Four key areas were assessed in a new report
Bath and North East Somerset Council was praised for its approach to helping vulnerable children in a new report(Image: South Wales Echo)
A local council has been praised for the quality of its services for vulnerable children.
In a newly published report, Ofsted inspectors gave Bath and North East Somerset Council, which covers an area stretching up to Keynsham and Whitchurch just outside Bristol, a “good” rating in four key areas relating to how it supports young people who may need help or protection.
“Children in Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) continue to benefit from good quality support, help and services that have a positive impact on their lives,” the report said.
“Senior leaders have a thorough understanding of the quality of support and services and have continued to make improvements since the time of the last inspection in 2022. This includes how well families are supported to keep children living with them when safe to do so, and the quality of work to reunify children with their families.”
When inspecting local authorities’ provision of children’s services, Ofsted inspectors assess four areas. These are: the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families, the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection, the experiences and progress of children in care and the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Councils are then given an overall effectiveness grade. BANES received a ‘good’ rating across the board in this year’s report, which resulted in the same overall rating.
A similar report into Bristol City Council in 2023 rated its overall effectiveness as ‘requires improvement to be good’.
However a follow-up visit in February this year said the council had taken important steps to make things better.
“Since the last inspection in 2023, where the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection were judged as requires improvement to be good, determined leaders, including elected members, have shown energy and commitment to improving the response provided to children by frontline services,” the inspector’s letter to Hannah Woodhouse, BCC’s Executive Director of Children’s Services, said. “Important traction has been gained in most key areas that needed to improve.”
In July 2024, Ofsted threatened Bristol council with a criminal investigation after it emerged eight vulnerable children looked after by the local authority were living in illegal unregistered placements.
Despite the overall good report for BANES, inspectors said more work needed to be done on the council’s response to children who went missing, as well as the way it handled care leavers after they turned 21.
BANES was also rated Good in Ofsted’s last inspection, in 2022.
Ofsted typically inspects local authority children’s services once every three years.