Thurrock Council’s Children’s Social Care & Early Help Services have been graded ‘Outstanding’ across all four judgement areas, following a recent full inspection by Ofsted.
The Ofsted report published today (Tuesday 29 October 2024) found that various effective services had been developed to meet local need, and that the council’s Children’s Services had improved significantly since the previous inspection in 2019 where services were rated ‘Good’ overall.
The upgrade to ‘Outstanding’ means Thurrock Council is now one of only six Local Authorities to achieve this highest grade in the Ofsted’s children’s inspection over the last five years.
Ofsted found: “With extremely strong political and corporate support, and in challenging financial circumstances, inspirational, innovative and child-focused senior leaders, supported by exceptional managers and staff, have been relentless in their focus on improving the lives of children in Thurrock.”
Inspectors heard that “children enjoyed trusting and enduring relationships with their social workers”. Children and young people who spoke with inspectors also shared that they “could talk to their social workers and carers if there is anything they are worried about” and that “they feel listened to”.
The report also highlighted: “Leaders have created a work environment that enables workers to flourish and to make a discernible difference to children’s lives. Leaders’ vision and aspirations for children are shared throughout the workforce and this shines through at all levels of the organisation.”
Cllr Vikki Hartstean, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said: “I am absolutely delighted that Ofsted has recognised the exceptional performance of our teams across Children’s Social Care & Early Help Services as Outstanding. This is a fantastic achievement and reflects the ambition and passion of our senior leaders, managers and staff who are dedicated to improving the lives of children in our borough.
“These services continue to take great strides in the positive role that they play, and it gives me a great sense of pride to read words such as ‘exceptional’, ‘child-focused’, ‘inspirational’ and ‘innovative’ in this report. We will continue to keep Thurrock’s children at the forefront of our services to ensure they reach their full potential. Thank you to the teams and our partners for their hard work in achieving this result.”
Read the full report of the council’s Children’s Social Care & Early Help Services at the Ofsted website: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50260250
