Ofsted inspection 2019

Ofsted has rated Tower Hamlets Council’s Children’s Services department as ‘good’, just two years after it was given an ‘inadequate’ rating.

Inspectors said the achievement represented 'remarkable progress'. 

We asked some of our wonderful young people to tell you a little bit about what the transformation means.

Our sincere thank you to everyone who made the video possible including students, young people, parents and staff from Woolmore Primary School, George Green's School, Ben Jonson Primary School, John Scurr Primary School, St. Luke’s C.E. Primary School, Central Foundation Girls' School, Halley Primary School, Limehouse Youth Centre, Columbia Road Youth Centre and Kitcat Terrace Leaving Care Service. 

Ofsted's key findings

• Senior leaders and elected members have focused relentlessly on improving practice across all services, changing the culture and tackling previous poor performance.
• Effective and well-coordinated universal and early help provision means that children and families receive good help when they need it. Children in need, including those in need of protection, benefit from good assessments that inform plans to reduce risk and improve children’s circumstances.
• The workforce reflects the diversity of the local population and staff sensitively take account of, and respond appropriately to, the cultural and religious needs of children and families in Tower Hamlets”
• Ofsted also found that highly vulnerable children at risk of exploitation, including those missing from home, school or care, receive effective, bespoke services, delivered sensitively by skilled and committed staff.
• Children in care and care leavers receive good support from workers who know them well and are appropriately ambitious for them. They live in stable homes, which helps them to do their best in all aspects of their lives.
• Improved performance management arrangements mean that senior leaders and frontline managers are very knowledgeable about service performance.
• There has been “significant improvement” in the work of social workers. Caseloads are manageable and children in care are seen regularly by social workers who know them well.
• Long-term and short-term placement stability is beginning to improve. Better sufficiency planning is leading to increases in the availability and choice of placements.
• Additional support and training have enabled carers to look after older adolescents and children with disabilities.

What Ofsted had to say:

"Services for children in Tower Hamlets are now good and have substantially improved since they were found to be inadequate in 2017. Since then, leaders and managers have had a relentless focus to improve practice to deliver good experiences and progress for children and their families.” 

Find out more

You can discover more about the work done to transform the way Tower Hamlets Council delivers Children's Services within the borough.

You can view the full report into Tower Hamlet's Children Services from Ofsted for more information.