Just a quarter of local authority children’s services departments have been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, new figures reveal.
The government organisation inspected a total of 59 authorities between November 2013 and the end of the June this year. Fourteen – or 23.7 per cent – were declared ‘inadequate’ while 31 – 52.5 per cent – received a “requires improvement” assessment.
Just 14 children’s service departments were judged ‘good’ by Ofsted inspectors, and none at all received the ‘outstanding’ rating, the highest available assessment since the introduction of the so-called ‘single inspection framework’.
Child protection services received the worst rating, with that provided by one in five of all authorities judged ‘inadequate’ by the Ofsted inspectors, and a further 34 dubbed in need of improvement.
Ofsted chief operating officer Matthew Coffey said: “We are seeing a children’s services sector in transition, with some, but not yet enough, local authorities demonstrating they are working in a more child-centred way. The 14 local authorities judged to be good have shown they are putting the outcomes of children at the heart of their decision-making and practice.”
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