Recently in Ofsted Category

Morning all. Here's a quick round-up of interesting social care news I've spotted today, starting with a story in the Yorkshire Post that reports campaigners have called for tighter deadlines to publish serious case reviews in full. 

The Post reports that just seven of the 40 inquries into child deaths or serious abuse cases completed in the last 18 months have been published in full. 

Serious case reviews yet to be published in full, it reports, include the inquiries into the abduction of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews and the attacks on two boys in Edlington.

Cornwall Council says its social work department was not to blame for the suicide of a vulnerable schoolgirl, despite commissioning a report costing £100,000 which revealed serious failings by at least six care agencies, according to the Western Morning News.

The Daily Mail reports that 218 young people went missing from care in Ireland last year (although, if our investigation is anything to go by the true figure could be far higher).

And some more positive news: Cafcass' specialist child protection team, based at the organisation's National Business Centre in Coventry, has been rated 'good' by Ofsted.

Picture credit: comedy_nose

Peterborough city council DCS John Richards has stepped down following the publication of a damning Ofsted report this morning, according to reports.

Ofsted found the city to be inadequate in seven of the nine safeguarding categories.

Local reports have said that council bosses accepted Richards's resignation and have blamed his leadership for the poor report.

Some new appointments have been approved for Ofsted's board and it's difficult not to notice a slight bias towards the education side of things.

Paul Snell CBE, a trustee and council member at Action for Children, appears a bit of a token gesture among a number education experts appointed. Snell is the former chief inspector of the commission for social care inspection, and has also served as the interim chief executive of the General Social Care Council.

Andy Palmer, director of education and skills at BT, was also appointed. Ofsted said Palmer's "extensive knowledge and experience of work-based learning and industry engagement in the education system" supported his appointment.

John Roberts CBE is another education expert to be appointed. He was the non-executive director of BECTA (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency) until its closure in March 2011.

Sir Alan Steer, also appointed, is full of education credentials. He was initially appointed as a co-opted member of the Ofsted Board in September 2008 as an education expert. Prior to this, he was headteacher at Seven Kings School. He has also served as an education adviser to the government, specifically advising on behaviour and discipline in schools, and as pro-director of the Institute of Education. He is currently a director at the Teaching Awards and chair of the judging panel for the Ambition AXA Awards.

Another highlight is Professor Geoff Whitty CBE, the former director of the Institute of Education, University of London, and currently an advisor to the House of Commons Education Committee (though to be fair, the committee deals with social care issues as well).

Still though-- at a time when social workers are concerned that the government is too focused on education at the expense of social services, Ofsted's selection (approved by MIchael Gove, by the way) seems potentially poorly judged.

A former Munro adviser has been appointed Ofsted's new divisional manager for social care development, it was announced today.

Jacky Tiotto, who led the team of advisers for Eileen Munro's review of child protection, will help to develop and improve the watchdog's inspection of children's social care, beginning her post on 1 September. 

She was previously a senior deputy director at the Department for Education and headed up the National Safeguarding Delivery Unit. She was also a professional adviser to the 2009 Laming review of child protection.

John Goldup, Ofsted's national director for inspection development and strategy, said Tiotto would be joining the organisation "at a crucial time as we consult on the future shape of the inspection of local authority children's services".

Ofsted's latest round-up of children's centres inspections shows positive figures over the past year, with 28% receiving outstanding ratings for effectiveness of the centre's policy, procedures and working with key agencies in safeguarding children and, where applicable, vulnerable adults. 59% received a good rating in this area, while 12% were satisfactory. Only 1% were rated inadequate in this area.

This is an interesting one because anecdotally, we've been hearing that this isn't the case at all, with social workers saying they've been shocked by the lack of knowledge about safeguarding in children's centres. Makes you wonder what Ofsted's criteria is..
photo credit: srqpix

As John Goldup, Ofsted's social care director, revealed exclusively to Community Care last month, the watchdog is hoping to make changes to its framework for inspecting adoption and fostering services - and has today launched a consultation for practitioners to respond to.

Among the changes being considered by Ofsted: cutting notice periods for inspections from two months to just 10 working days and developing a more proportionate approach to inspections, which could involve inspecting outstanding-rated services less frequently.

Inspectors will also be asked to devote more attention to inspecting the quality of services and the outcomes actually achieved for children and young people.

The consultation is open from today and runs until 31 August, with key findings published at the end of the year. The new inspection frameworks will come into force in April 2012, shaped by the consultation results and a series of pilot inspections. Read our full story here.

While Sharon Shoesmith has taken centre stage in the Baby P disaster, there are complaints at Kent county council that no senior managers are being held accountable for the child protection failings identified by Ofsted in their inspection at the end of last year.

At a meeting of the authority's cabinet scrutiny committee on last week, Lib Dem leader councilor Trudy Dean said social workers were being left to take all the blame while senior managers were not held to account.

She said: "I think it's what members of the public expect and what social workers expect. They feel like they're being asked to carry the can on this when all evidence shows they were working well beyond their hours, were understaffed, not being managed properly and with an inadequate IT system.

"I think they have a right to know what was happening at a higher level."

Other reports have said, meanwhile, that the backlog within Kent's children's services (one of the failings Ofsted identified) will be cleared "within weeks".

Councillor Jenny Whittle said the figure for the number of children who haven't been allocated a social worker within 28 days was now down to 71.

Children's homes run by highly effective leaders who value their staff and are ambitious about children's futures are most likely to achieve excellent outcomes for children in care.

That was the message from Ofsted today as the watchdog published its latest report, Outstanding children's homes in a bid to improve practice across the residential sector. 

The report highlights 12 of the country's highest performing children's homes, all of which have demonstrated "consistently outstanding performance". They represent 12 of just 35 homes rated outstanding by Ofsted for the last three consecutive years, out of a possible 1,439.

The report raised concerns that quality is inconsistent across the sector, and that there are relatively few opportunities to share best practice. Ofsted urged the Department for Education to create more opportunities. 

Ministers should also drive improvements across the sector by using the skills and experience of those who run homes consistently rated outstanding, Ofsted recommended.
 
The report revealed highly effective leaders and well-trained, passionate residential staff - all of whom listen to children and share a vision for their future - are key to success. Managers are "visible, inclusive and interact frequently with staff and young people alike", inspectors found, while leaders "have a vision and purpose which is shared and supported by staff".
 
Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty's chief inspector, said: "Young people living in children's homes are some of the most vulnerable in the country and it is important that the care they receive is of a consistently high standard. However, inspection shows that too many establishments fluctuate in quality from one year to the next.
 
"This report shows that it is possible to provide the very best for children year after year and it is essential that others learn from the outstanding practice it highlights."

It is also crucial to appoint and develop the right people, Gilbert said. "Good staff have such an impact. They establish good relationships with the children and young people in their care, have the highest expectations of them and do all they can to support their development and their confidence. It is important we give recognition to the managers and staff in these outstanding children's homes for all their hard work and commitment."

Michael Gove has appointed a new Ofsted chairman, named as Baroness Sally Morgan of Huyton. She takes over from previous chair, Zenna Atkins, and will start on March 1st.

Gove said: "Sally is a hugely talented individual whose passion is improving education. She will ensure Ofsted focuses on improving our schools so we can match the world's best, and will help us make opportunity more equal for the poorest."

Baroness Morgan said: "I am delighted to be taking up this post. Ofsted has a crucial role to play in the drive to raise standards, especially for disadvantaged students."

She has been an adviser to the global board of ARK, a children's charity, since 2005 and serves on a number of public bodies. She was previously political secretary to Tony Blair, director of government relations at 10 Downing Street and a Minster of State at the Cabinet Office, for Equalities. She was created a life peer in 2001.