Councillors will consider a report on the annual progress made by Dorset Council Children’s Services at its Cabinet meeting on 28 March. The report details how the service regularly takes stock to ensure it continues to offer all children in Dorset every opportunity to thrive.
Dorset Council’s Children’s Services were last inspected by Ofsted in October 2021 and received a ‘good’ rating, with ‘outstanding’ leadership and management.
Local authorities are required by Ofsted to produce an annual self-evaluation for children in need of help and protection, looked after children and care leavers. The evaluation forms the basis of annual engagement meetings with Ofsted.
This year’s self-evaluation from Dorset Council’s Children’s Services also focuses on leadership and governance, the quality and impact of its social work, education and inclusion. Of note, the report also highlights the effective multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH), which makes decisions about how to protect and support children at risk, and its ‘Thrive’ locality-based model which continues to demonstrate that more children are receiving the help they need at the right time.
Cllr Andrew Parry, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Children, Education, Skills and Early Help, said: “This report demonstrates that Dorset Council’s Children’s Services delivers some really great work which has a positive impact on children, young people and their families across the county, and I continue to be proud of that.
“One of our strengths, which is recognised by Ofsted, is that we know where our work is impactful and strong, and we know where we need to improve, so we can focus our efforts on refining those areas.
“Going forwards, we are committed to improving the quality of education, particularly to disadvantaged young people and those with Special Educational Needs and/or a disability and we will continue to improve services for children who need our support through foster care, residential provision and supporting young people leaving our care.”
You can read the report on the Dorset Council website.
