Joint area review

Joint area review Report for children and young people in Warrington

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Report for children and young people about the services they receive in Warrington Warrington children and young people’s report 1

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Why should I read this?

The law says that inspectors must look at and then report on how well local services serve children and young people in an area. This is called a “review”. Inspectors visited your area recently. You might like to read this, or the full report which you can find on Ofsted’s website, to find out what they had to say.

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What did the inspectors do?

Eight inspectors visited Warrington in July and September 2007 so that they could get a feel of what life is like for children and young people in the area. They:

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What did the inspectors do?

™ talked/listened to a number of children and young people ™ talked with adults working with children and young people (such as social workers, teachers, youth workers, nurses, doctors, police officers and councillors) ™ spoke to parents and other people caring for children ™ met with school councils’ representatives and members of the Youth Parliament ™ heard from the council and other agencies what they think about the services they provide for children ™ read a lot of reports; and ™ visited a number of neighbourhoods in the area.

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What did the inspectors do?

The inspectors looked at services for children and young people to ensure they were properly safeguarded as well as services for children who are being looked after by the local authority and for children and young people with a learning difficulty or disability. They also looked at how well local services are working together to improve the child and adolescent mental health services, reduce substance misuse and improve services and provision for young people aged 14-19.

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How well are children and young people safeguarded in Warrington?

Children and young people are safeguarded well. Local services work closely together to protect and support them. Family support services are outstanding. Warrington children and young people’s report 2

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the council in Warrington?

The council works hard to make sure children and young people in their care are healthy and do well in school. Young people leaving care receive good help in finding accommodation and many succeed in finding employment or continuing with their education or training.

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learning difficulty and/or a disability in Warrington?

Local services are good. Children and young people who have a learning difficulty or disability generally do well in school and are able to take part in a wide range of school activities. There is good support to help them when they leave school.

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emotional and mental health needs?

These services are improving well although they don’t always meet everyone’s needs quickly enough and, at the moment, there is not enough suitable help for young people over 16 years.

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How well do local services work together to reduce substance misuse?

Local services work well together and offer good support to young people, their families and carers. Young people are getting good help in their schools and local community. Some young people have been trained as peer educators and produced some high quality publicity materials. The council and its partners know there is a lot of work still to be done to reduce the number of young people with alcohol related problems.

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young people aged 14-19?

Schools and colleges work very closely together to make sure that children aged 14-16 are successful. Services for young people aged 16 and over are getting better although not enough young people are currently taking part in work-based learning. Warrington children and young people’s report 3

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How well are local services led and managed?

Services are well managed and the council and its partners have imaginative and challenging ambitions to continue to improve services for all children and young people in Warrington.

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Things that need doing straight away

Find good ways of telling children and young people in the area about this report.

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Things that need doing straight away

Make sure that initial assessments in all child protection cases are regularly checked to meet the needs of the children involved.

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Things that need doing over the next six months

Improve the service for young people over 16 years who have emotional and mental health needs

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Things that need doing over the next six months

When cases move from and to family support services make sure the arrangements are clear.

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Things that need doing over the next six months

Find ways to help children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities become involved in their service planning

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Things that need doing over the longer term

Develop more flexible and responsive services to address the needs of looked after children with more complex emotional and behavioural difficulties

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Things that need doing over the longer term

Make sure that work-based learning providers and the voluntary sector are more involved in the strategic development of 14-19 provision

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