Ofsted praises council's 'outstanding' children's services leadership

During a visit to the London borough in April, inspectors found that senior managers and councillors have a determination to constantly improve children's services and are open to learning new ways of achieving this.

Senior leaders are also knowledgeable about children's services, place young people at the centre of decisions and have strong relationships with partners, inspectors added.

Leaders are particularly knowledgeable about the risk of child exploitation and reports of children going missing from home, school or care.

Inspectors were also impressed by the robust and regular oversight of work by leaders.

This includes themed audits in Hillingdon, looking at issues such as improving opportunities for young people who are not in education, employment or training.

A quarterly performance report on missing children, which senior managers monitor to establish patterns and trends, is also in place.

"Their determination to strive constantly for improvement and their openness to learning has driven successful change at a rapid pace," states Ofsted's inspection report.

"The dedicated and knowledgeable leadership team models a child-centred approach to all strategic and operational interventions for children and this is replicated throughout the staff group.

"Relationships with partners are mature and thresholds are well understood. A culture of openness and a commitment to have children at the heart of decision-making ensure that children have consistently good services."

Elsewhere across children's services, child protection, looked-after children and care leaver provision are all rated "good".

Inspectors found that children who need help and protection are supported effectively and quickly.

Looked-after children and those leaving care also receive a good service from staff, "who know them well and who genuinely care for them", states Ofsted's report.

"Children and young people are consistently encouraged to be involved in decisions about their lives and their views have a direct impact on service development," the report adds.

Areas of improvement include ensuring that all relevant information from partners is included in strategy discussions.

In addition, inspectors want to see improvements in the quality and timeliness of return home interviews when children are reported as missing.

Ofsted notes that the quality of children's services has "significantly improved" since they last visited the London borough, when a single inspection was carried out in 2013.

This rated children's services as "requires improvement" overall.

Hillingdon Council has been contacted for comment.