Lambeth Children’s Services “requires improvement”
By Maeve Cullinan
A department which looks after the interests of vulnerable children has been criticised by the government watchdog.
Children’s Services in Lambeth ‘requires improvement to be good’, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) has found.
Ofsted inspected the borough’s Children’s Services, the department which is responsible for supporting and protecting vulnerable children, between October 24 and November 4 this year.
The report notes that there several key areas for improvement, including swifter court action in relation to care proceedings and better planning for transitions for disabled children.
It also noted that too few children who need to be looked after and who are placed within their wider family, or with their parents where there is a legal order in place, receive timely assessment of their needs, or the right support to ensure that their placements continue to meet their needs.
However, Ofsted did note that Lambeth council workers “demonstrate a genuine passion and enthusiasm for improving the lives of children in Lambeth,” and that senior leadership provides stability.
Cllr Claire Holland, the leader of Lambeth council, said: “We are pleased that the report highlighted the strengths of our Children’s Social Care department, including the skilled and creative direct work practitioners undertake with children, the effectiveness of much of our partnership work and the stability and progress that many of our children in care are achieving.
“The areas for improvement are clear and will be a point of focus for the service and our partners as we continue to improve.”
A 2021 report published by the UK’s leading children’s charities revealed that between 2010 and 2020, local authorities in England reduced spending on early intervention services from £3.6bn to £1.8bn.
They estimated that government funding available to councils for children’s services fell by 24 per cent between 2010/11 and 2019/20 – from £9.9 billion to £7.5 billion in real terms.
Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau, said: “It is unacceptable that so many children and families are being let down and denied the support that could allow them to enjoy happy and stable lives.
“It is inescapably linked to the devastating erosion of central Government funding for children’s services over the past decade.”
Pictured top: Lambeth Town Hall (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Reading Tom)