Improvements recognised in the Council’s children’s services

A Monitoring Visit carried out by His Majesty’s Inspectors from OFSTED reported that a ‘now permanent and experienced senior leadership team have energised and escalated the pace of improvement in this practice area’. ‘The now permanent senior leadership team have a strong insight into practice quality and child experience’ and  ‘newer workers told inspectors that they chose North East Lincolnshire because they are excited by the noticeable changes and want to be part of the improvements for children’.

Inspectors found ‘when there are concerns about children’s safety, protective responses are timely and effective’ and that ‘Professional relationships have significantly improved and there is increasing confidence from partner agencies in both social workers practice and management decision making’.

Councillor Margaret Cracknell, portfolio holder for children and education at the Council, said that she was reassured by the consistent improvement.

“Ofsted have made it clear that North East Lincolnshire is seeing good progress being made in how we support our children and families.

“We know that there is continuous need for development that we are working on every day, but one of the things that the inspectors commented on was our own self-assessment – that we know where these areas are and that we have plans to continue to improve.

“The progress in North East Lincolnshire is shown in some of the numbers, particularly in relation to social work recruitment whereby Ofsted have recognised the number of permanent staff rising from 30% to 70% since the last judgement inspection.

“Ofsted also commented on the positive atmosphere and working environment supported by the effectiveness of our recruitment strategy. Attracting qualified social workers to join our team has been a priority, and it’s good to see more and more social workers joining us.

“I’m really pleased with the way that the service has come together to continue the improvement journey. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the staff for their continuing work.”

Speaking following the latest visit, Director of Children’s Services at North East Lincolnshire Council, Ann-Marie Matson, said that there had been some good progress, but there is always more to do.

She said: “Staff are working incredibly hard to continue to build on the standards of practice alongside our partners and we are really starting to see the impact this is making on children’s lives.

“We have recruited more permanent social workers to our team, meaning that case loads are starting to come down and that, crucially, children and families are seeing a level of consistency in who is working with them.

“There is clearly some way to go, but we are reassured that Ofsted have seen the progress that we are making and they have acknowledged that we have a good understanding of what our challenges are.”

The Ofsted letter, published following the most recent monitoring visit, can be found at: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50259503.

There's so much positivity happening across North East Lincolnshire. The vibe,  the atmosphere, the sense of team with that relentless focus, really is indescribable.

If you would like to be part of something absolutely lifechanging, where you can make  a real difference in people's lives, please get in touch. Come and be part of the positive! Visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/socialworkjobs.