WORCESTERSHIRE'S Children Services has been rated ‘good’ by OFSTED after being previously requiring improvement.

The local authority had previously been judged inadequate in 2016, and following statutory direction from the Department for Education, the council agreed to work in partnership to create Worcestershire Children First (WCF), a wholly owned council company.

The last full inspection, published on July 29 2019, saw every category rated as 'requiring improvement to be good'. 

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In the report published on Friday, July 14, inspectors noted that progress has been made in many areas where improvements were needed.

The WCF senior leadership team were said to have continued to work effectively with political leaders and partners to improve children’s experiences.

Alongside these changes and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was also mention of continued progress in improvements to the early help offer and strengthening the family front door.

Strong work with children and families to divert children from care and to improve the timeliness of care proceedings is leading to positive changes for children, say inspectors.

Most children’s outcomes improve as a result of family-focused, child-centred early help and proportionate statutory intervention when this is in the best interests of children.

Tina Russell, director for Children Services and chief executive for Worcestershire Children First, said: “We are delighted to receive a Good rating from OFSTED, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff across all our services.

“We remain committed to ongoing development, learning and improvement as we implement our business planning and response to the Government’s Care Review ‘Stable Homes Built on Love’.”

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Despite the overall good rating, there were still areas which the inspector said needed improvement. 

Effective analysis of risk by the local authority designated officer team and consistent service for all children in care, including the timely progression of their plans for permanence, needed improvement.

Consistency in the leaving care service received by care leavers who are subject to special guardianship orders and children and care leavers’ participation in influencing service delivery and strategic developments also required improvement.