Sutton Council’s Children’s Social Care and Safeguarding division has received an overall “Good” rating following the inspection from Ofsted in December 2021. The inspection covered a range of services that support children, young people, families and carers across the London Borough of Sutton. The inspection judged the “impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families” as “Outstanding”, with the areas of; “Overall effectiveness”, “The experiences and progress of children in care and care leavers” and “The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection” all receiving a “Good” grade.
The Council is proud of the progress made by services as highlighted in the report, which states, “Children in the London Borough of Sutton receive a good service. Leaders and managers have strengthened and consolidated the effective work that was taking place at the time of the previous inspection in 2016.”
Inspectors praised the work of staff and commented that “Highly impressive and aspirational corporate and operational leaders work relentlessly to ensure that children and their families in Sutton benefit from good and effective services, keeping them safer.” Many teams across the division have been under extra pressure since the pandemic began and this report is testament to staff and partners coming together to keep children and young people’s needs at the forefront of service.
The report also acknowledged areas for improvement, which the Council have already begun addressing via action plans with teams. These are: “The quality of practice and earlier planning to meet the needs of care leavers.” and “Leaders’ knowledge and understanding about what happens to children when they go missing from home or care.”
Following the report, Councillor Marian James, Chair of People Committee at Sutton Council said;
‘This report is a great success for the Council. Putting our children and young people first and setting them up to fulfil their potential is a clear corporate priority. This report highlights the hard work, innovation and dedication of staff and partners to help provide effective and forward thinking services for children and young people. It is also positive to see that areas for improvement noted in the report are being taken forward by services within the Council.”
Ofsted referenced Sutton Council as a “learning organisation”. Children’s social care and safeguarding staff are not complacent in these achievements and have responded to the areas of development outlined in the report and will look to continuously improve and promote the safety and wellbeing of Sutton’s children, young people and their families.
