North Tyneside’s ‘Front Door’ services for children and their families has been praised by Ofsted inspectors following a focused inspection earlier this year.
The service, which provides access to all services for children and young people, is the latest area of the council’s ‘outstanding’ Children’s Service to receive a glowing report from Ofsted.
Published on Monday 6 May, the report highlights that children and families in North Tyneside receive ‘highly effective’ services when they’re referred to the council.
Inspectors found that services provided by the council and it’s multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) were ‘timely and proportionate’, where children’s and families individual needs and vulnerabilities are considered from an early stage to provide the best possible support.
They praised the overall effectiveness of the service from the culture created by senior leadership through to continuity of service provided and found that the service helps to ‘improve children’s situations’.
Highlights of the inspectors’ findings include:
The workforce is ‘highly skilled and knowledgeable’ and there’s an effective senior leadership team who promote a culture of ‘doing the right thing’ for individual children
A good range of early help support is available which enables families to become involved in the decisions which affect them at the earliest possible opportunity
‘Sensitive and well-planned’ approaches by social workers ensures children’s views are listened to in assessments
The service captures what children think is working well for them and what worries they have, which is used to influence planning and interventions
Inspectors also found that senior leaders in the borough are ‘rightly proud’ of the services response to the Covid-19 pandemic, during which they responded to an ‘immense increase’ in referrals whilst also dealing with the challenges of social distancing and remote working.
They acknowledge that the teams in place in the service, including the Future Steps team, have strengthened the service by further safeguarding children and supporting them and their networks through any challenges they face.
Jacqui Old, Director of Services for Children and Adults at North Tyneside Council, said: “We want to ensure that North Tyneside is a place where local children can thrive no matter what their circumstances are. We work hard every day to ensure we are providing the best possible service to our residents, including constantly reviewing how we work to embed the opinions and needs of young people into the heart of everything we do.
“I’m delighted that Ofsted have recognised the commitment of our front door services and partnerships to make a real impact on children’s lives.
“The outcome of this inspection is a testament to the hard work of our teams and our partners and to once again receive praise from Ofsted for our services is something we are all extremely proud of.”
North Tyneside’s Children’s Services are no stranger to praise from Ofsted. Over the last two years, both its children’s services and youth justice service have been praised by inspectors for being ‘outstanding’, and in 2021 outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities were praised for being ‘strong’ in a report by Ofsted and the CQC.
You can read the full Ofsted report here.
