Hampshire County Council's children's services inspected by Ofsted during focused visit

AN Ofsted inspection of children in care in Hampshire found the county council’s social work services “continue to be impressive”.

The report follows a visit in 2019 that rated HCC’s children’s services as ‘outstanding’ in all areas.

The latest “focused” review found that children in care were “well matched” with their carers, living in “stable long-term” homes and are making “good progress”.

Inspectors noted: “The continuing commitment of political and corporate leaders to deliver effective social work services is evident in the investment the council has made to increase social work and placement capacity for children in response to rising demand and sufficiency pressures since the pandemic.

“It is a great credit to the stable, trusted leadership team and to frontline managers and practitioners that the quality and impact of practice for children in care continue to be impressive.”

However, Ofsted recognised that while the council holds health partners to account, further progress is needed.

It also pointed out that “high workloads” are impacting “capacity to fulfil the range of functions required”, and that the “voice of children in care is not sufficiently informing the corporate parenting committee work programme”.

Cllr Edward Heron, cabinet member for children’s services, praised the “skill and professionalism of our exceptional social workers”.

He said: “It is rewarding to see their excellence recognised by Ofsted and, in particular, the strengths of their child-centred approach, which ensures that children are rightly placed at the heart of decision making.

“I want to thank everyone involved in coordinating Ofsted’s latest visit, and indeed all of our staff who work extremely hard day in, day out to ensure that Hampshire’s vulnerable children and young people continue to receive the right care at the right time, remaining safely at home with their families wherever possible.”