Ofsted to launch new social care common inspection
framework from April
A range of children’s social care settings will be subject to the
same social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) from 1
April, Ofsted announced today.
Last year Ofsted published a consultation on the principles for
children’s social care inspections, with a new common inspection
framework and proposals for a new approach to the inspection of
local authority children’s services. The online consultation
received more than 200 responses, the vast majority of which
supported the proposals. Ofsted also piloted the SCCIF and held
face-to-face meetings with many interested people and
groups.
From 1 April, the following three principles will link all our
inspections of children’s social care providers:
- To focus on the things that matter most to children’s lives
- To be consistent in our expectations of providers
- To prioritise our work where improvement is needed most
At present there are several variations in the inspection
guidance for social care providers across the range of settings,
and differences in the criteria used by Ofsted to make judgements
on each type of service.
The experiences and progress of children are central to the new
SCCIF. The framework will support inspectors to focus on the
difference the provider makes to the lives of children and other
service users.
The SCCIF does not mean a one-size-fits-all approach to
inspection. The framework is tailored to reflect and address each
distinct type of children’s social care provider. These are:
- children’s homes, including secure children’s homes
- independent fostering agencies
- voluntary adoption agencies
- residential family centres
- residential holiday schemes for disabled children
- boarding schools and residential special schools
- the residential provision of further education colleges
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said:
“Ofsted and social care professionals have a shared goal: to give
all children the best possible chance in life. The intention of
our three principles is exactly this. I am pleased that sector
leaders and providers responded so positively to our consultation
on the framework, and we will continue to engage with them as we
implement and evaluate it.”
Eleanor Schooling, Ofsted National Director of Social Care,
said:
“The SCCIF is an important step forward in Ofsted setting out
clearly and consistently what we think matters most to children’s
lives wherever they live or receive help.
“For the first time, we are setting out the same expectations for
all social care establishments and agencies while still
recognising the unique work that they do. We think this not only
makes it clearer and more consistent for providers but also sets
out how our inspections will consistently focus on the difference
providers are making to children’s lives.”
Ofsted also sets out its future plans for the inspection of local
authority children's services. These plans will be subject to
piloting over the coming months, ready for implementation in
January 2018. This will introduce proportionate inspections every
three years, with a graded judgement, and focused visits between
inspections to evaluate strengths and weaknesses and support
local authorities to deliver good and better services.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-social-care-inspection
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-launches-new-social-care-common-inspection-framework
