Peterborough City Council has been issued with an improvement notice following an Ofsted report that raised concerns about the local authority’s children’s services.
Following a focused visit to Peterborough children’s services, Ofsted wrote to the council in May warning the authority that the safeguarding arrangements in place were ‘not effectively promoting the protection of children.’
The letter also warned that risks and needs were ‘not fully understood or responded to in a timely way.’
The improvement notice said that the council’s improvement plan must cover the areas of concern highlighted by Ofsted and by an adviser who will be appointed by the secretary of state.
The plan must be overseen by an improvement board with an independent chair, and the board should be provided with reports detailing the impact of the improvements undertaken by the council.
The Department for Education will review progress against the improvement agenda every six months and more regularly where appropriate.
John Gregg, executive director for Children’s Services, said: ‘We welcome the appointment of an adviser and Improvement Board and recognise and appreciate the support this will bring in meeting the aims of our Improvement Plan as quickly as possible.
‘We assure our residents, our children, young people, their families and the DfE that everyone in Peterborough City Council, along with our partners, will give the adviser and Improvement Board their full support to accelerate improvements.’
