Ofsted consults on children’s social care inspections

Ofsted is proposing changes to how it inspects both local authority services and social care providers in the children’s market.

Changes aim to better align its framework for inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) and the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

Proposals set out in a consultation include the removal of the ‘overall experiences and progress’ judgement for providers inspected under the SCCIF. Both the ILACS framework and the SCCIF would be updated to introduce a five-point grading scale and report cards, which aim to offer a clearer and more nuanced way of presenting inspection findings.

The consultation also focuses on how inspection can play its role in making sure the best decision-making for children, especially those with the most complex lives. There has been a growing use of illegal, unregistered children’s homes, which are not inspected or regulated by Ofsted, posing risks to children. Last week, Catalyst Care Ltd and its directors were sentenced for operating unregistered children’s homes in Kent, following prosecution by Ofsted.

Behind the growth is an issue of ‘sufficiency’ – the amount of suitable accommodation available for children in care and care leavers. Measures proposed outline a vision to eliminate unsafe and unvetted placements by carrying out a more comprehensive evaluation of how leaders are meeting their sufficiency duty. This would include making use of unregistered children’s homes a limiting criterion in the ILACS framework, meaning that a local authority would not be meeting the ‘expected standard’ in the proposed ‘impact of leaders’ evaluation area.

There is also a proposal to change the scheduling of ILACS. A standard inspection of a local authority would be every four years (plus or minus six months), while focused and monitoring visits would be carried out between inspections.

‘Under our proposals, local authorities that have not done enough to secure safe and legal places for children to live will have this reflected in their judgements,’ said Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty’s chief inspector.

‘The changes we are proposing will work in parallel with the government’s reforms, so that Ofsted plays its part in ensuring children and young people in our social care system are happy, safe and able to reach their full potential.

‘We’re clear that only by working together with children, young people, families and practitioners can we secure lasting improvement in children’s social care,’ he said.

As well as inviting responses through the online survey, Ofsted will hold discussions with stakeholders about the proposals, including children, young people, parents, carers, families, local authorities, social care providers, inspectors, social care experts, and the Department for Education.

The consultation runs until 28 September. Click here for more details.