Rotherham judged among country's best for children's services
CHILDREN and young people’s services in Rotherham have been given an ‘outstanding’ rating by Ofsted - putting the council among the country’s top performers.
It continues a remarkable turnaround for the authority, which was subject to Government intervention a decade again, following the ‘grooming’ scandal.
Inspectors visited in the autumn and judged the service to be outstanding – their highest ranking – in four out of five areas.
They praised the specialist support Rotherham Council offers for vulnerable children, with the report stating: “Children at risk of going missing from home and being exploited receive a highly effective service from Evolve, the specialist exploitation team.
“Skilled practitioners build trusting relationships through consistent, trauma-informed engagement, enabling disclosure and strengthening proactive factors.”
The council’s performance was judged to have improved since an inspection in 2022, with inspectors reporting: “Services for children, young people and families in Rotherham have improved further, driven by a confident leadership team with strong corporate and political backing.”
They identified that experiences of children – and their views – were central to decision-making, with the council maintaining a strong culture of learning as part of its commitment to families.
That also involved working in conjunction with other organisations, with inspectors finding: “Assessments were thorough, child-focused and grounded in the experiences and voices of children and families.”
Areas judged outstanding were the impact of leaders on social work practice; the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection; the experiences and progress of children in care; overall effectiveness.
Experiences and progress of care leavers was deemed ‘good’.
Rotherham Council has focused strongly in recent years on improving services and the authority has credited the “years of dedicated work by local workers, practitioners, leaders and partners” for the result.
It puts Rotherham among an elite group of only nine local authorities nationally to hold both the Ofsted accolade and a top SEND outcome, for the way it deals with those who have special educational needs and disabilities.
Cllr Victoria Cusworth, Cabinet member for the service, said: “It shows the progress made over many years and they everyday efforts of our teams and partners.
“Most importantly, it reflects that children’s voices truly shape what we do.
“We will continue to strengthen support, reduce risk and help every child in Rotherham to fulfil their potential.”