26 January 2023
Catch-up flu clinics for children in Luton
‘Catch-up’ flu clinics for children aged 2 to 15 are set to take place in Luton this weekend (Saturday 28 January) and during the February…
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In its first full inspection of our Children’s Services since 2020, Ofsted has concluded that significant improvements have been made and children in Luton now receive a much better service from the local authority.
Despite the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 and extremely challenging constraints in funding, the regulator believes that leaders and staff have still achieved tangible and significant progress since the last full inspection.
In its report, which was published today (Monday 5 September), Ofsted was positive about the performance of the local authority in a number of key areas. These include:
For children in need of help and protection:
For children in care and care leavers:
The impact of leaders on social work practice:
While acknowledging the extreme difficulties and many challenges facing the service, Ofsted has highlighted some areas where further improvement is still required in order for the service to be rated as ‘Good’.
These are issues facing councils across the country: including the difficulty in retaining the council’s social care workforce; the quality and analysis of assessments of children and the consistency of support and pathway plans for care leavers.
The council is already taking action to address these issues, including:
Cllr Tahmina Saleem, portfolio holder for children’s services, said: “While it was always going to take time to completely turn the service around from where it was back in 2020, the report published today clearly states children and families in Luton are better supported, better protected and significant improvements have been made across the service.
“Despite the significant progress, we acknowledge we need to make further improvements so that all children in Luton can thrive and have the life opportunities they deserve. We remain completely focused upon continuing to make positive changes based on what Ofsted has told us and the improvement plans already in place.
“We can be proud of the significant progress we have made and it is absolutely right to acknowledge and thank our staff, partners and leadership team for their hard work, tenacious drive and extreme determination. Together they have delivered significant improvements across the service throughout what has been the most challenging of times during the pandemic.”
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26 January 2023
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