The inspection of arrangements for the protection of children and young people

1. The inspection of arrangements for the protection of children and young people • Ofsted unannounced inspections from May 2012

2. Framework for inspection • New unannounced inspection regime, lasting for two weeks • Replaces the previous unannounced inspection of contact, referral and assessment; and the announced inspections of Safeguarding and Looked After Children • Introduced from May 2012 • Will be the framework for Slough’s next inspection

3. Focus for inspection • Considers the effectiveness of services in identifying children and young people who may be at risk • Looks at how agencies work together to identify problems and offer effective help early, without formal referral to social care • Examines the child’s journey from early identification and early help onwards

4. The child’s journey (1) • Quality, effectiveness and timeliness of assessment and risk management • Effectiveness and impact of help offered • Consistency of focus on child’s needs • Quality and effectiveness of interagency working, including interface with adult social care • Meaningful, consistent and direct contact between social workers, other professionals and the family

5. The child’s journey (2) • Effectiveness of quality assurance and management oversight of practice and decision making • Experiences of particularly vulnerable children and young people • How well the local authority takes account of the wishes and feelings of children and young people

6. Evaluation and grade descriptors What will ‘good’ look like? (1) • High quality work with children, young people and families • Leadership and governance that drives improvement • Effective and continuous learning • Children and young people at risk of harm are identified and protected • Early help is effective in identifying and improving outcomes for ‘hard to reach’ groups

7. Evaluation and grade descriptors What will ‘good’ look like? (2) • Multi-agency working is of exceptionally high quality and ensures access to co-ordinated help • Evidence of sustained positive outcomes • Practice is consistently high standard and child centred • Highly effective practice improves protection outcomes for children and young people • Social work practice is confident and secure • Management oversight is consistently challenging and results in reflective practice and learning

8. Evaluation and grade descriptors What will ‘good’ look like? (3) • Effective local authority leadership is recognised by partners as driving improvement across the whole system • Clear evidence of a shared priority to delivering effective help and protection to all children at risk of harm across all agencies and services • Shared and effective approach to performance management and improvement across all agencies • All agencies and services work together as a single system to drive in improvement in effective early help and protection work

9. Improvement Board decisions about actions for all partner agencies • Next steps: