A north London council has been issued with an ‘Improvement Notice’ by the Department for Education (DfE) who have also appointed an advisor after its children’s services were rated as Inadequate by Ofsted.
A government minister said the DfE was “very disappointed” with the result of the inspection and the local authority has since been appointed with an Improvement Advisor to help turn things around.
Ofsted undertook a borough-wide inspection of Harrow Council’s children’s services in January, giving it an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’ due to the watchdog’s findings on the ‘experience and progress of care leavers’. This is a fall from its overall ‘Good’ rating following the department’s previous inspection in 2020.
Ofsted inspectors found that the quality of support provided to care leavers “has deteriorated”, with the risk of harm to young people who were previously under the care of the local authority “not always considered or responded to effectively”. The report highlighted serious failures in keeping in touch with a significant number of care leavers despite them being entitled to ongoing support.
In a letter sent to Harrow Council Leader, Cllr Paul Osborn, the Minister for Children and Families, Janet Daby MP, said she was “very disappointed” to see that the children’s services had been rated Inadequate. She said priority must now be given to ensuring that improvement of the service is delivered “at pace”.
The letter adds: “This will necessitate a council-wide approach and the ongoing corporate, political and financial prioritisation of children’s services over what will be a critical 12 months in Harrow’s improvement journey.
“I understand […] that the council recognises the seriousness of Ofsted’s findings and have already taken action to address urgent issues. I welcome this commitment, and I am pleased to hear of the early steps [that] have been taken towards improvement.
“The issues raised in the report are serious; I can therefore confirm, on behalf of the Secretary of State, that the Department for Education (DfE) has issued the London Borough of Harrow with an Improvement Notice.”
DfE officials have already met with the council to discuss how the local authority is planning to address the areas of weakness identified by Ofsted.
Harrow Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Cllr Hitesh Karia, said: “The wellbeing and safeguarding of our children and young people remains a top priority for the council. We take the role of looking after children in care and supporting them into adulthood very seriously.
“It is reassuring that the Ofsted report rated us ‘Good’ in two areas – for the work we carry out in safeguarding and supporting children under 18 in our care. However, we acknowledge that we have not always provided the right support for all care leavers at 18, and for that, we are truly sorry.”
He added: “As Ofsted judged the council overall to be ‘Inadequate’ due to this, the DfE appointed an Improvement Advisor, as is standard practice for all such councils. We are working closely with our appointed Improvement Advisor to ensure we deliver the best possible services for the children and families of Harrow.
“Since the findings of this report, we have moved quickly to ensure those who have been affected now have a dedicated worker and will receive the support they so rightly deserve to thrive in everything they go on to do as adults.”
