Worcestershire County Council not doing enough to keep children safe
December 9, 2010 12:00 AM
By Malvern Gazette in Malvern Gazette
By Malvern Gazette in Malvern Gazette
WORCESTERSHIRE County Council is not doing enough to safeguard young people, an Ofsted report has found.
The authority is one of 12 councils across England that has been condemned by the watchdog for its children's services department not meeting minimum requirements.
In an annual assessment, published today, it was rated as performing poorly and not fulfilling its duties to safeguarding services and looked after children services.
Ofsted's Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert said: "The minority of councils that are performing poorly were put in this category primarily because they are not doing enough to keep children safe.
"Inadequacies have been identified in their approach to safeguarding children.
"These authorities know where improvements are needed and have plans in place to improve.
"There is much they can learn from the examples of those authorities who are performing well and excellently."
The council pledged to continue making improvements to children's services.
Gail Quinton, director of children's services, said: "We recognise the need to improve on our safeguarding services and looked after children services, which the overall rating of the annual assessment is directly linked to.
"We are working hard in these areas to complete the immediate and short-term improvements needed as swiftly as possible.
"While our overall assessment rating has been graded as poor by the inspectors due to our performance in safeguarding and looked after children, they have also identified many areas across our directorate where we have improved and are good or better.
"I am especially pleased to see that the improvements we have made in educational performance over the last year have been recognised."
Councillor Liz Eyre, lead member for children's services, added: "Performing poorly is an understandable judgement in view of the recent safeguarding and looked after children inspection findings.
"We can assure residents that beneath this phrase, we are working with our partners to address the immediate, and longer-term issues highlighted through an effective Improvement Board.
"We recognise there is more work to do and are working hard to ensure we continue to move in the right direction."
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