THE care and support offered to children across the borough by Thurrock Council's children's social care and early help services has been rated 'outstanding' by a team of inspectors.

Recently and Ofsted inspection team visited the council and examined all aspects of its care for borough children and graded it across four judgement areas.

The Ofsted report published today (Tuesday, 29 October) 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 inspectors looked at four areas:

• The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection:
• The experiences and progress of children in care:
• The experiences and progress of care leavers:
• The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families:

All were found to be 'outstanding'.

The upgrade to 'outstanding' comes despite the huge financial pressures on the council over the past two years following its catastrophic venture into the solar energy market which effectively bankrupted the authority.

And comes alongside the pressures that have seen the department have a projected operational deficit of more than £3 million for the current year.

So there were genuine moments of celebration by the children's services team when the verdict was officially delivered, meaningh 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."

From left: Sheila Murphy, Thurrock Council's Executive Director Children's Services; Cllr John Kent, Leader of Thurrock Council; Janet Simon, Thurrock Council's Assistant Director, Children's Social Care and Early Help; Cllr Vikki Hartstean, Cabinet Member for Children's Services

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