Posted on Tuesday 5th July 2022
A recent Ofsted visit found that vulnerable children in Staffordshire continue to receive good support and protection despite the impacts of Covid-19.
Inspectors from the national regulator carried out a focused visit on Staffordshire County Council’s children’s services in May 2022 and detailed the findings in a letter to the authority published today (Monday 4 July).
The main findings show that the county council, along with partners, has continued to support the most vulnerable children and families and reduce risk effectively in the face of increased pressure on services.
Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Mark Sutton, welcomed the findings and praised the hard work of colleagues and teams.
“Keeping children safe and supporting families in need is among the most important work we do as an authority, so I am delighted to see Ofsted recognise the tireless work of our children’s services during its recent focused visit. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on children and families in Staffordshire and I can’t praise our teams enough for how they have responded to the extreme challenges and continued to deliver excellent care and support to protect those in need.”
Among the findings, the inspectors highlighted that the regularity in which children are seen by social workers had led to a good understanding of needs and improved outcomes.
Decisions regarding children were found to be timely, well considered and based on thorough risk assessments and able to be adjusted appropriately if circumstances changed.
Inspectors also found that social workers at the council felt well supported by managers and benefited from an experienced and visible senior leadership team and having access to good training and development.
Mark added:
“Last year, our children’s services underwent a significant structural transformation. This visit is an early indication that new practices and procedures are working well and we look forward to building on this ahead of the next full inspection.”
Inspectors highlighted certain areas for development and acknowledged the county council’s plans to address these, including upgrading electronic recording and performance management systems to improve speed and accuracy.
The last full Ofsted inspection of Staffordshire County Council’s children’s social care services took place in 2019 when the authority received an overall rating of Good.
The full findings from Ofsted’s focused visit can be found at: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/44/80561.