Working ‘to get to the level our young people deserve’
Coun Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We know there is still a long way togo, but it’ s heartening that Ofsted have reported the steady progress being made after each of their three monitoring visits.
“Children’s Services are in a much better place now than they were in 2015 and we’re continuing to work hard to make a positive difference to their lives of the children and families we work with.”
Reporting on their findings, inspectors said they noted improved performance in many areas of practice for looked after children and that the number of children who have had a change in social worker has “appreciably reduced” since the Ofsted inspection.
They also said caseloads for social workers had reduced and that, overall, children, parents and carers “spoke positively” about the support they receive from social workers.
Nick Whitfield, the Government’s Commissioner for Children’s Services in Sunderland, said: “I’m pleased to see Sunderland making steady progress as it continues to rebuild and improve its services for children. The council has worked hard to make improvements and although there is still a significant way to go, this is further evidence that things are getting better.”
Coun Louise Farthing, Portfolio Holder for Children’ s Services, said: “We are continuing to work hard to make the improvements needed at the same time as recognising the progress that has been made.
“We are also very much aware of how much more we need to do to get services to the level our children and young people deserve.”