Ofstead Rates Child Social Care Services In Royal Greenwich `GOOD'

by our RBG Correspondent In Woolwich

Services for looked after children and those in need of help and protection in Royal Greenwich have been rated ‘Good’ in an inspection by Ofsted.

Only 25% of children’s services across England achieve a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ rating, meaning the borough is in the top 25% of local authorities for how it cares for children.

The inspection thoroughly examined the borough’s child protection, adoption and ‘looked after children’ services and found that “vulnerable children and their families benefit from good support from the Royal Borough of Greenwich children’s services.”

Praise is also levelled at social workers in the borough in the report, which says “direct work is of a high standard” and that the Royal Borough has ”invested heavily in developing a culture where good social work can flourish”, noting that the majority of social workers are permanent staff and not from agencies.

The Ofsted inspectors also praised the borough’s adoption services saying; “the quality of this work is high, with a particular focus on ensuring good outcomes for hard-to-place children.”

The report makes recommendations for further improvements to ensure that all services are as good as the best.

Overall, the report noted that the borough is, “a strong and effective corporate parent” with ”a commitment to improving outcomes for all children and young people looked after by the local authority”.

Councillor Miranda Williams (top right), the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People said: “Looking after children and families who need our help is arguably the most important duty we carry out as a local authority. I’m therefore delighted to see our services performing so well – Ofsted has recognised that we provide good support across the board to some of the most needy people in our borough."

She said: "I’m particularly pleased the report also highlights the work we do to recruit and retain really good social workers and I thank each and every one of these staff members for the work that they do, dealing sensitively with what are often very difficult circumstances for the children and their families. We know there are still areas we need to improve on and we are committed to making it an absolute priority to ensure these are addressed as quickly as possible.”