Here is a summary of the Ofsted inspection reports published in the last month, focusing on improving services for children and young people.
Good progress highlighted at Darlington
Good progress has been made in improving services for looked-after children in Darlington, a monitoring visit has revealed.
Ofsted inspectors found a more stable workforce, compliance with statutory requirements has been achieved and the IRO service had been strengthened.
Managers at Slough need to identify practice weaknesses sooner
Some children’s needs are not being met in Slough because managers do not always identify practice weaknesses quickly enough, Ofsted has warned.
Key actions within children’s plans are not always carried out in good time and, for some children, this leads to unnecessary delay in their needs being met, or in plans for children’s permanence not being achieved quickly enough.
Social work practice at Birmingham has improved
The quality of social work practice at Birmingham children’s services has improved since the last inspection, Ofsted has said.
The authority has demonstrated that it has made improvements in the quality of social work practice since the last inspection, however, further work remains to be done to ensure that practice is consistently good and that the best outcomes for all children are achieved on a timely and consistent basis.
Practice remains too variable in permanence arrangements at Wandsworth
Practice remains too variable in permanence arrangements for children at Wandsworth Council, according to a monitoring visit by inspectors.
While some strengths were noted, a lack of timeliness in providing permanent alternative homes were found.
Pace of change at Tameside too slow
The pace of change and improvement remains too slow at Tameside, Ofsted has warned.
Inspectors saw that priorities had been translated into a 12-week plan, however, this has not led to strong coordination of service improvement or consistent frontline practice.
Weaknesses remain in children who go missing from care in Worcestershire
Significant weaknesses remain in the quality of services to children who go missing in Worcestershire children’s services, Ofsted has found.
There are weaknesses in the electronic systems to support managers in the Family Front Door Service which was being focused on within the monitoring assessment by Ofsted and in the consistent focus within assessments and plans on the lived experience of children.
Progress made in care leavers’ service at Wirral
There is a real sense of energy and enthusiasm in managers and personal advisers at Wirral who are keen and committed to improve services to care leavers, a monitoring visit from Ofsted has found.
Ofsted inspectors focused on the progress made in improving support to care leavers and found the new care leavers’ service, which has been established since the time of the inspection, has reinvigorated this area of work.
Assessments variable at Sandwell
Assessments and care plans for looked-after children in Sandwell are of variable and often poor quality, a monitoring visit of the authority found.
Plans are not specific enough, and do not focus on all risks, or the complexity, of a child’s needs and behaviour. In particular, for too many children, permanence planning is not yet sufficiently timely or robust, Ofsted stated.
