Havering Council have provided an update on children’s social care improvements since the Ofsted rating in December 2023.
Councillor Oscar Ford, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
"One year on from the ‘Inadequate’ Ofsted rating in December 2023, the Starting Well Children’s Social Care Service have been working intensely, with support from the wider Council and partners, to deliver the necessary improvements.
"In early October, Ofsted undertook their first monitoring visit which was closely followed by the first review by the Department for Education (DfE) in mid-November.
"Both Ofsted and the DfE recognised a significant amount of work has been undertaken since the improvement notice was issued.
"This includes a large scale reorganisation of the statutory social work teams to create a Corporate Parenting service and a separate Safeguarding service.
"This was finalised in July 2024 and work has been ongoing since then to recruit to the additional posts that were created, with a focus on retaining and appointing permanent staff.
"Work continues on the reorganisation of our remaining service areas (Early Help, MASH and Specialist Safeguarding), with a consultation due to launch imminently.
"This follows the conclusion of a reorganisation of some teams in the education service, including the creation of additional capacity in the team that undertakes our Education, Health and Care Plans for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
"The positive impact of the new social care structure was recognised by both Ofsted and the DfE, noting that there is now more connection within the services and practice improvements are being further supported.
"It was also noted that caseloads have been brought down to more manageable levels (albeit it with some significant complexities) which is helping to improve staff morale.
"Staff are also positive about the piloting of AI tools which are helping them to work more efficiently.
"Ofsted inspectors saw evidence of effective assessments, creative direct work and purposeful visits.
"It was also noted that strategy meetings and child protection conferences are well attended by partner agencies, and that partners are sharing information and contributing well to support assessments.
"The effectiveness of the safeguarding partnership was also noted by the DfE, recognising the good access to training and the improved application of the escalation process by all partners.
"Whilst we are proud of our achievements so far, we also recognise that there is still more to do and we are only part way through our improvement journey.
"We know that we need to make sure our audit processes are as effective as possible, this includes ensuring everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities within the process and that it is as supportive as possible in order to enact positive change.
"We also need to make improvements to our case management system to ensure that it is an enabler for good practice, and not a barrier.
"Improvement work in both of these areas is underway, including a partnership with Islington Council to review our case management system.
"Both Ofsted and the DfE recognised the commitment from the wider Council in supporting the improvements, particularly in the midst of challenging financial circumstances.
"Additional funds of just over £11m were allocated to children’s services in 2024-2025 and the implementation of the improvement plan is expected to cost an additional £5m.
"The budget settlement for 2025-26 from the Government sadly goes nowhere in helping to respond to the increase in costs of a growing children’s population and an increase of those who have complex needs.
"Although there was a slight increase, we are acutely aware that it will not be enough to meet all of our financial pressures and we are continuing to lobby Government to resolve the wider issue of inadequate funding across all Council services.
"Havering Starting Well Service, and Havering Council, remain committed to improving services for children and families and look forward to continuing to our work in the coming year alongside support from Ofsted and the Department for Education."