Ofsted praises Islington’s children’s care services

Ofsted has rated Islington Council’s children’s social care services as ‘outstanding’ and praised its ‘unwavering commitment to improving and enriching the lives of children and their families’.

A new report published by the watchdog highlighted ‘sustained investment in early help and universal services’, which mean that families ‘can access high-quality help when needs first arise’.

The inspectors also praised the hard work and dedication of council staff, from care workers to leaders, who have taken the service from ‘good’ overall to ‘outstanding’ in just three years.

An Ofsted team visited the service in early March, shortly before the outbreak of coronavirus in the UK led to a temporary suspension of all routine inspections.

‘Each day, our dedicated staff work hard to make a positive difference to the lives of vulnerable children, young people and families. I’d like to thank them all for the great pride they take in their work,’ said Islington’s corporate director of people, Carmel Littleton.

‘We will never be complacent and there are areas we want to improve even further, and we will use today’s report to help make sure our services work even more effectively to protect children and young people, and give support to families and carers.’

The London borough’s executive member for children, young people and families, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz, added: ‘I am over the moon about the outcome of the inspection. Keeping children and young people safe and getting families the help they need quickly, so they can flourish, is what motivates all of us involved with children’s services in Islington and this shone through the inspection.

‘Islington’s administration has protected funding for children’s services despite years of government cuts and remains committed to funding children’s social care so that this vital work can continue.’

The report’s findings include:

• Children and families in Islington benefit from well-established and appropriately targeted early help services
• Prompt and effective action is taken to safeguard and protect children who are at immediate risk of harm
• Allegations against adults who work or volunteer with children are taken seriously and responded to swiftly
• Disabled children and their families receive timely responses that take into account parental support and the child’s needsPhoto Credit – Jarmoluk (Pixabay)