A new report praises the progress made by Ealing’s services for children and young people and describes the council’s capacity to improve even further as ‘excellent’.

The annual performance assessment (APA) by Ofsted and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has improved Ealing Council’s grading to the highest possible ranking, for its management of children’s services and overall capacity to improve.

Ealing is now in the top third of local authorities for its capacity to improve.  It is one of 28 councils, of the 102 that were inspected, to be awarded the ‘excellent/outstanding’ rating in the capacity to improve category. Ealing’s overall children’s social care grade for 2006 has been judged as ‘good’.

The report states ‘the authority has made significant progress since the last APA’, and that the ‘council and its partners provide effective leadership and clear direction for children’s services’. It also recognises that ‘Ealing is not content to rest on its laurels; while there is evident pride in its successes there is a strong drive to improve further, which is shared between officers and council members. Areas of weakness … are tackled sensitively but robustly’.

Councillor Ian Gibb, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “Only two years ago, Ealing was viewed as having ‘uncertain’ prospects for improving children’s services. The progress from that to ‘excellent’ is exceptional.

 “This result reflects the hard work, dedication and leadership of our staff, particularly senior management, who have been committed to tackling areas of weakness that past assessments have identified.

 “The council will continue to build on this success to ensure that we are delivering appropriate and high quality services, which our children and young people deserve.”

Inspectors found a clear track record of improvement in all areas over the past 12 months and stated that in most areas ‘Ealing performs better than comparable authorities’. Both the council’s children’s services and social care services were found to consistently deliver above the minimum requirements for users. Ealing was found to be the best authority in outer London on one measure - placing newly looked after children as close as possible to their normal home. 

Other key strengths identified in the report include:

• a continued reduction in teenage pregnancies;child protection and the work of the Safeguarding Board;the council’s contribution to ensuring that children and young people achieve well at school and enjoy their education and leisure activities;the progress made by pupils between Key Stages 2 and 4 which was the third highest in the country and showed the biggest improvement nationally in 2005;the ‘Powerful Voices’ conference that enabled children with disabilities to share their views;good results in A and AS level examinations;
• the strong commitment of staff to obtaining and acting on the views of young people.

  Areas for improvement include:

• assessments for young offenders with substance misuse problems;reducing the over representation of black and minority ethnic young people in the criminal justice system;
• educational achievements of Somali boys.

The report is particularly welcome given the serious failings by Ealing services recorded in the Victoria Climbie Inquiry report of January 2003, and the work put in to improve the protection and well-being of children since that time.

 

November 7, 2006