'Good' Ofsted rating for Central Bedfordshire Council's children's services, despite three areas of concern highlighted in report

Ofsted inspectors visited the local authority last month, and have graded five key areas ‘good’. These are the:

• impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families;
• experiences and progress of children who need help and protection;
• experiences and progress of children in care;
• experiences and progress of care leavers;
• and the overall effectiveness of children’s services.

“Central Bedfordshire has continued to provide a good offer for children and families since the last inspection in 2022, when children’s services were judged to be ‘good’,” according to the report.

“The areas for development identified at previous inspections have been addressed successfully and other services positively developed,” added the report. “The local authority has prioritised investment in support for the most vulnerable children.

“Improvements in services are making a tangible difference to children and families. Particular strengths are relational social work practice with families and the quality of direct work with children.

“Effective services to young carers, those at risk of exploitation and those children aged 16 or 17 who present as homeless offer specific support to these vulnerable groups of children.

“Most children in care are making progress, and are living in safe and stable homes, and care leavers receive sensitive support from their personal advisers as they transition to adulthood.

“Senior leaders are well-informed by a detailed and accurate self-evaluation, which identifies areas where further strategic attention is needed. There are firm plans in place to address these.”

Areas needing further improvement are “the effectiveness of the emergency duty team in supporting children at night and at weekends, the timeliness of permanence decisions for some children in care, and the participation of children in care and care leavers in service development”.

Expanding on the five areas marked ‘good’, the report explained: “Services for children who need help and protection in Central Bedfordshire are strong.

“Improvements have been made in developing a multi-agency safeguarding hub. Children requiring targeted support are promptly assigned to locality-based practitioners and family help partners.

“These work closely with social workers to deliver child-centred support that helps children remain safely with their families. The quality of information about children and their experiences provided by partner agencies to the hub is variable and referrals from the police are often delayed.

“For a few contacts, there are significant gaps in basic information, including names and dates of birth, or clear details about the concerns about children. Children’s voices and experiences are too often missing.

“This creates extra pressure and work for practitioners in the hub and avoidable delay in decisions for some children,” added the report. “A daily multi-agency meeting is held in the hub to review referrals swiftly for children at risk of harm from domestic abuse.”

Executive member for children’s services and Independent Leighton Linslade South councillor Steve Owen said: “We’re delighted Ofsted has recognised the hard work, dedication and passion of our staff and partners.

“This includes excellent leaders, managers, practitioners and support staff. We’ll be working towards an ‘outstanding’ rating at the next inspection in three years’ time.”