support for children affected by domestic violence (see case study), the report on this theme was fairly critical, finding too little was being done to prevent abuse in the first place and then repair the damage done.

It called for a national initiative to raise awareness and a greater focus on perpetrators with "significant gaps" in the services available for those responsible for domestic abuse.

"We saw examples of swift action being taken to secure the immediate safety of the victim and children, without any action being taken to address the root causes of the perpetrator's behaviour," says the report.

Given perpetrators often continue to pose a threat to victims and their children or may move on to another family, putting other children at risk, was seen as short-sighted.

Inspectors found a stark contrast between practice in this area and in CSE, where much of the work is "intently focused" on abusers.

Neglect

From spring 2017, JTAIs have concentrated on the complex issue of child neglect. Reports have so far been published for Cheshire West and Chester, Peterborough and Wokingham.

Evaluation criteria set out in guidance for these inspections includes whether professionals are well trained and knowledgeable about neglect and the impact on children's lives.

Inspectors will also look at whether police are working with other agencies to identify neglected children and are thoroughly investigating cases, and that schools have effective systems in place to identify children at risk and make timely referrals for early help or to children's social care.

Inspections to date have identified some strong practice in this area. For example, Peterborough Safeguarding Children Board has led the development of a multi-agency neglect strategy launched in September 2016.

6
Areas visited by the joint inspectorates for each theme of JTAIs
3
Rounds of inspections currently carried out using JTAIs
10
Inspections planned a year from 2018
1
Week spent on site by inspectors
Source: Ofsted ]]