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LGA - Proposed changes to Ofsted inpsections don't go far enough

As an Ofsted consultation on the re-inspection of inadequate children's services closes, council leaders have argued that proposed changes don't go far enough to improve services for vulnerable children.

Analysis carried out for the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents over 370 councils in England, shows that Ofsted is falling significantly short of its purpose to help providers improve, inadvertently creating an environment where it is harder for authorities to achieve higher ratings. The analysis, by iMPOWER Consulting, found that where a council receives an "inadequate" rating for its children's services, rather than acting as a catalyst for improvement, this locked councils behind an insurmountable barrier to improvement as morale dropped, staff resigned, and negative publicity made recruitment of permanent, high quality staff difficult.

The LGA is joining forces with Solace, which represents over 1300 Chief Executives and senior managers, to call for the current Single Inspection Framework (SIF) to be replaced by sector-led, multi-agency inspections that will make sure councils can use the process to turn around under-performing services.

Cllr Roy Perry, Chairman of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, said:

"It's clear that the Single Inspection Framework for children's services isn't working. Despite national data showing improvement in most areas of children's services since 2007, Ofsted ratings have been falling, giving more councils poor judgements which then act as barriers to improvement. 

"We need a new inspection framework that looks at the contributions of all agencies involved and supports councils to improve, providing a narrative rather than a simplistic rating that cannot take into account the complexities of the service. Good local authorities are best placed to support other councils to turn around their services, helping to implement the changes needed to provide the best possible care and protection for our most vulnerable children."

Graeme McDonald, Director of Solace, said:

"It is vital that councils provide the best possible support and protection for children in need, and that they should be challenged and supported to raise their standards where this is not the case. However, the current Ofsted inspection regime has often hindered rather than helped these efforts; typically having a disproportionate impact on the local authority and failing to appreciate the many agencies that all play a part in a child's welfare. The reforms proposed by Ofsted do not, as yet, go far enough to remedy this".

The framework proposed by the LGA and Solace would see an integrated approach featuring robust unannounced inspections of "front door" – contact, referral and assessment – arrangements across all agencies involved, along with thematic studies as the bedrock of improvement, identifying and sharing good practice across the sector. Any serious concerns or inadequacies found at an unannounced inspection would then trigger a full inspection. This would not only reduce the administrative burden on all agencies involved, but allow for targeted and proportionate inspection focussed on improvement.

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