Ofsted
Good morning everybody. Its great to be here today. And thank you to the LGA, ADASS, and ADCS for inviting us.
Before I start talking, I do just want to acknowledge the Inquest that is underway Im sure many of you will have seen the media reports. I cannot talk about that today, but I would like to say again how deeply saddened we at Ofsted were at the death of Ruth Perry. We are thinking about her family, friends and colleagues at this time. We have given evidence to the Inquest this week and we will of course continue to assist the Coroner in any way we can.
Ive been doing this job for 7 years now, and it has been a tremendous privilege. One of things that makes it so interesting is the opportunity to look and think systemically across all of education and care, and see what is emerging.
Annual report
And last weeks annual report, my seventh and last, was one such an opportunity.
It made me think about the progress that our sectors have made in the last 7 years.
Of course, that period has been overshadowed by pandemic disruption.
But actually, as we reported, there are now signs that we can be optimistic. Looking from start to finish at those 7 years a great deal has happened. The profile of inspection results has been level or improving slightly in most sectors and recovery is happening faster than we might have expected.
Were not blind to the challenges, but there are many reasons for optimism. And that is down to the fantastic work of so many people working in education and social care.
In schools were seeing improvement in curriculum in many subjects and deeper thinking across the board. This undoubtedly helped when the pandemic hit, helping schools adapt and bridge gaps, and minimising the harm to childrens education.
And for young children, were seeing significantly better reading teaching in primary schools. And 9-in-10 primary schools are now rated good or outstanding. And the work of the early years sector, in and out of schools, is making a real difference for a generation born into lockdowns and social distancing. And the vast majority of nurseries and childminders continue to be good or outstanding.
And for over-16s, were seeing some positives in further education. More than 9-in-10 colleges are rated good or outstanding. And the renewed national interest in post-16 education is also welcome. Not just the longstanding skills agenda but also actually the new thinking around the advanced British standard.
And I also welcome the real improvements that many of you are making in social care.
My first annual report showed that only around a third of local authorities were judged good or outstanding for childrens services.
Shortly after that report, we began our ILACS framework.
You know that ILACS is intentionally risk-based and aims to be proportionate. Its about the experiences and progress of children and the work you do to make your services as good as they can be. And it helps us to respond to rising risk and spot areas for improvement before they become systemic.
In the time weve been using ILACS, the proportion of local authorities rated good or outstanding has risen to 60%.
Weve reinspected about a quarter of local authorities under ILACS. And more than 8 out of 10 you have retained or improved your grade. Five have improved by 2 grades.
And were also generally seeing stability in the quality of other social care provision.
The proportion of childrens homes rated good or outstanding has increased slightly over the last year to 83%. After a small pandemic dip, this takes that sector back to the point it was in my first annual report.
And of course, the social care sector includes so much more than childrens homes. Other types of social care provision have also improved, including adoption and fostering agencies, residential special schools and family centres, boarding schools, and residential further education colleges. Over 90% of those are now also good or outstanding.
Our role
Of course, we inspect individual providers and local authorities, but we also look at the bigger picture.
Like many of you, we have a broad portfolio. Just as you look across your services or area, we look across the whole range of services that support children.
And while government policy limits our role to diagnosis, we absolutely aim to be a force for improvement in all the services that affect childrens lives.
I know that all of you, whether you represent specialist provision or oversee the whole spectrum, share our commitment to improving childrens lives and opportunities.
And you know only too well that you cant look at one part of a childs life in isolation.
Because its only by joining the dots of everything happening in a childs life that we can really know that theyre getting the education and care they need. It really does take a village.
Our approach to inspection
Looking at the full picture is very much our approach to inspection.
We look to get under the bonnet of the place that we are inspecting. We want to see substance and we want to see integrity.
And we build the approach around professional dialogue, because we dont just want to see words and numbers on a page. We want to know what its really like to be a child in your care.
This is true in all our inspections, whether in education, social care, or special needs.
This determination to get to a true picture of what its like for children in care also contributed to bringing in our new judgement for care leavers. Weve always looked at this, but it was previously addressed in the judgement for children in care. And weve now unpacked it. Twenty-six local authorities have been inspected with the updated model and half received different judgements for care leavers than for children currently in care.
So this separation is helping us highlight good and poor practice for these distinct groups and to make more targeted recommendations.
Of course, our work has multiple purposes, and we have duties to the public and to government. But we also want it to be useful to you. Our post-inspection surveys consistently find that over 90% of social care respondents agree that their inspection will help them improve their services.
And incidentally the same is true across the board including for schools, for nurseries and childminders, and for colleges and other skills providers. This shows that our approach is the right one, and that its working.
Local authorities
As Ive said, weve seen steady improvement in local authority childrens services. And several things are driving this.
Of course, the most important thing is getting the basics of good social work right.
And were seeing local authorities working directly with families and with clear practice models.
Of course, to develop consistent relationships with children and families, you need enough skilled social workers and good support services. But we are seeing family-focused and child-centred work leading to positive change.
And we know that, for the most part, you are taking swift and purposeful action in childrens best interests, where its needed.
We see more places that are harnessing the strengths of wider family networks both to prevent harm and to provide enduring care. Ambitious leaders, who are clear about the direction and about expectations, are key to getting this right.
And we are also increasingly seeing authorities working with partners across boundaries. We know that solutions are rarely delivered in one area in isolation. And its vital for tackling issues like sufficiency, county lines gangs, and serious youth violence where boundaries on a map are no barrier to children being harmed.
Its a complex national picture, but the signs are encouraging, and we hope to see more improvements in future.
The national context and accountability
And I want to reassure you that we recognise the context in which you are working.
We know you dont exist in a bubble and are affected by national trends and government policy. So please know that we will always be proportionate in our approach.
For example, Ive spoken frequently about the breakdown in the social contract since the pandemic.
By which I mean the unwritten agreement that parents will get their children to school every day, and respect schools expectations and policies. And in return, schools will give them a good education and prepare them for their next steps.
This is currently a big challenge for schools, and I know you are also dealing with the ramifications. Dealing with some of the most stressed and challenged families, working with and alongside them, to get the best outcomes for c