By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
Children’s services have been given a clean bill of health with some of the services deemed outstanding by Ofsted – after improvements were “turbocharged” under new director Ann James.
Inspectors have heaped praise on Gloucestershire County Council after their latest visit which took place from Jun 9 to 20.
The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families and the experiences and progress of children in care have been judged as outstanding.
White the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection and the experiences and progress of care leavers are deemed to be good.
The authority has come a long way since it was deemed inadequate in 2017 and was issued with what has been described as “the worst Ofsted report ever written”.
Since the last inspection in 2022, when services were judged to require improvement, credible leaders, with strong corporate and political support, have been relentless in their ambition to improve children’s lives.
The service is now deemed to be good overall with a robust focus on creating the conditions for success and the pace of improvement has accelerated over the last two years after the appointmentof executive director Ann James.
She has modelled a positive relationship approach by providing strong and empathetic leadership and empowering her wider management team to create purposeful, child-centred practice.
Leaders have ensured a direct line of sight into practice and know their services well, according to the report.
And they have used this knowledge to improve the quality of practice in all areas, supported by an increasingly stable and secure workforce.
The recent remodelling of services means children benefit from the secure relationships that they are able to develop with their social workers.
And relational practice is a particular strength in Gloucestershire and shines through in the work that is completed with children, parents and carers, and partner agencies.
This has led to a tangible step change, where risk is managed more confidently as a result of stronger relationships, according to the inspection.
And Ofsted says leaders place a high value on co-production and services are more effective because of this.
And the council’s ambassadors are a genuine asset to the service. They provide insight and support and hold leaders to account for decisions made.
The areas which need to improve include the response to homeless 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds.
And more support is needed for care leavers not in employment, education or training.
Councillor Ben Evans (LD, Brockworth, who is responsible for children’s safeguarding and care, praised the work of the staff and the commitment of Ann James.
He is absolutely delighted with the report and he feels the council was right on the cusp of being deemed outstanding.
“It’s fascinating the story really because Chris Spencer started the journey and he was good.
“He took us from what people called the worst Ofsted report ever written in 2017.
“It was awful and he got us to require improvement. And Ann, it’s just like, she’s put the whole thing on turbocharge.
“The report reflects that. They talk time and time again about inspirational and outstanding leadership.
“She’s got around her now a team of people who compliment that, the directors under her are all really good.”
He said the report will be a huge boost for recruitment in Gloucestershire as the County Council is a great place where people want to work.
And he praised the “bloody mindedness” of the staff who stuck it out during the hard times and helped turn children services around.
“There’s a line right towards the end of the report which says social workers like working for Gloucestershire County Council and that we will use that in recruitment.
“Gloucestershire is a great place to live and work.”
He said the report will also help in their efforts to recruit more foster carers who are a vital part of the team.
And he praised the efforts of his Conservative predecessor who laid the foundation for improvements.
“Credit to Stephen Davies because both as the cabinet member for children’s services, but also as leader, I’m pretty sure he kept the brief basically and he turned the ship around financially that’s the key, really.
“We were woefully underfunded for years and years and years, and although I gave him lots of stick in the chamber about the spending.
“He did exactly the right thing and I’m quite happy to say that publicly.”
Cllr Evans said they will not be complacent and are already working on how to improve.
He said the Ofsted report is a fantastic result for the children, young people and families who are the most vulnerable who are now getting a good service.
“I’m just so proud of our staff, our staff who’ve worked so hard, through blood, sweat, and tears over a really long period
“I just want to say congratulations to them, fantastic leadership from Ann James and the rest of the directors.
I’m not taking my foot off the gas. I’m not going to let her do it, and I tell you what, she wouldn’t do it for all the tea in China.
“She’s absolutely committed to making this service as good as it can be.”
Former Council leader and children’s cabinet member Stephen Davies (C, Hardwicke and Severn) said he was really pleased and proud with the latest Ofsted inspection.
“This is clearly the result of hard work by a lot of people, particularly the staff, you know, those of us who are politicians involved in this enable the improvement,” he said.
“But the work is done by the team and we should be very grateful to them.”