01/2012 - Leading care charity cautious about Ofsted’s new inspection proposals

31 January 2012

Ofsted has announced today a major rethink on proposals for how it inspects children’s services provided by local authorities, first made by the inspection body in July 2011.

Leading charity for children in care, The Who Cares? Trust, welcomes the change of heart but remains concerned that inspectors will still not talk to children and young people enough to get a true picture of the quality of services that exist to help and support them.

In the original proposals, published in July 2011, Ofsted said it would:

•    wait up to five years between each inspection of a local authority’s child protection services; and
•    only inspect a sample of 20 local authorities looked-after children services  each year.

The Who Cares? Trust has been campaigning against these proposals on the grounds that they cut corners and risked allowing poor standards of care to continue unchallenged.   

Today Ofsted has announced that it will:

•    inspect all child protection services once every three years; and
•    abandon plans to sample 20 local authorities and reinstate universal inspection for looked-after children services.

The Ofsted announcement includes details of how inspections for child protection will take place but fuller proposals for how Ofsted will inspect looked-after children services have been delayed.  

Natasha Finlayson, Chief Executive of The Who Cares? Trust, said:

“Children in care deserve to know whether they are receiving the best quality help.  The Who Cares? Trust believes that independent scrutiny of the services provided for them is a vital part of ensuring that this happens.  

‘Ofsted’s original proposals put that scrutiny at risk and we are pleased they have recognised the need to continue to inspect all local authorities’ looked-after children services.

‘However, the report published today does not say how they will inspect looked-after children services.  We are keen to see Ofsted produce an approach that demonstrably has children and young people in care and leaving care at its heart.”

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Notes to editors

1.    The Who Cares? Trust is a UK-wide charity that works to improve the lives of children and young people in care. We do this by:
•    using our expertise and influence with government policy-makers
•    informing, empowering and supporting children and young people in care, through our magazines and other publications and through projects and campaigns which directly benefit them, and
•    producing information and support materials for foster carers and professionals as a means to improving the lives of children in care.
2.    For media enquiries please contact Jemma Roche on 0207 017 2788 or email jemma.roche@thewhocarestrust.org.uk

The Who Cares? Trust is a registered charity (No. 1010518). A Company limited by guarantee. Registered in London (No. 2700693). VAT Reg. No. 577853091
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