Ofsted praise for children's social care in Bury

Work to keep Bury’s children safe and well has been praised by the official watchdog Ofsted.

Inspectors looked at a wide range of services provided by Bury Council and rated Children who need Help and Protection as ‘good’, along with work on Adoption and Leadership Management and Governance.

A parallel review of partnership working on children's services also rated the Bury Children's Safeguarding Board as ‘good’.

Councillor Sharon Briggs, cabinet member for children and families, said: “We are pleased with the report which is fair and reflects the quality of work we do to protect children and families in Bury. We are delighted that the strength of our work in child protection and early help has been recognised along with our performance on adoption.

“We accept that we have areas for improvement, which we identified to Ofsted, and which we are putting together plans to address. The grades we have been given place us in the top 30% of authorities in the country.”

Ofsted did say that work with ‘looked after’ children and care leavers required improvement, and the council is now putting together an action plan to do so.

Sharon Beattie, the independent chair of Bury Safeguarding Children Board, added: “The Ofsted report clearly demonstrates that children in Bury are getting the help they need at the earliest opportunity.

“I also welcome the ‘good’ rating that was placed on the multi-agency working within the children’s safeguarding board, and take this opportunity to thank my predecessor Gill Rigg, local partners and staff for all their hard work in this achievement.

“This does not mean we can be complacent, and I look forward to addressing areas for improvement and monitoring the work of partners in implementing their action plans.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 24 May 2016.