Sowerby Bridge News

Improving Local Services to Children and Young People

Calderdale’s Director of Children and Young People’s Services, Janet Donaldson, says the Council and partner organisations will improve a range of services to children and young people.

In their annual rating, Ofsted inspectors say Calderdale’s Children’s Services are performing adequately.

Inspectors found good practice in a number of areas, including:

• the fostering service
• nursery schools
• special schools and
• the Council’s Pupil Referral Unit
• safeguarding practice in schools and other settings

They also found exceptional performance in two of the Council’s four children’s homes – one was found to be good and the other was outstanding.

But they also identified areas for further improvement, including:

• the need to improve the effectiveness of joint investigations involving social workers and the police in relation to child protection concerns
• the need to address a lack of thorough investigation to ensure the safety of children
• weaknesses in relation to the completion of social care assessments in a timely manner.

Janet Donaldson says that since the inspections earlier this year, the Council has already identified the areas that need to be addressed.

“Two of the issues identified in the Unannounced inspection of Referral and Assessment were resolved immediately and work is ongoing to improve the timeliness of assessments.

“While inspectors found a great deal of good practice, merely performing adequately is not where we want to be. We need to take further decisive action to address some of the issues raised in the report and we are absolutely committed to providing the highest quality services.”

“We are determined to ensure that Calderdale is a place where every child and young person thrives, is safe and happy, and we are working closely with our partners to address all of the issues identified by Ofsted inspectors.”