As a result of the Ofsted inspection of Children’s Services, services for children in need of help and protection were judged as inadequate and the overall judgement has to be given as inadequate even though aspects of the service were described as a strength. Ofsted will monitor progress regularly and Bradford will be subject to a full re-inspection within two years. This has led to the creation of a full Children’s Social Care Improvement Board.
The Improvement Board has produced a Statement of Action which is the improvement plan to coordinate activity and is structured around six themes for action. The latest draft is available Improvement web page.
This plan will be the road map for delivering the improvement in services to get to “good” or better. In order for the improvements to be made, all partners will need to work together with a clear vision and an agreed set of goals.
The BSCB will be acting as support and challenge to this process, with the JTAI sub-group now to as a Multi-agency Inspection group to support multi-agency activity in support of the work. The Bradford Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB) has recently reviewed its Business Plan and Delivery Plan which will synchronise with the Statement of Action. The new plan will facilitate long term scrutiny of the improvement journey and focus upon multi-agency themes.
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