Agenda item

To receive a report on the Ofsted Action Plan.

The Cabinet Member: Children, Young People, Education, Employment & Skills presented the joint report of the Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support and Executive Director: Children’s & Family Services.

The report presented the findings of the Ofsted Inspection of the Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS) which took place between 29 April and 3 May 2024.  An inspection would usually take place every three years.    In January 2020, children’s services were judged to be ‘Outstanding’ by ILACS and were the only local authority in the region to be judged outstanding at that time.    During the recent Ofsted Inspection undertaken between 29 April and 3 May 2024, the Council’s children’s services retained its Outstanding judgement and continued to be the only outstanding authority in the region.  It was important to note that there were only five local authorities who had been successful in maintaining their outstanding rating and this was despite the impact of the covid pandemic and the continued effects on the mental health of children and young people. 

The four judgement areas now included the experiences and progress of children in care and the experiences and progress of care leavers.  The inspection framework in relation to care leavers was a standalone judgement and Ofsted noted that “care leavers benefit from an extremely comprehensive and generous local offer…”.  Improvements had been made since the last inspection and care leavers had appropriate access across a range of services.  As a corporate parent this judgment was something to be proud of. 

Ofsted had highlighted two areas of improvement which were:

·         The management of contacts within Family Connect

·         The consistency of making children, aged 16 and 17 years old, who present as homeless, aware of their rights and entitlements

Ofsted identified some contacts were closed and then reopened to be reviewed when information was received to allow for informed decisions to be made. The service was exploring options around how contacts could be managed moving forward.  In relation to the consistency of making children aged 16 and 17 years old, who present as homeless, aware of their rights and entitlements, work was underway and a senior lead within the service had been appointed and processes and age-appropriate literature were being refined.

The extensive report was a testament to the hard work and development which had taken place and recognised the many strengths of the CATE Team.  The care plans had independently been reviewed as inspirational.  There was innovative social work practice and the benefits were felt from early health work with children and families. 

It was reflected in the report that children services within Telford and Wrekin Council had been a priority, and this was evident from the leadership, financial investment and political support of members. Children’s services continued to be a priority area and appropriate financial investment, planning and support continued to be made available to help, support and deliver outcomes for the children and young people of Telford and Wrekin. 

Whilst the Council had retained its outstanding judgment, it was a culmination of years of hard work and investment and the recognition that children were at the centre of all that was done and the Council would continue to listen to children and families within the borough as more could be done.

Cabinet Members welcomed the report and expressed that the Council had a duty to protect and care for children in the borough and vulnerable children in particular. Despite the outstanding judgement, the Council did not rest on its laurels and the action plan demonstrated the need to continue to develop further to deliver excellent services.  The work of the virtual school was highlighted, together with the broader social and extra curricular activities that were undertaken. An outstanding judgement recognised outstanding people.  In relation to young carers, this was not an action from Ofsted but this had been identified via service development plans.  A report would be taken to the Children and Young People Scrutiny Meeting in the evening of 7 November 2024.

The Leader of the Conservative Group whole heartedly congratulated the officers and staff who worked hard to get the outstanding judgment from an external body.  In relation to progress on the action points, he asked if  Scrutiny could follow this up.  He observed that that support for young carers had not been picked up in the action plan but that the All Age Carers Strategy went some way towards this.

The Leader echoed the hard work that had taken place and thanked everyone for their remarkable contributions.  Further investments into children’s services would continue to come forward and this would be set out in the budget in March.

RESOLVED – that:

a)    the contents of the report be noted;

b)   the final action plan be noted; and

c)    the request by Children & young People Scrutiny Committee to monitor and implement the action plan be noted and supported.