To provide the committee with the summary letter following Ofsted’s monitoring visit to review how the council and its partners protect vulnerable children from extra-familial risk.

The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People introduced and gave an overview of the report, which focused on the summary letter following the Ofsted monitoring visit that had reviewed Herefordshire Council and its partners' efforts in protecting vulnerable children from extra-familial risk, particularly child exploitation. An overview of the directorate’s responses to the Ofsted findings was also provided. The key points covered are detailed below:

The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People explained that the purpose of the Ofsted monitoring visit had been to assess the effectiveness of multi-agency safeguarding, with a primary focus on how Herefordshire’s children’s services, police, and partners protected children from exploitation and extra-familial risks (such as gang involvement, criminal/sexual exploitation, and abuse outside the home). The visit was part of an ongoing review following previous criticisms of Herefordshire’s child protection services.

Areas of Improvement

The Multi-Agency Working and "Get Safe" Specialist Team was praised as an effective multi-disciplinary hub focused on identifying and addressing child exploitation risks. The team worked across various agencies, including police, education, health services, and children’s social care. Information-sharing between agencies had significantly improved, making interventions more timely and targeted.

Early Help and Risk Identification was being used effectively to screen cases quickly and provide intervention at the right time. The front door services (referral and assessment processes) enabled timely risk assessments, helping children access appropriate support before risks escalated.

There was evidence of proactive intervention regarding disruption and prevention work. The police had identified and disrupted exploitation hotspot and multi-agency teams had been working together to prevent exploitation. Schools, social workers, and police were engaging in awareness campaigns and intervention efforts.

Ofsted had noted an improved quality of risk assessments and had noted that social workers had a clear understanding of risks and that case assessments were detailed and comprehensive. Risk assessments were leading to effective protective actions for children.

Social workers and frontline staff had expressed confidence in leadership, stating that senior managers were visible, supportive, and committed to improvements. A strong culture of improvement and accountability had also been noted among staff.

Areas for Improvement

The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People noted that Ofsted had described some child protection plans as "formulaic" rather than being tailored to individual children’s needs. While social workers had been able to verbally describe bespoke plans, written records had sometimes lacked specific, child-focused language.

The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People explained that with regard to parental engagement and initial meetings, the findings noted that parents and young people were not always involved early enough in risk assessment meetings. Ofsted suggested securing parental consent and engagement earlier to improve the effectiveness of initial safeguarding interventions.

The findings indicated that some vulnerable children with complex needs were experiencing multiple placement moves, increasing their risk of exploitation. Ofsted had flagged concerns about teenagers in care struggling with placement stability, making them more vulnerable to extra-familial risks.

Ofsted had noted that supervision was taking place regularly, but it was not always driving effective case progression. Some cases had shown signs of drift and delay, particularly those involving high-risk adolescents.

Return home interviews for missing children were generally timely and effective, but not enough children were engaging in them. Approximately 60% of children offered an interview accepted it, but Ofsted suggested increasing participation rates.

The Superintendent West Mercia Police explained that the ‘Get Safe’ model had strengthened police involvement in safeguarding. Police were focusing on disrupting exploitation hotspots and ensuring better intelligence-sharing with social services.

A new "Voice of the Child" initiative was underway to train officers to better identify signs of exploitation.

The Superintendent West Mercia Police acknowledged that more work was needed to fully integrate the ‘Think Family’ approach, ensuring families were actively involved in prevention efforts.

The Chair invited debate on the report from the committee members:

1. The committee welcomed the progress noted in the Ofsted report, particularly improvements in multi-agency cooperation and risk assessment.

2. The committee asked how quickly changes were being embedded into practice.

o   The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People explained that actions had been agreed and were being implemented in response to the findings and Ofsted was expected to conduct another follow-up visit in the coming months. A progress update would be scheduled for a future committee meeting.

3. The committee enquired as to whether all social workers were receiving adequate training in writing child-centred care plans.

o   The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People gave an assurance that moving forward all social workers would use child-centred language in care plans and would be provided with additional training and would be instructed to improve record-keeping by ensuring that children’s voices and individual circumstances were clearly reflected in case notes.

4. The committee stressed the need for a more structured approach to engaging families in safeguarding discussions.

o   The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People explained the service was committed to reviewing its approach to parental involvement to ensure that families were included and engaged with earlier in the risk assessment process. The service would explore and consider ways in which safeguarding meetings could be made more inclusive for families.

5. The committee asked what could be done to boost participation in missing child Interviews.

o   The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People stated that multiple follow-up attempts would be made to engage children in these interviews and make sure that they felt safe to share their experiences.

6. The committee raised concerns about ensuring vulnerable teenagers received stable, long-term placements.

o   The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People described how a critical review of approximately 20 unstable cases had been launched - led by senior management - to explore ways to provide greater stability and potentially reunify some young people with their families. The service was working towards reducing placement moves for vulnerable young people.

o   Social workers were instructed to include a summary of the previous three months' supervision notes in each report, ensuring better case continuity and accountability.

7. The committee asked whether there were enough experienced social workers to manage complex cases.

o   The Interim Corporate Director Children and Young People confirmed that while agency workers were still being used, the council was prioritizing recruitment and retention of permanent staff. Case allocation was being carefully managed to ensure experienced workers handled the most complex cases.

8. The committee noted that the Ofsted monitoring visit had highlighted significant progress in safeguarding vulnerable children. The committee acknowledged the improvements but stressed the need for continued oversight to ensure long-term change.

o   The Cabinet Member Children and Young People noted that the Ofsted report had been strong and that hopefully this would be reflected across other areas of work.

o   The Cabinet Member stressed the importance of acknowledging that this had to be a multi-partnership effort to ensure that not only professional agencies, but also communities were aware of the risks and were able to elevate concerns when they had them. It was challenging and complex work that needed to be carried out right to protect children and families who were vulnerable.

At the conclusion of the debate the committee discussed potential recommendations and the following resolutions were agreed.

Resolved:

1. That the committee note the report.