Inspection into Sheffield Council’s children’s services finds improvements

A report presented to the council’s Education, Children and Families Policy committee yesterday (December 19) found that many services for children and families in Sheffield have improved since the previous inspection in 2019 when the local authority was judged to be good overall.

At the time though, inspectors said it required improvement in help and protection – now judged to be good.

This September, Sheffield Children’s Service was inspected by Ofsted, with the inspectorate judging the overall outcome as “good” with children in need of care “outstanding”, committee members were told.

Areas such as “the experiences and progress of care leavers”, “the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families” and “the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection” were graded as “good”.

Lead inspector Rachel Griffiths said: “This improvement has been supported by a child-focused, stable, consistent and skilled workforce, who share senior leaders’ commitment to supporting children to remain living within their family network if possible, and a well-embedded practice model.

“These aspects, as well as investment in and implementation of high-quality early help, are making a tangible and positive difference to the lives of children and families in Sheffield.”

However, her report also mentioned key areas where the services need to be improved.

These are:

The consistency of the use of chronologies to inform assessments and planning.

The quality and impact of return home interviews for children who go missing.

Timely access and support for care leavers in relation to their mental health.

The quality and consistency of the recording of case supervision to promote reflection and learning for workers.

Members agreed to write reports bearing in mind the language so more children and young people could read them and “engage” with the work the committee is doing.

The full report can be found here: https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=65071