Ofsted and the Children’s Commissioner published their latest findings for Herefordshire Children’s Services in reports today.
The Ofsted inspection report details the fifth monitoring visit and focuses on the protection of vulnerable children from extra familial risk. Inspectors reported a wide range of positive findings, including effective and timely multi-agency working to identify, support and protect children at risk from experiencing extra familial harm and exploitation.
The findings include “a renewed focus on the improvement of services.” Staff feel they have visible and approachable leadership in place. They feel invested in and listened to and there’s a “drive to improve” shared across the workforce. The report identified a few areas where there is more work to do as part of the Herefordshire Children’s Services improvement journey.
The Children’s Commissioner’s report acknowledges the progress made over time but specially notes the drive seen in the past 6 months as the new interim Director of Children’s Services has put in place the foundations needed for improved pace. The report notes that the refreshed Improvement Plan is now much more focused and better placed to address long-standing challenges and there is increased confidence in services.
Both the Ofsted and the Commissioner’s report confirm the service is gaining a better understanding of itself through its quality assurance work and reinforces the importance of continuing the drive to ensure children, young people and families’ voices are heard and they are actively involved in service development and delivery.
Councillor Ivan Powell, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
“I would like to thank the Children’s Commissioner and the Ofsted inspectors for producing these thorough reports. We will use the findings of the reports proactively to help guide our children’s services improvement programme.
“We’re really pleased that both reports acknowledge positive signs of improvement. We have been very open from the beginning of the programme that it will take time to see sustainable developments in the service and we are now beginning to see clear indications of progress.
“We recognise that we still have some work to do but we are in a considerably better place than we were two years ago. We have a refreshed and more focused Improvement Plan and we are determined to continue our work at pace to provide our children and families with the best services possible.”
You can view a full copy of the Ofsted report.
View the Children’s Commissioner’s 6 month progress report.