Wokingham requires improvement to be good, says Ofsted
Children's services at Wokingham require improvement to be good, Ofsted has said.
The report outlines that last summer, Wokingham children’s social care services experienced a rapid rise in demand for services, which, combined with instability at the leadership level, and a high turnover of social care staff, led to a deterioration in the quality of services [...]
Expert's Corner - Interview with Angela Frazer-Wicks
Clare Jerrom talks to Angela Frazer-Wicks about her experiences of the care system after her children were placed for adoption in 2004.
"Mummy," my five year old son said, "You'd better sit down."
He placed his tiny hands in mine and his big eyes looked up at my face. "After the visit next week, we won't [...]
Staff turnover impedes progress at Reading
The ongoing high turnover of social work staff at all levels of Reading children's services continues to impede progress in improving the quality of services, Ofsted has warned.
In the second visit since responsibility for delivering children’s social care and early help services in Reading transferred to Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) in December 2018, inspectors [...]
Special report: Children as young as seven exploited for county lines
The issue of county lines is a systemic problem, not a fringe issue, report warns.
Children as young as seven and eight years old are being exploited for county line activity, a report by The Children's Society has revealed.
The report found that 14 to 17 year olds are the most likely age group of children to [...]
Tower Hamlets goes from inadequate to good in two years
Tower Hamlets children's services has turned itself around from inadequate in 2017 to good in the latest inspection of the children's services.
Ofsted said Tower Hamlets has "substantially improved" children's services with leaders and managers having had a relentless focus to improve practice to deliver good experiences and progress for children and their families.
"Effective and well-coordinated [...]
Ofsted launches series of joint inspections around children's mental health
A series of joint inspections focusing on children's mental health has been launched by Ofsted.
The inspectorate has published guidance for inspectors for the new series of inspections, which will examine how local services respond to children and young people with mental health problems.
Ofsted’s National Director for Social Care, Yvette Stanley, said: "At a time when [...]
