Setting

Mr David Archibald Executive Director of Children and Adults London Borough of Ealing Perceval House 14–16 Uxbridge Road Ealing London W5 2HL

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and young people in the London Borough of Ealing 2008

This letter summarises the findings of the 2008 annual performance assessment (APA) for your council. The evaluations and judgements in the letter draw on a range of data and information which covers the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008. As you know, the APA is not based on an inspection of your services and, therefore, can only provide a snapshot based on the evidence considered. As such, I am grateful to you for assuring the quality of the data provided.

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and young people in the London Borough of Ealing 2008

Performance is judged on a four point scale as detailed in the handbook. I should emphasise that the grades awarded are based on an overall ‘best fit’ model. For instance, an outstanding judgement of Grade 4 reflects that overall most aspects, but not necessarily all, of the services in the area are working very well. We know that one of the features of outstanding provision is the drive for greater improvement and no council would suggest, and nor would Ofsted, that a judgement of outstanding indicates that everything is perfect. Similarly within a judgement of inadequate overall, Grade 1, there could be some aspects of the overall service that are adequate or even good. Judgements are made in a rounded way, balancing all of the evidence and giving due consideration to outcomes, local and national contexts, priorities and decision-making. Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk

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and young people in the London Borough of Ealing 2008

www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0117 945 6293 Direct F 0117 945 6554 South_apa@ofsted.gov.uk The following table sets out the grades awarded for performance in 2008.

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Assessment judgement area APA grade

Overall effectiveness of children’s services 3 Being healthy 3 Staying safe 3 Enjoying and achieving 3 Making a positive contribution 4 Achieving economic well-being 3 Capacity to improve, including the management of services for children and young people

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Assessment judgement area APA grade

Inspectors make judgements based on the following scale 4: outstanding/excellent; 3: good; 2: adequate; 1: inadequate

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Overall effectiveness of children’s services Grade 3

The London Borough of Ealing makes a good contribution to improving outcomes for children and young people. It delivers services which are consistently above minimum requirements. Strong performance has been sustained, the council has built upon its strengths and there have been improvements across all five areas. This is most apparent in the now outstanding positive contribution of Ealing’s children and young people. The council also makes an excellent contribution to the outcomes for looked after children and care leavers; their health and welfare needs are met very well and their educational attainment is significantly better than in similar councils. The educational achievement of Ealing’s young people is good, as is their economic well-being. There is a clear narrowing of the gap between the educational outcomes for most children and young people and those who are most vulnerable, but more remains to be done to raise attainment of seven-year-olds and those of Black

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Overall effectiveness of children’s services Grade 3

Caribbean and Black African heritage. The council’s contribution to the health and safety of its children and young people is good. Safeguarding is good overall, but too few of the initial assessments are completed in a timely manner. The council has made good progress in responding to the recommendations made in the report of the joint area review published in May 2007. Immediate, successful action was taken where required and other longer-term priorities are being taken forward in the sharply focused Children and Young People’s Plan.

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Overall effectiveness of children’s services Grade 3

The continuing improvements across all five areas confirm that there is an excellent capacity to improve. Leadership of senior officers and council members is strong and effective, and Ealing’s vision is clearly articulated. Very effective cooperation and joint working with a range of partners are ensuring services are targeted at areas of greatest need. There is a discernable, positive impact on the outcomes for young people, including those from vulnerable groups. Corporate parenting is a significant strength. The areas for development set out in the council’s self-assessment are appropriate and based on a secure knowledge of strengths and weaknesses.

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Overall effectiveness of children’s services Grade 3

The council’s analysis of its strengths and areas for development is consistent with the evidence. There are no additional recommendations to make as a result of the APA.

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Overall effectiveness of children’s services Grade 3

The children's services grade is the performance rating for the purpose of section 138 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. It will also provide the score for the children and young people service block in the comprehensive performance assessment to be published by the Audit Commission. We are grateful for the information you provided as part of this process and for the time given by you and your colleagues in preparing for the assessment.

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Overall effectiveness of children’s services Grade 3

Juliet Winstanley Divisional Manager, Local Services Inspection

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Being healthy

ƒ Rates of teenage pregnancy are well below similar councils. ƒ Excellent access to and take up of health services to meet the needs of looked after children. ƒ Good provision of integrated services for children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Being healthy

ƒ Obesity levels are above average. ƒ Sexual health advice services are not readily accessible in all locations.

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Staying safe

ƒ There is robust data and excellent use of analysis. ƒ Looked after children have secure and stable placements with very good access to education and health provision which contributes to improved outcomes. ƒ The culture of safeguarding is firmly embedded and there are clear remits for partners including those from the private and voluntary sectors.

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Staying safe

ƒ The timeliness of initial assessments is poor. ƒ Children and young people are remaining subject to child protection plans for too long.

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Enjoying and achieving

ƒ Permanent and fixed-term exclusions have fallen substantially and are low. ƒ The percentage of pupils gaining five good GCSEs is above the national average. ƒ Well targeted efforts are closing the attainment gap for pupils from a range of vulnerable groups, including looked after children and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Enjoying and achieving

ƒ Attainment in reading and writing at Key Stage 1 is not improving as quickly as the national rate. ƒ Attainment of Black African and Black Caribbean pupils still lags behind that of other groups of children.

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Making a positive contribution

ƒ A very high percentage of supervised juveniles are in full time education, employment or training. ƒ There is very effective involvement of children and young people, including children in care and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, in decision making processes at all levels in issues that affect them. ƒ There are excellent arrangements to

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Making a positive contribution

encourage children in care and care leavers to have the highest aspirations.

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Achieving economic well-being

ƒ Participation rates post-16 are high. ƒ More young people are in education, employment or training than the London average. ƒ There is better than average success in gaining Level 2 and 3 qualifications.

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Achieving economic well-being

ƒ The range of work based learning providers is under-developed.

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management of children’s services

ƒ The council is highly ambitious with strong and effective leadership, leading to delivery of high quality services. ƒ A strong emphasis on early intervention, prevention and support has led to sustained improvement and cost savings. ƒ There is excellent cooperation with partners.

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