Dan Peters 24 May 2019

'Slow progress' two years after inadequate judgement

Gloucestershire CC is making ‘slow progress’ in improving its services for its children and young people two years after it was judged inadequate, Ofsted has found.

In a letter, inspector Nicola Bennett wrote: ‘Overall, key areas that make a difference to children’s lives, such as being seen quickly, being kept safe and developing trusting relationships with social workers, are not yet good enough.

‘Despite a number of practice improvements in the multi-agency safeguarding hub and, although performance is improving, delays in decision-making remain for too many children where there are immediate safeguarding concerns.

‘A significant concern remains that only just over half of children referred to children’s services remain a timely visit to assess their circumstances and ascertain their welfare.

'Performance over time is not improving.

‘The views of children and young people are not routinely represented at child protection meetings and, where young people are not consistently engaged, the effectiveness of interventions is reduced.

‘Management oversight is not yet sufficiently rigorous or challenging to ensure that children’s circumstances are improving within reasonable timescales.’

Gloucestershire’s cabinet member for children and young people, Richard Boyles, said: ‘The team continue to work hard to make the changes needed to improve the lives of our most vulnerable children and young people in the county.

‘The senior leadership team has a vision and a plan to get there.

'We need to keep up the recruitment drive for permanent social workers and work closely with teams to make sure good practice is common across all areas.’

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Residential Assistant

Essex County Council
£25081.00 - £25395.00 per annum
Residential AssistantPermanent, Full Time£25,081 up to £25,395 per annumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Senior Planning Officer

Durham County Council
Grade 11 £39,513 to £43,693 Grade 12 £42,708 to £46,731 per annum (Pay Award Pending)
Durham County Council is looking for experienced and knowledgeable Senior Planning Officers to join our vibrant Development Management team. Our team Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Head of Service – Social Care

Wrexham County Borough Council
G15 £63,148 - £67,058 per annum
There is an exciting opportunity within Children Social Care to join the senior management team Wrexham (Wrecsam)
Recuriter: Wrexham County Borough Council

Head of Service Social Work & Specialist Support

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Grade M scp 60 £72,118 - scp 64 £77,293
There couldn’t be a more exciting time to join us. Blackburn, Lancashire
Recuriter: Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council

Cafe Assistant - Weald Country Park

Essex County Council
Up to £13.3000 per hour
Café Assistant (Weald Country Park)Contract
Recuriter: Essex County Council
Linkedin Banner