What merits a judgement of “priority action” from Ofsted?
Last month, Ofsted came under fire over its plans to communicate the findings of snap safeguarding checks. The Association of Directors of Children’s Services was outraged because the watchdog wanted to use the term “serious concerns” to describe issues identified by inspectors. Following a short dispute, “serious concerns” became “areas for priority action”. So what conditions have thus far merited this rating? In one council, a shortage of social workers meant that child protection investigations sometimes took longer than they should, so families had to wait too long to access vital services. The completion rate for core assessments was low compared with similar councils in one local authority. There were also significant delays to those core and initial assessments that are carried out. The frequency and quality of supervision of social work staff was also insufficient. One council’s response to child protection referrals did not meet statutory guidance and children in the area wer
