Ofsted to cut ‘on site’ inspections of children’s services
Ofsted is increase the number of inspectors in each of its inspection teams from seven to eight. The inspectorate claims the move will decrease the burden placed by its inspections on local authority...
View ArticleSurrey County Council dubbed ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted
The children’s services department of Surrey County Council has been declared ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, the fourth local authority to receive this rating in the last month. The inspectorate said it was...
View ArticleGovernment representative appointed for Sunderland children’s service
The government has appointed a special commissioner to oversee improvements to the children’s services department at Sunderland City Council. Nick Whitfield is chief executive of ‘social enterprise’...
View ArticleQuarter of care assessments ‘too slow’
Around a quarter of children’s care assessments take too long, a new official report claims. Government inspectorate Ofsted recently surveyed ten local authorities and 123 cases of children involved...
View ArticleOnly 25 per cent of local councils rated good by Ofsted
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...
View ArticleCharity calls for education on forced marriage
British schools should make greater efforts to teach young people about forced marriage, a charity has claimed. In an interview with the Observer, Jasvinder Sanghera said that “education is at the...
View ArticleOfsted highlights disadvantage amongst schoolchildren
Ofsted has criticised a local authority in Dorset, saying it has failed to tackle high levels of disadvantage amongst local pupils. The education inspectorate wrote to Poole Borough Counsel insisting...
View ArticleChildren’s homes criticised by Ofsted
Government inspectorate Ofsted has declared two residential children’s homes ‘inadequate’ after visits by inspectors. The first home, in Bristol, was criticised for “inappropriate restrictions” placed...
View ArticleNorfolk County Council ‘inadequate’ declares Ofsted
The children’s services department of Norfolk County Council has been declared “inadequate” for the second time in two years by Ofsted. The inspectorate listed a number of significant issues. Social...
View ArticleSignificant rise in serious incidents involving children
The number of ‘serious incidents’ involving children has risen significantly in the last year, Ofsted has reported. Local authorities must report any incident of harm or neglect of children to Ofsted...
View ArticleChildren have their say in Ofsted survey
The views of children in care have been highlighted by Ofsted for the first time in its annual survey. The government inspectorate polled more than 28,000 adults and children earlier this year....
View ArticleDivorce statistics, a Supreme Court decision and more: a week in family law
It has been a busy and interesting week… First up, statistics for divorces in England and Wales for 2013 have been published by the Office for National Statistics. Main points from the statistics...
View ArticleCouncil deemed ‘inadequate’ after death of ‘children in care’
Ofsted has declared a northern local authority “inadequate” following the deaths of three vulnerable children. In a newly published report, the organisation noted that all three youngsters died in...
View ArticleMore children being fostered by friends
More than 4,000 English children were fostered by family and friends in the 12 months to March – an increase of six per cent over the previous year. According to a new report from inspectorate Ofsted,...
View ArticleCouncil plans to privatise children’s services
Northamptonshire County Council has announced plans to transfer its children’s services to an independent organisation. The authority claims a trust would provide greater stability and cut costs,...
View ArticlePM threatens children’s services with takeover
Local authority children’s services judged to be failing could be taken over, the Prime Minister has announced. ‘Failing’ services, as assessed by Ofsted, could be allocated to charities, other local...
View ArticleMore children’s homes receive thumbs up from Ofsted
There has been a large rise in the number of children’s homes rated positively by Ofsted. A total of 959 children’s homes and residential schools were visited by Ofsted inspectors this year. Of those,...
View ArticleDevon local authority received second poor care rating
Torbay Council in Devon has received its second ‘inadequate’ rating in five years. After previously dubbing the local authority’s child protection services ‘inadequate’ in October 2010, Ofsted has now...
View ArticleOfsted plans children’s services re-inspection changes
Re-inspections of children’s services departments by Ofsted will in future be limited to areas of concern. Currently, when Ofsted returns to a local authority children’s department following an earlier...
View ArticleChildren’s services still ‘inadequate’ despite improvement
The children’s services in Slough have been rated “inadequate” by Ofsted despite some improvements. Inspectors found that too many children had been “left too long in situations of risk or where their...
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