Ofsted has identified strengths in Bedford Borough Council’s work helping children in care achieve stable, long-term homes while highlighting areas where further improvement is needed.
Inspectors carried out a focused visit to the borough’s children’s services in April, and examined the council’s arrangements for planning and achieving permanence for children in care, including long-term foster care, kinship care, adoption and helping children return to their birth families.
In a letter published on 1 June, Ofsted said: “For children in Bedford [sic], permanence is achieved through mostly well-considered decision-making that takes into account a wide range of available options to enable them to live in stable, lasting homes.”
The letter said decision-making was “largely effective”, children and their carers had experienced variability in the quality of planning and help across permanence pathways.
“Support for children in long-term foster care, planning for children who require adoption and helping children to move to family-based care from residential homes are strengths,” it said.
“Help for connected carers and special guardians is not sufficiently proactive or consistent, and direct work with children, including life-story work, is not widespread.”
Progress
The letter also highlighted progress since the council’s last inspection.
It states: “Since the last inspection, they have strengthened their focus on achieving permanence within families and increased the availability of suitable alternatives.”
According to Ofsted, this progress has contributed to more children living in, or close to, Bedford and has significantly reduced the number of children placed in unregistered homes during their journey towards stable, secure homes.
However, inspectors identified three areas for improvement: the consistency and quality of help for connected carers and special guardians; the availability and quality of direct work with children, including life-story work; and the consistent application and oversight of permanence planning.
Inspectors also said support following the granting of special guardianship orders does not match the level of children’s needs, with capacity constraints limiting the consistency of support available to some children and carers.
The letter further found that life-story work, identified as a strength for adopted children, was not consistently provided for children in other permanence arrangements.
“We still have a lot of work to do”
Speaking at the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday (8 June), Harmesh Bhogal, Bedford Borough Council’s Executive Director for Children, Education and Families, said the authority was not complacent about the findings.
He said: “We still have a lot of work to do, and I need to make that really clear.
“What this focused visit did identify is that there’s some real positives and strengths in the service which to build on.
“There were some areas to improve, there always are when our friends come and visit.”
Ofsted said leaders had a “mostly accurate understanding” of strengths and areas for development and had already identified many of the issues highlighted during the visit.
The letter noted that improvement plans are in place, but that many changes remain at an early stage and have either yet to be delivered or have not secured a consistent impact.
Inspectors also reported that workers who met with them were positive about working in Bedford [sic] and that many staff had remained with the authority, contributing to workforce stability and continuity for children.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
