Inspection praises council support for care leavers

As the national regulator for children’s services, Ofsted undertook a focused visit in January to review the support that is given to older children in care and those leaving care and starting their adult lives.  

The letter praised the “strong corporate and political support” leading to “an impressive level of dedication and ambition for care leavers in Gloucestershire, which has significantly improved the experiences of many care leavers.”  

This reflects an ongoing commitment by Children’s Services to make the experiences of children in care and care leavers a key consideration when planning the work of the council. This includes young people with experience of receiving support from children’s social care regularly advising council officers and cabinet members, serving as ‘ambassadors’ and contributing their insight into service development.  

This was recognised by Ofsted who commended how this “reflects the value leaders and those who work for the local authority place on young people and how they empower them to help design services and improve the service.” 

Ofsted also highlighted the strong and trusting relationships between personal advisors and the young people they work with, and commented on the effectiveness of the council’s efforts to teach independent living skills as children in care prepare for adulthood. Ongoing work to ensure good quality accommodation for care leavers also received praise.  

Inspectors made two recommendations for improvement but noted that work was already underway to make the necessary improvements. 

The timing of the letter, published on National Care Day, could not have been better as it also coincided with the publication of the council’s new Corporate Parenting Strategy. Named ‘The Sky’s the Limit’, this strategy was developed in partnership children in care, care leavers, corporate parents and partners and reflects what children and young people say good care services should look like. This was recognised by Ofsted who commented that “‘the sky’s the limit’ immediately highlights an aspirational approach” adding that “the voice of children is explicit throughout.” 

Cllr Stephen Davies, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council said: “I am very pleased to read such an enthusiastic and positive review by Ofsted of our Care Leavers’ service. We are committed to doing everything we can to support children in our care, and that doesn’t stop at 18.

“We want all children and young people in our county to have the opportunity to live their best possible life, but we have an extra duty to those in our care. My thanks go to everyone who works to support our care leavers, and to those young people with experience of care who have helped us to develop these excellent services.” 

Ann James, Executive Director for Children’s Services said: “It’s great that on National Care Day we have so much to celebrate. The excellent feedback we’ve received from Ofsted reflects a huge amount of hard work by so many people who are dedicated to doing the best for all our children and young people. I’m very grateful to our care leavers who have helped us to design and deliver the improvements that inspectors saw. Everyone has done an incredible job.” 

The full letter can be found on the Ofsted website.