An Ofsted report has praised children’s services in North Northamptonshire for ‘keeping children safer’, as its rating has been upgraded to good with outstanding leadership, four years after being told it requires improvement.

The findings published today (Tuesday, July 7) mark another step in the lengthy improvement journey taken on by North Northants Council (NNC) and Northamptonshire Children’s Trust (NCT), following a damning report in 2019 declaring the service inadequate.

Even before that, a government order was made to take services out of the local council’s hands, with commissioners overseeing the recovery of the service calling it ‘one of the worst-performing yet most expensive in the country’.

Since then, services have undergone a significant transformation, including the establishment of Northamptonshire Children’s Trust (NCT) on government orders in November 2020 to deliver children’s social care and family help on behalf of Northamptonshire councils.

Pictured (l-r) – Cllr Elizabeth Wright NNC Executive member for children and families, Cllr Martin Griffiths Leader of NNC, Cornelia Andrecut NNC director of children's services, Adele Wylie NNC chief executive, Colin Foster NCT chief executive, Andrew Tagg NCT director of finance, resources and commissioning, Debbie Lloyd NCT director of social care Credit: NNC

placeholder image — Pictured (l-r) – Cllr Elizabeth Wright NNC Executive member for children and families, Cllr Martin Griffiths Leader of NNC, Cornelia Andrecut NNC director of children's services, Adele Wylie NNC chief executive, Colin Foster NCT chief executive, Andrew Tagg NCT director of finance, resources and commissioning, Debbie Lloyd NCT director of social care Credit: NNC

In the latest report, Ofsted inspectors said the services had ‘significantly improved’ since the last inspection in 2022, adding that effective partnerships and safeguarding partners are ‘keeping children safer and helping them make positive progress’.

A two-week inspection took place in May this year, providing a grading of good in the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection, the experiences and progress of children in care, and the experiences and progress of care leavers.

The final area assessing the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families was rated as NNC’s first-ever outstanding.

Cllr Elizabeth Wright, executive member for children, education and families, said: “It’s an amazing result and I know that staff have worked so hard to get it to that point. It’s taken a long time to get here because we’ve had a lot of instability in the past, but I think that we are seeing that stability now in our leadership and we’ve got staff who want to come and work with us now.

“Even the children and young people were asked to feedback and they have noticed a huge difference in these last four years. We’re now listening to what they want and we’re trying to make things happen.

“We’re making huge strides, and now that journey continues even after the inspection. In the next year, it’s about bringing even more stability to our staff and to ensure that we hear more of our children and young people’s voices.”

Inspectors found a strong culture of trust, where staff feel valued, listened to and able to influence service development, resulting in a workforce committed to continuous improvement. A key strength identified was the quality of relationships workers have with children and young people.

Inspectors highlighted some areas where services could be improved further, such as the quality of support plans for children in need and clearer communication about support available to care leavers over the age of 21.

Inspectors recognised that both areas had already been identified by leaders for development and NNC has confirmed that work is already under way to address these priorities as part of the next phase of improvement.

On leadership, the report added: “After a number of years of instability, leadership changes over the past 18 months have significantly increased the pace of improvement, particularly the appointment of the interim DCS, seconded from NCT.

“Her appointment has acted as a catalyst for improvement, and she, along with the council chief executive, is engaging the wider council with their corporate parenting responsibilities.

“The chief executive officer of NCT is a visible and accessible leader who inspires staff to ‘do the best job of their life, every single day’.”

It added that this has had a transformational impact on workforce stability and development, and staff across the trust described the organisation as being ‘like a family’.

Colin Foster, chief executive of Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, added: “This is a fantastic achievement and recognition of the enormous progress made by colleagues and partners over recent years. To achieve a good judgement, with outstanding leadership, reflects the dedication and commitment of everyone working to improve the lives of children and families across Northamptonshire.

“We are particularly pleased that Ofsted recognised the strength of relationships between our workforce and the children they support. Our practitioners work hard to build trusted, enduring relationships through consistency, honesty and compassion, and it is encouraging that children themselves spoke positively about the support they receive and the ambition workers have for their futures.

“While we are proud of this outcome, we remain committed to continuous improvement and will continue working with our partners to ensure every child and young person has the opportunity to thrive.”