Council hits back after Ofsted inspection criticism

The council says inspectors did not recognise areas of good practice

Leicester City Council has said Ofsted's latest inspection findings do not "accurately reflect" the state of its children's services.

The watchdog has said the authority requires improvement in all areas of its children's services and the authority's performance had declined since it was last inspected four years ago.

Leicester's deputy mayor Sarah Russell said on Wednesday the inspection process had been "extremely difficult" and areas of good practice had not been recognised by inspectors.

Ofsted declined to comment.

Deputy mayor Sarah Russell said the council had taken a number of issues up with Ofsted

The inspection was carried out in September, and Ofsted has now published its report, which highlights the city's diverse young population.

It added: "This brings dynamism to the city but also challenges in terms of the range and complexity of need and the impact of poverty and racism.

"Despite the clear commitment of leaders to meet these challenges and do the right things for vulnerable children in Leicester, the overall effectiveness of services to support children and families in Leicester has declined since the last inspection in 2021."

Russell, who oversees social care, said the council had already completed, or was working on, many of the actions and points raised by Ofsted.

'Disappointed'

She said she was pleased inspectors judged staff were well-supported and social workers knew children well.

"However, we also felt we couldn't engage with Ofsted inspectors in the way we wanted to," Russell said.

"We are experienced at undergoing inspections, but felt that the process this time was extremely difficult, with a lack of recognition of areas of good practice.

"We are taking up these issues with Ofsted, but in the meantime our focus is firmly on ensuring that our staff are supported, children in Leicester are kept safe, and that we continue to work really hard to provide the best possible service for every child and family that needs our help."

Laurence Jones, the city council's strategic director of social care and education, added: "We are disappointed in this report, which we feel does not accurately reflect our service due to issues in the inspection process."

Ofsted's report said the council needed to improve the experience and progress of Leicester children who were in care, leaving care and those who needed protection.

It added council leaders also needed to tighten their oversight of social work, that vulnerable children did not always receive the support they needed and the council was not "responding effectively to children's increasing needs".

The report also stated the council's response when children were experiencing neglect was not "consistently effective" and there were "sometimes avoidable delays" in recognising children's experiences were not improving.