Children's services in Northamptonshire rated requires improvement in latest Ofsted inspection

Children’s services across Northamptonshire still require improvement, Ofsted inspectors have said in their latest inspection report.

Northamptonshire Children’s Trust (NCT) was set up as the joint service for North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) and West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

Services were previously rated ‘inadequate’ in 2013 and again in 2019, with 16 areas for improvement identified. The number of recommendations has been more than halved.

The NCT provides social care to some of the county’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children, from the unborn to care leavers.

Julian Wooster, chairman of Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, said: “NCT have achieved a lot in the last two years, and I am very pleased that this has been acknowledged by Ofsted.

"Achieving the best possible outcomes for children, young people and families is at the heart of what we do and to see this recognised is fantastic especially in the challenging times that we are all facing.

“We know that social work is a challenging role which is why I was pleased that Ofsted Inspectors praised the positive relationships that social workers build with children and that they know their children well.

“Whilst this latest report is very encouraging, we know that we are on an ongoing improvement journey and there is no room for complacency. We recognise that we need to further improve our support to front-line social work practice and will continue to be ambitious for vulnerable children and young people in Northamptonshire.”

The report rated NCT in three areas: the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families; the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection and the experiences and progress of children in care and care leavers. All three were rated as ‘requires improvement to be good’ in their overall effectiveness.

Inconsistences across the service were highlighted saying some changes have been ‘too slow, with insufficient progress made in areas such as the response to neglect, exploitation and permanence’. They added that ‘the use of unregistered children’s homes, have not had sufficient senior management oversight’. Child in need and child protection plans were said to be ‘of varying quality’ and most not sufficiently ‘purposeful or time-specific’.

Inspectors said that too much focus was put on ‘risks and needs’, and not enough attention to the ‘impact of children’s experiences over time’ or to outcomes achieved.

Although child protection core group and child in need meetings are held regularly and include key agencies, they ‘focus primarily on the completion of actions and not sufficiently on the impact of services and interventions for children’. Of particular concern were outcomes for children living in situations of long-term neglect.

Ofsted inspectors said: “Children in need of help and protection in Northamptonshire receive much better support than they did at the time of the inspection in 2019. Early help support has been strengthened, children at risk of harm are identified and timely protective action is taken. Improvements to the quality and impact of social work practice are evident throughout the service, although practice is not yet consistent.

"Leaders have developed and implemented an early help offer, stabilised the workforce, embedded a much more positive culture across the service and caseloads have reduced. This has been achieved against a backdrop of the establishment of Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, the creation of two new unitary authorities, a change to the director of children’s services and the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Criticism was also made of service for children at risk of exploitation by criminals.

Inspectors said: “Services and systems are fragmented and lack cohesion across agencies to reduce risks, particularly for children at risk of criminal exploitation. This means that professionals in the services do not successfully engage with some children and screening is not integrated, so professionals do not have a full understanding of exploitation risks.

"The response to children at risk of sexual exploitation is stronger and better coordinated. The response to children who go missing from home and care does not contribute to making children safer. The trust has recently enhanced capacity in the team that provides return home interviews, but the interviews lack depth and fail to elicit the reasons why children go missing.”

Cllr Fiona Baker, cabinet member for children, families, education and skills at West Northamptonshire Council, said: “This report shows that children’s services really are improving in Northamptonshire. We know there is still progress to be made but I am confident that we are on the right trajectory. I would encourage skilled, experienced social work practitioners to join us and help us to achieve our ambitions for children and young people in Northamptonshire.”

Cllr Scott Edwards, executive member for children, families, education and skills at North Northamptonshire Council, said: “A lot of hard work has gone into improving children’s services, so it is great to see this being documented by Ofsted. It is pleasing to see that they recognise that the early help offer has strengthened so that children are identified early when they need help. However, we will not rest on our laurels and will strive to continuously improve services for children, young people and their families.”

The report praised the NCT team highlighting the ‘culture of support and kindness’. Care leavers described their personal advisers to inspectors as ‘amazing’ and ‘brilliant’.

Ofsted recognised that children in care are supported to take part in a wide range of leisure and social activities, promoting and celebrating their talents.

Inspectors praised the positive relationships that social workers build with children and that they know their children well.

The report also noted that children in foster care enjoy all the benefits of family life. Adopters benefit from the support of passionate, knowledgeable, and skilled social workers. Adopters reported positively about their preparation and journey to becoming adoptive parents.

To read the full Ofsted inspection reports, visit https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50200024 for North and https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50200026 for West.