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Blog Ofsted: social care
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Yvette Stanley

Yvette Stanley is Ofsted's National Director for Social Care.

Yvette was previously Director for Children, Schools and Families at Merton Council and has 30 years of experience in children's services.

Changes to our SCCIF guidance to improve stability for vulnerable children

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: children's homes, children's services, local authorities, looked after children, social care regulation
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

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: children's homes, children's services, looked after children, social care regulation
Text reads: 'Blog post - Setting up provision for children with the most complex needs – tips, reassurance and a new advice form' Next to this, two people are sat in armchairs talking

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?

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: care leavers, children's services, inspection framework, local authorities
Two people are looking at documents and computers. Next to the image, text reads: "Blog post: The ILACS framework – what’s changing and why?"

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

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: children's services, looked after children, safeguarding, social care regulation
A child sits alone hugging their knees. Next to them, text reads: "Blog post: Unregistered children’s homes: too many vulnerable children are placed at risk"

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 …

Supported accommodation – it can be right for some older children, but not for all

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: care experienced, local authorities, social care regulation, supported accommodation
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Ahead of inspections starting next month, Yvette Stanley gives an update on our registration work and sets out some ‘red lines’ when considering supported accommodation as an option for looked-after children and care leavers. Ofsted’s registration of supported accommodation providers …

Providing good experiences for children with complex needs

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: children's homes, children's services, local authorities, looked after children, mental health, social care professionals
An image of a woman showing a child something on a laptop. Next to it, text reads "Blog post: Providing good experiences for children with complex needs"

***Update: we have also released a podcast on this topic*** In January, we published a new research report on children with complex needs in children’s homes. The report was based on a national survey of local authorities and children’s home …

How the children’s social care reforms will affect inspection

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Care Review, children's homes, children's services, kinship care, local authorities, social care regulation

The Department for Education (DfE) has published several documents as part of the children’s social care reforms: The National Framework and Children’s Social Care (CSC) dashboard Working Together to Safeguard Children (‘Working Together’) The kinship strategy A data and digital …

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About Ofsted - social care regulation and inspection blog

This blog looks at the way Ofsted inspects and regulates the social care sector: local authority children's services and social care providers, such as children's homes.

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