OFSTED finds County Council is on track with support for children at risk of harm

Government inspectors have found Derbyshire County Council has continued to build on its ‘Good’ Ofsted grading for vulnerable children at risk of harm and in need of help and protection.

Inspectors visited the council on May 7 and 8 to carry out a ‘focused’ visit of the authority’s arrangements specifically for children subject to a child-in-need or child protection plan.

In an outcome letter detailing the findings of that visit published on the Ofsted website on Monday 9th June, inspectors found that:

• Most children with a child-in-need or child protection plan in Derbyshire receive a timely and responsive service from their social workers. 
   
• Plans are informed by thorough assessments of children’s needs, visits and reviews are regular and workers show commitment to and aspirations for the children they support. 
   
• Strategic decisions regarding service structure in Derbyshire ensure that many children benefit from continuity of their allocated worker from first assessment of their needs through to child-in-need and child protection planning which enables most children’s plans to start promptly following assessment.
   
• Social workers are responsive to the changing needs of children, reviewing and adjusting plans as required. Changes in need trigger proportionate ‘stepping-up’ and ‘stepping-down’ actions, underpinned by a clear rationale formulated through multi-agency assessment and review. 
   
• Well-attended strategy discussions take place promptly when concerns about significant harm arise for children already receiving statutory support. Social workers, managers and partner agencies quickly assess risk, and this is enhanced through systematic information-sharing. As a result, managers make well-informed decisions and act without delay.
   
• Most children are visited in accordance with their plan with announced and unannounced visits informing social workers’ understanding of children’s experiences and needs effectively. 

Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Children and Families Councillor Sam Redfern said: “Looking after our most vulnerable, in need and at-risk children and young people is our most important job. I’m very pleased to see that our efforts to build on the ‘Good’ Ofsted grading we received last year have been recognised by inspectors in their recent focused visit.

“They found that we are responsive to children in need of help and protection, our leaders and managers are available and supportive, our social workers are responsive to the changing needs of the children they support and managers make well-informed decisions to concerns about children’s safety.

“This provides further affirmation that our good practice in looking after vulnerable children in need and at risk not only maintains but continues and develops. We’re constantly striving to ensure we give children in Derbyshire the best possible start in life and support families who most need our help.

“Importantly for me, inspectors noted our social workers are committed to and have aspirations for the children they work with. I greatly value and recognise their efforts, but most of all I am very proud of all the children and young people across Derbyshire we support.”

Inspectors also found that:

• Workers use a variety of direct work methods to build relationships with children effectively, ensuring that their views are taken seriously. Observations of care, particularly for babies and younger children, are detailed and thoroughly recorded.
   
• Social workers ensure that timely referrals are made to specialist agencies to help parents who are experiencing domestic abuse, poor mental health or substance abuse. 
   
• Social workers routinely engage family networks well in all aspects of their work.
   
• Disabled children benefit from social workers who understand their needs, advocate strongly and maintain high aspirations. Older children’s transitions to adulthood are well planned and timely, with proactive and collaborative joint work with adult services.
   
• Leaders and managers are visible, available and supportive. Their targeted focus to engage with the workforce has had a real impact in promoting the resilience of teams, setting conditions for the continued development of practice.

Meanwhile, inspectors noted two areas of social work practice for improvement:

• Consistency of case recording and management oversight, including recorded rationale of key decisions, particularly for interim safety planning and partner escalations.
   
• The accessibility, clarity and structure of legal pre-proceedings letters and minutes of meetings to ensure they are easy for parents to understand.

“We fully accept the areas highlighted for improvement and work to address them is already ongoing and will continue,” added Councillor Redfern. “We have a strong leadership team in place plus myself in my new Cabinet Member role to ensure it does.”.

Read Derbyshire County Council’s Ofsted outcome letter in full here: DerbyshireOfstedOutcomeLetterJune2025

The county council’s services for children in care or at risk of harm, families who need social work support and young people leaving care were graded as ‘Good’ across the board in a full Ofsted inspection in January 2024. Read the report in full here: DerbyshireOfstedJan2024