The Isle of Wight Council’s services for children in need has been rated ‘Good’ following a robust inspection by Ofsted. The report published today (Friday) finds that most children and families on the Island continue to receive a good service, with some improvements to quality since the last inspection in 2018. During a 5-day inspection between 30th October and 3rd November, children in care were found to benefit from “consistently good support and care from committed and caring social workers and foster carers”. When children and their families need help, social workers make sure that this happens early, and this often stops problems from getting bigger, the inspection found. When there are worries about the safety of a child, decisions are made quickly so that children are protected. Inspectors said the strategic partnership with Hampshire County Council had brought about stable and consistent leadership, with senior leaders being resilient and adaptable to rapidly increasing demand for services. With the partnership coming to an end next month, Ofsted’s team said leaders were focused on achieving a seamless transition. They were also praised for maintaining a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service through challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. While some area of practice have improved since the previous inspection, the report did find the experiences of children in need of help and protection were not as consistently strong as they once were. This area will require improvement to be good, inspectors said. Ofsted found that improvement is needed in the following areas:
- The routine inclusion by the local authority of partner agencies in child protection strategy discussions and assessments
- The opportunities for the voices of children and care leavers to be heard at a corporate level
- The quality of oversight and monitoring of the pre-proceedings process in the Public Law Outline (PLO), permanence for children and private fostering
- Caseloads in the children’s assessment and safeguarding teams
However, they acknowledged the investment in and commitment to a wide variety of early help services which deliver the right support to families at an early stage, enabling them to make positive changes. 
The report concludes that the Island’s unique challenges and opportunities have been used to create a service which improves the experiences and progress of most children and families. Stuart Ashley, the council’s director of children’s services, has said:
“This is a welcome outcome for our most vulnerable children on the Island and a positive reflection of the strong work of our practitioners and managers. “As with any inspection there is clearly learning and improvements we must make, but I am delighted that the partnership with Hampshire County Council comes to an end on such a positive note. “This also provides a solid foundation for the incoming director of children’s services, and I wish him and the service every success for the future.”
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