Sheffield’s children’s services rated as Good

Sheffield City Council has been awarded an overall Good rating by Ofsted following a three-week inspection of its children’s services.

The council was commended in the inspectorate’s report for putting children at the centre of practice, with children and young people across the city benefiting from child focused staff and services. Inspectors also reported that the views of children and young people are valued at all levels, and the local authority has created an environment in which good social work is nurtured and celebrated.

Although the report raised that some services ‘require improvement to be good’, inspectors also highlighted that senior officers were aware of these issues prior to the inspection, that they have effective action plans in place, and are working on all the areas which need improvement.

Jackie Drayton, lead member for Children’s Services at Sheffield City Council, said: “The inspectors reported that despite ten years of austerity and cuts to the council’s budget, Sheffield has made steady progress since the last inspection in 2013. We have achieved this by working through our comprehensive improvement plan that has children and young people at the centre of practice. The council has secured significant additional corporate investment, we have excellent support from senior management and leaders across all areas of the council and partner organisations and as a result, the local authority delivers highly effective corporate parenting ‘that emulates what a good parent should be’. Our aim is to continue to improve the services we provide and reach ‘outstanding’ and I truly believe that by working together we will achieve this in the future.”