‘Excellent direct work’ sees council improve to ‘good’

“Excellent” and “culturally sensitive” direct work by social workers has helped their council improve to ‘good’ in its latest Ofsted inspection.

The inspectorate also found that strong staff retention at Leicester council provided a “bedrock of stability” that promoted excellent relationships between children and practitioners.

The inspection in September and early October saw Leicester rise to ‘good’ from the requires improvement rating it received in 2017 and inadequate verdict in 2015.

‘Excellent direct work’

Inspectors praised the quality of direct work with both children in need of help and protection and those in care.

With children in care, social workers completed creative and age-appropriate work that ensured children’s views were central to decision-making. With those in need, practice was culturally sensitive – in the context of Leicester’s very diverse population – and ensured further support and safety plans were well-informed by children’s views.

Ofsted also found that children came into care at the right time after careful consideration, with social workers being “tenacious” in supporting children to live with extended families where possible. For those in foster care, careful matching ensured children were able to develop positive relationships with carers and often lived with them into adulthood.

‘Bedrock of stability’

Ofsted said that staff retention was one of Leicester’s “significant strengths” providing a “bedrock of stability” that promoted excellent relationships between social workers and the children they supported.

Social workers were well-supported by their managers – with most receiving “good-quality, in-depth supervision” – while manageable caseloads enabled them to work purposefully with families.

Practitioners also highlighted to inspectors the commendations they received from management following high-quality work, reflecting a culture of high challenge and support.

Ofsted said senior managers had worked tenaciously to steadily improve services and were “highly aspirational” for vulnerable children in Leicester.

Inspectors also commended the council’s use of performance data, which it said showed that the local authority “knows itself well”.

More consistency required

Ofsted said the authority’s quality of social work practice, management decision-making and recording was not as high in a small number of cases, and that Leicester needed to become more consistent in case recording, management oversight and auditing to further improve.

It said the council needed to co-ordinate its private fostering support better, with some children not receiving timely visits to review their circumstances or sufficient consideration when these changed.

‘Immensely proud’

Leicester’s deputy city mayor for social care and anti-poverty, Sarah Russell, said she was “immensely proud” of Ofsted’s report and praised the “tremendous amount of hard work” by staff.

“We’ve focused on improvements that we will be able to maintain, long-term, as we constantly strive to advance the service we offer to some of our most vulnerable citizens,” she said.

“This has paid off, as inspectors have found that despite all the challenges of a global pandemic, our services are robust.

“We know there is more work still to do, but I’m delighted that the dedication of our staff has been recognised with this result. It is children and families who will benefit from it.”