Safeguarding and Looked After Children Inspection 2010
This year Poole is expecting a joint inspection of safeguarding and looked after children services. The inspections are carried out by Ofsted inspectors, the Care Quality Commission and, as needed, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. All inspections contribute to Ofsted's annual rating of children's services, and to the assessment of how well councils are working together with other public bodies to meet the needs of the people they serve.
What to expect
We will be given 10 days notice of the two week inspection. The inspection of safeguarding and looked after children will place a lot of emphasis on evaluating the impact of social work practice and services in improving outcomes. Inspectors will look at safeguarding more widely, examining how effectively agencies are working together to prevent harm and support the safeguarding of children and young people. The inspection will include interviews with key individuals and focus groups, some case file analysis and completion of the Care4Me and AfterCare surveys of children in care. It will also look at the impact of Poole Chldren's Trust and the Local Children's Safeguarding and the Corporate Parenting Boards.
Focus
The focus of the inspection and subsequent report for both safeguarding and looked after children, will be on:
Overall effectiveness and capacity to improve.
Leadership and management
Quality of provision
The effectiveness of services
Preparation for the Inspection
To help prepare for the Inspection a number of activities are taking place:
A multi-agency steering group has been set up
Key managers will be auditing their services to identify strengths and weaknesses
Evidence of good practice will be gathered
Documents that will be needed by inspectors will be brought together and collated.
Planning around the practical running of the inspection is taking place.
Fur further details read our Briefings, June 2010, August 2010 and read our 'Top Tips' to help towards a successful inspection.
For more information please contact:
Annie Draper annie.draper@poole.gov.uk or Nick Wharam n.wharam@poole.gov.uk