More attention needed for Children's Homes (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

More attention needed for Children's Homes

January 2, 2009 1:56 PM

The Annual Performance Assessment of services for children and young people of Cambridgeshire County Council has been released today.

The judgment and findings of the Inspectors draw on the Council's self-assessment as well as the evidence and briefings provided by Ofsted, and also includes evidence from the the Joint Area Review, other inspectorates and relevant bodies.

The Inspectors were unable to agree with the Council's self-assessment of its children's services with regard to 'Staying Safe' criteria.

Four out of seven of the Council's Children's Homes have been judged inadequate. The Council has not been effective enough in identifying and addressing poor performance until recently.
The proportion of looked after children without an allocated qualified Social Worker is, at 37%, considerably higher than similar councils and the national average.
Not all children with a child protection plan have an allocated qualified Social Worker.

Cllr Gaynor Griffiths, Liberal Democrat Spokes for Children and Young People said:

"Although the overall grade for the Council's Annual Performance Assessment of children's services is satisfactory I am very disappointed that in an area where we probably have some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable young people the score is so poor. Our looked after children deserve better than this. The service is so shrouded in bureaucracy that the front line staff in our children's homes are constantly hampered by staff shortages and a lack of support that makes an already challenging job more difficult."

"It is vital that we have the expertise of qualified Social Workers to support our looked after children at an extremely crucial time in their lives. I think this is a wake up call for the Conservative Leadership who need to give serous consideration to the advice offered by the Inspectors regarding areas for development and improvement that need to be addressed."