Are Local Authority Leicester City Council Children's Services Department meeting the needs of families and their children? Update 2022

We previously wrote about the first Social Care Annual Report that was released from Ofsted in 2013. This report identified that a vast majority of Local Authorities were inadequate, and some child safeguarding services were struggling to meet basic standards of practice. To read more from this article please click here.

Ofsted have continued to review and inspect the Local Authority in reports dated 2015, 2017 and the results of these reports were that improvements needed to be made. Ofsted have now completed their most recent report in October 2021 regarding Leicester City Council’s Children’s Services Department. The result of this inspection is that there have been continued improvements and they were reported as being ‘good.’  

During the pandemic, Leicester City Council was found to continue to provide a robust level of support for all children known to Children’s Social Care. Face to face visits continued to ensure that children were safe and protected. It was reported that that the inspectors observed a focus on improving services for most children and families. However, there were still a small number of cases where the social work practice and management decision was recorded as not having improved as much as the vast majority.

There were four areas that were inspected: the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families, the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection, the experience and progress of children in care and care leavers and the overall effectiveness.

It was reported that the strengths of Children’s Services that were identified were earlier intervention, direct work with families, support for families in Pre-Proceedings, care leaver services and the voice of the child. It was found that children’s needs in Leicester are well assessed and understood and there are a wide range of services and interventions that are available. Strong assessments are also ensuring that children are on the most appropriate plan according to their risks and needs.

It was also found that the voice of the child is fundamental to the improvement of the Children’s Services in Leicester. Inspectors reported that they saw that the voice of the child was sought in each individual case, supported by excellent advocacy.

If Children’s Services are involved with you and your family, here at Johnson Astills Solicitors we have a specialist Care Department that can assist and advise you throughout your involvement with Children’s Services. Should you require our assistance then please do not hesitate to contact us at either our Leicester office on 0116 255 4855 or our Loughborough Office on 01509610312. Alternatively, please email us your query on careteam@johnsonastills.com and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.

 All information above has been taken from the Children’s Services Inspection Report, click here to read more from this report.