Getting the ‘front door’ right for children and families

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: children's services, joint inspection, local authorities, multi-agency, partnership working, social care professionals

Back in 2018, we first set out the ingredients of effective multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, using what we had seen working well in our reviews and inspections. Over time, through our inspections, we’ve learned more about what the most effective arrangements …

The importance of oral health in children’s social care

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: care experienced, children looked after, children's homes, health, looked after children
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Our goals for oral health in children’s social care We've been working closely with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to look at the importance of good oral health for children. We want to tackle oral health inequality by driving improvement …

The Families First Partnership programme: new guide and how this affects ILACS

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As part of the children’s social care reforms, the Department for Education (DfE) has published its Families First Partnership (FPP) programme guide. The guide is aimed at safeguarding partners who are implementing reforms around family help, multi-agency child protection and …

Changes to our SCCIF guidance to improve stability for vulnerable children

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Text reads: 'Blog post - Changes to our SCCIF guidance to improve stability for vulnerable children' Next to this, a young person is speaking to a man with a clipboard.

Next month, we will be making a small number of changes to our social care common inspection framework (SCCIF). These are mainly aimed at children’s homes and fostering agencies. The changes are intended to encourage more providers to look after …

Setting up provision for children with the most complex needs – tips, reassurance and a new advice form

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It is often a struggle to find the right social care provider for children with the most complex needs. We want to help those wanting to open provision for them, and commissioners that are looking for suitable homes. So, we …

The ILACS framework – what’s changing and why?

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In December 2024, we updated the inspecting local authority children's services (ILACS) framework. This blog will discuss why we’re making these changes, the reviews that informed them, and how we are responding to your feedback. Why we updated the framework …

Unregistered children’s homes: too many vulnerable children are placed at risk

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We have published our new analysis of the concerning rise in the use of unregistered children’s homes. Last year, we opened over 1,000 cases to investigate potential unregistered settings. Why are we concerned? Some of the most vulnerable children are …

Our response to the government's social care reform proposals

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: children's homes, children's services, local authorities, looked after children, multi-agency, secure children's home, social care professionals, social care regulation
A woman is filling in a form. Next to it text reads "Blog post: Our response to the government's social care reform proposals"

The Department for Education (DfE) has published a policy paper on its proposals to reform children’s social care. This is a significant opportunity for the government, the sector and Ofsted to better serve the nation’s most vulnerable children. We have …