Derbyshire’s children and young people services rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted

Derbyshire County Council is one of the first local authorities to be inspected under a new combined Ofsted regime.

The new-style inspections, which look at the way all services for vulnerable young people are run, includes children who need protection, children in care, those leaving care and children helped by the authority’s adoption and fostering teams.

The report was released on 11th February with inspectors from Ofsted rating all five areas inspected as “Good” and praised the authority for effectively protecting and caring for young people in Derbyshire.

Coun Kevin Gillott, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, welcomed the findings.

He said: “This report reflects the hard work and commitment of our staff, alongside our partners in the private and voluntary sector, to ensure all Derbyshire’s youngsters get the chance to achieve their full potential.

“The positive Good rating is even more significant given the new, tougher regime introduced by Ofsted which has raised the achievement bar even higher.”

The report also outlined the council’s ‘very high expectations’ for its young people with a capacity to improve even further.

A nine-strong team from Ofsted spent almost four weeks scrutinising every aspect of the service, including talking to young people in care, foster carers, social workers, members of multi-agency teams, schools, police and health professionals.

Inspectors looked at the individual case files of more than 250 children and examined 1,200 pieces of supporting documentation.

Coun Gillott added: “We want the very best for all children in Derbyshire and this report shows our commitment to that aim.

“It reflects the hard work of members, staff and partners, including schools, in keeping children safe and ensuring their experience when they are in the system is a positive one.

“Our staff and partners are doing a very challenging job in difficult times and I am very proud and pleased by the report’s findings.”