Most councils achieved one of the top two grades for children’s services in the first annual performance assessment covering children’s social care and education.
Ofsted announced that 8 per cent achieved grade 4 and 67 per cent grade 3, with just 1 per cent scoring a grade 1, while 87 per cent scored in the top two grades in terms of their capacity to improve.
Performance was better in education than in children’s social care, with 76 per cent scoring a grade 3 or 4 in the former compared with 65 per cent in the latter.
Knowsley was the best performer among the four beacon councils for integrated children’s services, scoring 4 for both performance and capacity, while Essex, Telford and Wrekin and West Sussex all scored 3 in both categories.
Of authorities with long-standing children’s services departments, Hertfordshire scored 3 for performance and 4 for capacity, and Brighton and Hove 3 in both categories.
Several councils that performed significantly better in education than children’s social services last year saw their scores converge this year.
For instance, Cumbria, which scored 4 for education and 1 for children’s social care services last year, scored 2 for both this year.
Joint children’s gradings positive
November 30, 2005 in Community Care
More from Community Care
Related articles:
Job of the week
Featured jobs
Employer Zone
‘Solutions can’t be scripted here – you have to be creative’
Putting a team around the social worker to make a difference to families
How working in residential care enables staff to build one-on-one relationships with young people
‘We will always challenge ourselves to transform our services to improve outcomes for children and families’
‘It’s our job is to observe the child, find their voice and be their advocate’
Employer zone – showcasing a selection of the sector’s top recruiters
Community Care Inform
Latest stories
Cafcass ‘in serious jeopardy’ regarding social work staffing due to pay constraints
‘Serious procedural failings’ led council to wrongly believe man posed risk to son, finds ombudsman
‘Passionate’ social workers help council gain outstanding rating, despite workforce challenges
TV investigation aims to highlight trauma faced by families from wrongful child protection action
Comments are closed.