Ofsted praise Lincolnshire County Council for its children's services

Ofsted has praised the support and services for children in care provided by Lincolnshire County Council.
Ofsted has praised the support and services for children in care provided by Lincolnshire County Council.Ofsted has praised the support and services for children in care provided by Lincolnshire County Council.
Ofsted has praised the support and services for children in care provided by Lincolnshire County Council.

Inspectors recently carried out a visit to children’s services, looking at the arrangements for permanency planning and achieving a permanent place to live for children in care.

Coun Patricia Bradwell, executive councillor for children’s services, said: “Overall, inspectors found leaders to be ambitious for children in care, that they know their services well and prioritise resources to help social work to flourish.

“This results in stable and experienced teams who deliver high quality social work which improves outcomes for children in Lincolnshire.

“I’m well aware of the excellent support we give in this area to some of our more vulnerable young people.

“It’s good to see this is recognised and highlighted by Ofsted in their impressive report back to the council.”

Debbie Barnes, director of children’s services, added: “Throughout the visit inspectors considered a range of evidence, including discussions with social workers, senior managers and independent reviewing officers.

“It provided an opportunity for us to showcase the fantastic work we do to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children and families in Lincolnshire.

“I’m particularly pleased that inspectors commended the professional attitude of staff who do so much to ensure support for our looked after children is of such high quality.”

Other feedback from the visit includes:

• Good-quality direct work with children is helping them make sense of their life experiences.

• Strong use of children’s networks of family and friends results in a high proportion of children appropriately leaving care through special guardianship.

• Children benefit from trusting relationships with their social workers, who know them well.

• Children’s contact arrangements with families support them to retain their important relationships.

• Foster carers’ relationships with children are carefully considered in matching decisions.

Lincolnshire County Council say it will target a few areas that would benefit from further strengthening which are mentioned in the report.