Concerns have still been raised by Ofsted, despite findings of improvement within ‘inadequate’ children’s services in Birmingham. During a monitoring inspection, which took place in March, children were found to be taken into care appropriately and promptly by the local authority. There were findings of a more stable workforce and lower caseloads.
Notwithstanding the above, the inspectors found inconsistencies in the quality of the care plans and wanted greater improvement generally. Better supervision was pointed out and a need for important voices, such as schools and health visitors, being more involved with reviews.
Inspectors warned: “The local authority now needs to move without delay towards consistently evaluating these areas if it is to progress further and support staff in embedding the link between a good quality of practice and improved outcomes for children.”
