Worcestershire children’s homes given top rating by Ofsted

CHILDREN’S homes in Worcestershire have been given top ratings in the latest Ofsted inspections. Three of the county’s four homes – Green Hill Lodge in Worcester, Downsell Road Children’s Home in Redditch and Hillview in Malvern – were each deemed outstanding by inspectors, while Vale Lodge in Evesham was judged good with three outstanding areas.

The news comes nearly 18 months after Worcestershire County Council was given an improvement notice following an inspection by Ofsted and Care Quality Commission, which judged the overall effectiveness of the council’s Safeguarding Services to be inadequate and made findings of poor performance in safeguarding children and young people.

Funding to increase capacity in frontline social care safeguarding services was boosted by an extra £500,000 in 2011/12 and in March, Ofsted deemed Safeguarding Services adequate with leadership and management judged as good.

Councillor Liz Eyre , Worcestershire County Council’s leader member for children’s services, said: “The highest standard of provision for looked after children is so important. The Green Hill Lodge Ofsted report is very welcome news, which supports the reports we receive from children and young people who use these homes.

“This is further evidence that Worcestershire takes seriously the wellbeing of looked-after children as part of its corporate parenting duties in addition to the constant stretch to embed and improve safeguarding practices. I congratulate the staff at all levels and the management for their continued efforts to achieve this outstanding result.”

Worcestershire County Council’s Safeguarding Services for Children and Young People is responsible for all four of Worcestershire’s residential children’s homes, which together care for 26 children at any one time.

This includes emergency placements, placements for children with disabilities, care for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties and medium-stay placements.