Ofsted is seeking views on proposals for a more effective and
proportionate approach to inspecting the Children and Family
Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass).
Launched today, the consultation seeks a
range of views from those working with children and families in
the family courts.
If implemented, the new approach will align Cafcass
inspections with Ofsted’s other inspections of children’s social
care. It will maintain a high bar, while introducing more
proportionate inspection in response to Cafcass’s
continued good performance.
The proposed new framework will create a ‘whole-system’
approach of shorter inspections, with more regular contact
in-between. More frequent engagement will help Ofsted to build a
better picture of Cafcass’s
practice.
The proposals in today’s consultation include:
- a 3-yearly national judgement inspection
- focused visits between judgement inspections, or inclusion in
joint targeted area inspections
- annual sharing of a self-evaluation of frontline practice in
both public and private law
- an annual engagement meeting between Ofsted and the
Cafcass
chief executive and senior leadership team
Three-yearly inspection of the national organisation will
continue, but in light of Cafcass’s history
of positive inspection outcomes, the inspection will be shorter
than it is currently. If Cafcass’s
performance drops below the level of good, Ofsted will have the
flexibility to extend the inspection.
At the 3-yearly inspection, Ofsted proposes to make judgements on
the quality and effectiveness of Cafcass’s
private law and public law practice, and on the impact that its
leaders have on practice with children and families.
While individual service areas (Cafcass’s
operational units) will no longer receive a graded judgement,
inspectors will feed back to each area on its key strengths and
areas for improvement at the end of each visit.
The consultation will close on 11 November and the
proposed new framework will take effect from February 2021.
Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Regulation and
Social Care said:
Cafcass
has a hugely important role in providing expert social work
advice to the family court. I urge anyone working with children
and families in the family justice system to give us their
views on these proposals.
The family courts can be a frightening and confusing
experience, so good-quality, thoughtful work with children and
families is vital. Our proposals retain all the rigour of
previous inspections but will be more proportionate, with a
greater focus on organisational culture and direct work with
children and families.
