Ofsted praises council's move to neighbourhood social work teams
Joe Lepper
Friday, March 2, 2018
A council's restructure of children's services to create small neighbourhood teams of social workers has been praised by inspectors for improving support for frontline staff and strengthening partnerships with other agencies.
Following a focused visit last month to check on the London Borough of Newham's child in need and child protection services, Ofsted found that the move to small teams had resulted in significant improvements.
Managers have more time to effectively support frontline social workers and oversee casework, inspectors found.
In addition, the inspection team found that the move is helping social workers work more closely with other agencies in supporting vulnerable children.
"The recent restructure to smaller teams with increased managerial capacity is facilitating the implementation of the local authority's chosen social work model," a letter to Newham Council's director of children's services, Grainne Siggins, outlining the findings of the visit states.
"This ensures that managers are able to focus more on providing support to social workers and to utilise performance management information to promote consistent practice within the borough."
"The development of neighbourhood working and smaller teams is supporting multi-agency engagement and the more effective management oversight of casework."
Ofsted also praised a "continued focus on improving social work practice", among senior managers and elected politicians.
"Leaders know their service well and this supports the development of good social work practice," the letter states.
It adds: "In the cases considered, inspectors did not find children at risk of harm for whom the local authority had not provided an appropriate service."
The work of the borough's multi-agency safeguarding hub (Mash), to respond to concerns and referrals about children in need or at risk of harm, was also praised by inspectors.
They found that thresholds for support are appropriately applied, however, the inspection team did highlight delays in responses to requests for information across agencies as an issue.
Meanwhile, inspectors also carried out a focused visit to Northumberland County Council's children's services to check on the performance of its "front door" services for dealing with child protection concerns.
This includes the council's own service as well as the area's fledgling Mash, which was launched during the Ofsted's visit last month.
Ofsted found that children and young people's cases are looked at swiftly and proportionately. Senior management was also commended for improvements to the way it handles child protection concerns.
Areas for improvement highlighted by Ofsted included a need for social workers to better understand the effect of domestic abuse on children.
"The local authority may want to review their current response to vulnerable adolescents and children affected by domestic abuse," states Ofsted in a letter to Northumberland's director of children's services Cath McEvoy.
"Some social workers need to better understand the complex nature of relationships in which domestic abuse is a key feature, and improve how risk is identified and managed."