An Ofsted inspection has rated Barnet’s children’s services as ‘good’ overall, with an ‘outstanding’ rating for the services and support provided to children in care.
Following an on-site visit, the inspectors found children receive “strong and effective services” from a “stable and committed leadership team [which] has continued to strengthen and enhance social work practice since the previous inspection in 2019”.
The inspectors found that in most areas “the quality and impact of practice is strong”, that “children and families benefit from knowledgeable, committed staff” and children in care “benefit from outstanding support and services”.
Inspectors also praised Barnet’s commitment to working with young people to co-produce new policies and services, describing this as “a strength”; with the political and officer leadership ensuring “the voices of children are heard.”
In the four inspection areas, the council was graded as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, with an overall effectiveness rating of ‘good’:
- The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families – GOOD
- The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection – GOOD
- The experiences and progress of children in care – OUTSTANDING
- The experiences and progress of care leavers – GOOD
- Overall effectiveness – GOOD.
The inspectors praised services across the board, including: the “impressive multi-agency safeguarding hub”, the emergency duty team’s “well-run service”, a “very well led” virtual school, the “strong contribution of the educational psychology service”, the “compassionate, thoughtful and sensitive” service provided by the Onwards and Upwards service for care leavers and the “outstanding level of support” provided to children in care.
Cabinet Member for Family Friendly Barnet, Cllr Pauline Coakley-Webb, said: “This inspection report is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all our staff.
“Throughout, the report is full of phrases such as impressive, effective, experienced, committed, compassionate and tenacious and I want to thank our hard-working staff, our partners and foster carers for the passion they bring to improving the lives of our children and young people. They turn our vision of caring for people into a reality.
“We will now draw on the inspectors’ findings and look for further ways to improve the services we offer to some of the most vulnerable in our community.”
Note to news editors:
The full report can be found on the Ofsted website: 50253182 (ofsted.gov.uk)