Children’s services in Blackpool have been rated outstanding by Ofsted.

Inspectors have said Blackpool Council’s services for children in care and services for care leavers are both outstanding, that the impact of leaders on social work practice is outstanding, and that services for children who need help and protection are good.

This rating makes Blackpool one of just two local authorities in the north west to be rated majority outstanding for children’s services, alongside Manchester.

Blackpool Council has invested heavily across all areas of children’s services in recent years, including in early help, family hubs, adolescent services and targeted support. This, inspectors said, “is facilitating better engagement and responses to children and their families”.

In a report published today, inspectors say that “sustained improvements” mean “children and their families now benefit from consistently high-quality, innovative services that respond to and meet their needs effectively”.

Ofsted inspectors spent 10 days with the council’s team in June. Their report highlights how:

• Investment in services, particularly in early help, has paid off. This was seen across family hubs, adolescent services and targeted support, in the recruitment of foster carers, and in support for care leavers up to age 25 and beyond.
• Investment in workforce development is improving delivery. The department has an “extremely committed, motivated and engaged workforce” who are “confident in leadership”. This is especially evident in recruitment and retention of social workers. Since 2022, the department has halved its number of agency staff.
• Children’s voices are valued. Their wishes and lived experience are “meaningfully captured” and used to shape services. Young people told inspectors they “felt supported in being heard” and that they know their rights.
• Children enjoy long-lasting and “strong, trusting” relationships with the professionals supporting them. For children in care their social workers are a “consistent source of support”, and care leavers “benefit from strong, enduring relationships with [adults] who know them well”.
• Support is “timely and thorough” across the board. This was noted as such for child protection enquiries and investigations, in pre-birth assessments, with young carers, and in adoption placements
• Partnership working is “a real a strength in Blackpool”. These are particularly valuable for emergency or out-of-hours responses and for care leavers, where wide-ranging partnerships improve stability and permanence.
• There is a “genuine, caring culture” across the department. Leaders have “successfully inspired and exemplified” culture change, and embedded a “strong quality assurance culture” and “strong learning culture”.
• The ‘Blackpool Families Rock’ culture is deeply embedded. The “culture and model of practice principles (Head – how we think. Heart – how we behave. Hands – how we work.) are evident throughout the work of practitioners”.

For a detailed overview of the findings, please see below.

Cllr Jim Hobson, cabinet member for children’s services, said:

Blackpool Council’s 600-strong children’s services team celebrated their success at a special thank you event in the Tower Ballroom last week.

The department covers social care, support for vulnerable families, safeguarding, fostering and adoption, and special educational needs and disabilities, supporting a wide range of young people - children in care and care leavers, children at risk of harm, families facing challenges such as poverty, domestic abuse or mental health issues, young carers, and those with disabilities.

An Ofsted inspection report and ratings offer an independent assurance of the quality of provision, signalling that the council is effectively protecting and supporting vulnerable children and their families.

The local authority is now acting on feedback to improve planning and reviews for children and young people, to more consistently identify and address where experiences or progress are not being improved in good time.

In detail: What Ofsted inspectors said about Blackpool Council’s Outstanding children’s services

Of the experiences and progress of children in care – rated Outstanding:

Children’s care plans are “detailed, dynamic and regularly updated”, Ofsted’s inspectors found. These are written as trauma informed for the professionals involved but child-friendly for the child or young people to read themselves.

Within these services, “permanence, in all its forms is a strength in Blackpool”. This is where children know where they will stay for the rest of their time in care, with Blackpool Council using kinship carers, connected carers and special guardianship orders arrangements.

Decisions to place children in Blackpool’s care are “appropriate, timely and grounded in analytical assessments”. Children have access to practical and emotional support as well as “clinical and therapeutic interventions” as needed.

For children who return to live with their parents, there is “structured” care planning and regular reviews, allowing care order to be discharged in a timely manner.

Children in care live in homes where they have “a sense of belonging and stability”. Only a “very small” number live in unregistered placements, and these are only used in emergency circumstances and for a limited period with “clear exit planning”.

For children progressing to adoption, this process happens “in a timely manner” to support permanence, through a “careful matching process” and “well planned” transitions.

Investment in the Foster With Us hub has strengthened foster care recruitment. Foster carers access a “comprehensive training programme” and have “strong, trusted relationships” with social workers.

Of the experiences and progress of care leavers – rated Outstanding: 

Inspectors highlighted how “care leavers enter adulthood with the support they need, with a genuine sense of possibility”, thanks to the strong shared values and commitment from leaders and practitioners alike in Blackpool Council. This is evidenced by the council’s investment in care leavers up to age 25 and beyond, it was noted – “structured support continues for as long as needed”.

Care leavers are also “well supported in maintaining important family relationships”.

Care leavers “feel understood, supported and empowered” by their relationships with professionals, who are allocated to young people early to ensure a good relationships and preparation for independence. Pathway planning for this is “consistently strong”, with plans largely being “co-produced and reflective of the young person’s voice”. Where needed, “transition planning to adult services is a particular strength”.

The children’s services team “demonstrate tenacity and persistence” in securing appropriate housing, and ensure young people can access a range of universal and specialist health services.

There is “clear evidence of positive and improving outcomes for care leavers in employment, education or training”, including increasing numbers of going to university. Participation rates are rising thanks to “purposeful initiatives and targeted support”.

All of this “leads to improved confidence, independence and life chances for care leavers”.

Of the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection – rated Good:

Within these services, the Request for Support Hub – having professionals from different support services working together in one place – has strengthened the quality of decision-making and response to children, Ofsted’s report says.

The hub offers “a wide range of early help interventions” and families are “well supported” by workers. The council’s Family Hubs were also highlighted for providing a “comprehensive, inclusive offer”.

Support for disabled children and their families has improved, thanks to thorough assessments and the involvement of families, their networks, and other agencies.

Where a child or children are under care proceedings, family options are “thoroughly explored” and “access to flexible services” helps to avoid the need for care in some cases. Assessments for private fostering arrangements are “comprehensive” and safeguarding checks routine. Where children are missing or at risk of exploitation, the systems to identify and escalate this are “clear” with “appropriate pathways”, including the specialist Awaken team. Arrangements for children missing education or in elective home-education are “increasingly effective”, while 16- and 17-year-olds presenting as homeless are given thorough support and advocacy.

Of the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families – rated Outstanding:

Inspectors praised “highly ambitious work” from leaders, which has been “transformational, well-coordinated, and firmly rooted in safeguarding and inclusion, leading to significant improvements” across all areas. This has supported services to “work together more effectively” leading to “better educational outcomes, timelier permanence, and successful transitions into adulthood”.

The director of children’s services and chief executive have “built a committed and capable senior team and wider workforce that combines local knowledge with external expertise”. They have “raised the bar for children and families, exemplifying best practices and ensuring an environment where social work can flourish”.

Governance and oversight arrangements are “robust”, partnership working arrangements have “improved significantly”. Relationships with the integrated care board and police “continue to [be strengthened]” by leaders.

The council’s “commitment to improving the life chances of all its children in Blackpool” is clear, inspectors said.