CHILDREN at risk in the area have a much-improved service looking after them, inspectors have found.
For Oldham Council’s department responsible has risen from an Ofsted rating of ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good.’
The authority’s children’s services were ranked towards the bottom of the scale in 2019.
But in its latest report, Ofsted has found the work put in has paid off.
It states: “Since the last inspection in March 2019, when services for children and families were judged to be requires improvement to be good, there has been a relentless focus on improvement, driven by the director of children’s services and his strong and stable leadership team.
“The pace of change has been purposeful and has ensured that children now benefit from good-quality help and support.
“Most children’s outcomes improve as a result of family-focused, child-centred practice, which is increasingly aligned to a new model of practice.
“The areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection, and in the subsequent focused visit in 2021, have largely been addressed.
“For example, there has been significant progress in the quality of assessments, children’s plans and the work of the children with disabilities team.
“The support provided by the complex safeguarding team continues to be strong. Leaders have sustained a good level of service in early help and at the ‘front door,’ despite increased levels of demand.
“Care leavers receive a good level of targeted support.”
Oldham Council was told it can still get better in areas, including consistent management oversight in relation to supervision and audit actions, the quality of return home interviews for children and life-story work for those in long-term foster care.
But Ofsted added: “Senior leaders know that there is still further improvement required in some specific areas of practice and they are well sighted on these issues.
“There are now robust mechanisms in place to ensure that rigorous management oversight further strengthens practice for children.”
Recognition of the turnaround in five years has been welcome by Oldham Council leader, Cllr Arooj Shah.
She said: “I am absolutely thrilled with this outcome that reflects our commitment to keeping children safe and keeping families together.
“This is about saving lives and that’s what our teams do. Our dedicated social workers have shown their excellence and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
“We’ve made giving children and young people the best possible start in life one of our top priorities and this is a big step on the journey to achieving that.
“This was an intensive independent inspection and showed how committed our teams are and how their work is impacting children.
“I’m pleased that the improvements we’ve made have been recognised by Ofsted and it shows that as an authority we are heading in the right direction to deliver for our residents.”
Cabinet member for children and young people, Cllr Shaid Mushtaq, added: “This is a fantastic result for our children’s services and places us as one of the fastest improving authorities in the country.
“I’m so proud of our teams who have made this happen.
“They’ve shown that Oldham is a place where children are getting the best start in life and that by prioritising our young people, we can make a real difference in their lives and the quality of support we offer them.
“A massive thank you and well done to the teams that have made this happen.”