Setting

Ms Carol Chambers Director of Children's Services Rutland County Council Catmose Oakham Rutland LE15 6HP

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Children’s services annual rating

Ofsted guidance published in May 2009 explained that the annual rating would derive from a new performance profile of the quality of services and outcomes for children and young people in each local area. This profile includes findings from across Ofsted’s inspection and regulation of services and settings for which the council has strategic or operational responsibilities, either alone or in partnership with others, together with data from the relevant Every Child Matters indicators in the new National Indicator Set (NIS).

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Children’s services annual rating

In considering the evidence in the profile to determine the children’s services rating for 2009 it has become clear that the continuing gaps in the data are significant, particularly those relating to aspects of social care and services for Looked After Children. Ofsted has decided therefore to use 2009 as a transitional year easing into the full application of the new system in 2010. As a consequence, although the performance profile remains central to Ofsted’s rating, we have interpreted the performance bands with flexibility and exercised professional judgement with caution.

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Children’s services annual rating

The annual rating derives from a four point scale:

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Children’s services annual rating

4 Performs excellently An organisation that significantly exceeds minimum requirements 3 Performs well An organisation that exceeds minimum requirements 2 Performs adequately An organisation that meets only minimum requirements 1 Performs poorly An organisation that does not meet minimum requirements

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Children’s services annual rating

Within each level there will be differing standards of provision. For example, a rating of ‘performs excellently’ does not mean all aspects of provision are perfect. Similarly, a rating of ‘performs poorly’ does not mean there are no adequate or even good aspects. Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 020-7421-6716 Direct F 020-7421-5715 juliet.winstanley@ofsted.gov.uk

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Children’s services rating Performs well (3)

Children’s services in Rutland County Council perform well.

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Children’s services rating Performs well (3)

The overall effectiveness of the very large majority of inspected services and settings is good or better. The outcome of all nursery, special and secondary school inspections is good or better and the local authority’s one fostering agency is outstanding. Just over three quarters of primary schools are judged to be good or better; this is proportionally better than in similar areas and that found nationally. A very large majority of childcare provision on domestic premises is good. About two thirds of childminders are good; this is above the national picture but below similar authorities. Almost no provision is judged to be inadequate. However, there are no separate inspection judgements relating to provision for children whose circumstances make them vulnerable. Services such as pupil referral units, children’s homes or adoption agencies are often provided as part of a joint arrangement with Leicestershire and Leicester City.

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Children’s services rating Performs well (3)

Performance against a very large majority of national indicators in the National Indicator Set, including those for staying safe and enjoying and achieving, is in line with or above similar areas and often better than national figures. The performance of children and young people who are in circumstances that make them vulnerable is good. In almost all aspects, the gap between their performance and that of their peers is narrower than in similar authorities and across the country as a whole. One exception is the gap in the proportion of young people from low income families achieving a Level 3 qualification by the age of 19. The proportion of young people involved in purposeful education, employment or training between the ages of 16 and 18 is very high. However, against national trends, the rate of teenage girls becoming pregnant is rising.

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Children’s services rating Performs well (3)

The children’s services rating is provided for the purpose of section 138 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. The rating of local authority children’s services will contribute significantly to the managing performance theme of each local authority’s Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) organisational assessment and therefore to the score for each local authority overall.

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Children’s services rating Performs well (3)

Juliet Winstanley Divisional Manager, CAA

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