Inspectors hail ‘impressive’ improvement in council’s children’s services
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Improvements to children’s services at Torbay Council has seen the department's Ofsted rating jump from “inadequate” to “good” in five years.
Inspectors hailed the uplift in the council’s rating as an “impressive achievement”.
“Strong political and corporate commitment to the improvement agenda has enabled the local authority to change the trajectory of social work practice so that services in Torbay are now good,” states Ofsted’s latest report, published following an inspection between 21 March and 1 April.
It notes that leaders’ approach to recruitment and retention has led to “the creation of a largely stable permanent workforce”.
“As a result, manageable caseloads now enable stronger and more constructive relationships to be built with most children and families,” the report states.
It praises ongoing work to make further improvements in services including creating “clearer expectations” of workers when care leavers live in emergency accommodation and “greater consistency” of supervision and management oversight.
Inspectors have also pinpointed areas for improvement in Torbay including the oversight of arrangements for care leavers and the quality of planning for some children in need.
Nancy Meehan, director of children’s services at Torbay Council, said: “This report is testament to the passion and dedication of our workforce. It’s wonderful for our staff, partners, children, families and young people to be told that after many years of underperforming, Torbay Council is now considered ‘good’ across all of the judgment areas.
“Our journey in becoming a more child and family friendly Torbay is starting to bear fruit. We are committed to driving through more improvements and will strive to become an ‘outstanding’ authority so we can deliver the best possible opportunities for children, families and young people in our care and across the Bay.”
Stockport Council has maintained its rating of “good” following a recent inspection by Ofsted.
Inspectors said: “The strong quality of practice and services for families has been maintained, despite the high levels of Covid-19 and an increase in demand across the service.”
Hull City Council has also been praised by inspectors during a monitoring visit to look at areas of concern around support for care leavers raised during a full inspection in 2019 when the local authority was rated “inadequate”.
It notes that an improved corporate parenting partnership and increased investment in the council’s leaving care team means “care leavers are provided with improved, high-quality and targeted multi-agency support” and “develop meaningful and supportive relationships with their workers”.
“Skilled leaving care workers are providing greatly improved support to care leavers in Hull,” a letter from inspectors states.
