Ofsted praises Essex children’s services improvements

Essex County Council’s efforts to improve the performance of its beleaguered children’s services department have been praised by Ofsted inspectors.

Following an unannounced inspection of its contact, referral and assessment work in March inspectors found no areas for priority action.

This comes after a string of damning inspection reports over the past three years. As recently as December last year Essex was one of 12 councils to receive Ofsted’s lowest grade of “performing poorly” in the watchdog’s annual assessments.

Changes that impressed inspectors were an emphasis on auditing work and the launch of a “safeguarding improvement project,” which had “assisted staff to raise standards”.

The council’s initial referral team was proving “effective in providing timely and appropriate responses to contacts and referrals”.

Inspectors also noted that social workers felt they were well supported by managers and that their caseloads were manageable.

Despite the turnaround, areas in need of improvement remain. The common assessment framework is not “fully embedded” and early intervention work is in its infancy and has yet to show it is improving families’ lives according to inspectors.

It was also found that “too many assessments lack sufficient analysis” and further work is needed to ensure children’s views are heard.

Councillor Sarah Candy, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “I am pleased the findings of the Ofsted inspection show that we have now turned the corner in our improvement journey and are delivering our promise to improve our quality of social work practice.”