Bristol praised by Ofsted for care of children

By The Editor
May 25, 2010

Services in Bristol to keep children safe, and for children in care, are ‘good’, according to the latest independent inspection by Ofsted.

Bristol is the first large city in England and Wales to receive a ‘good’ rating since the new Ofsted inspection regime for safeguarding was introduced in June 2009 – following the ‘Baby P’ case in Haringey.

Annie Hudson: Much to be proud of

Bristol City Council has welcomed the findings, which the city leader Barbara Janke said reflected “the great professionalism, dedication and hard work of Bristol’s child care social workers”.

Bristol City Council’s Director for Children, Young People and Skills, Annie Hudson, added there was “much to be proud of” in the report. However, the Ofsted examination highlighted high caseloads for social workers.

“There is much that everyone working in these services should feel proud of,” she said. “That said, we can’t ever be complacent when it comes to safeguarding children. We are very committed to continuously improving
services. The report notes that some social worker caseloads are too high and, to address this, recruitment is underway for additional child care social workers.”

The report highlighted the following areas as good:

• partnership working at both a strategic and operational level;
• direct work with children and young people who use safeguarding and child protection services;
• professionals at all levels throughout the partnership demonstrate a very strong child-focused approach;
• leadership and management, including the strengthened roles of the Children’s Trust and the Safeguarding Children Board;
• all social worker posts are filled by permanent qualified staff and there are no external agency staff;
• the promotion of diversity and equality; and value for money.