Rotherham Borough Council children’s services ‘transformed’, say Ofsted

GOVERNMENT inspectors have ruled Rotherham Borough Council’s children’s services have been “transformed” after its previous inspection found “widespread and serious failures”.

Oftsed has rated the services "good" overall following an inspection last November.

The service had been judged to be failing following the publication of the Jay Report in 2014, which found up to 1,400 children were sexually abused between 1997 and 2013.

The report, published today, said services to children in need of help and protection were now good and there was an “effective multi-agency response to children in need of help and protection".

Lead inspector Lisa Summers said: “The local authority has taken a systematic and rigorous approach to improvement since the last Oftsed inspection in 2014, which identified widespread and series failures for children in need of help and protection and children looked after.

“The recruitment of effective senior managers has resulted in sustained improvement.

“The quality and impact of services for children are transformed. 

“Risks to children are recognised early and responded to, ensuring their safety.

“The corporate response and associated change in the quality of children’s services has been impressive.”

The experiences and progress of care leavers was rated "outstanding" after previously being rated as "inadequate" in 2014.

But children looked after and achieving permanence still needed to be improved, but the report said the council was tackling this.