Setting

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456-404045 edhelpline@ofsted.gov.uk

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Mr Christopher Duffield Town Clerk Corporation of London PO Box 270 Guildhall London EC2P 2EJ

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EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S SOCIAL CARE SERVICES 2005

This letter summarises the findings of the meeting held on 20 July 2005 to assess the performance of the education and social care services within your authority. We are grateful for the information which you provided to support this process and for the time made available by yourself and your colleagues to discuss relevant issues.

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Being healthy

Outcomes in this area are very good overall. Good partnership working between key services is promoting healthy lifestyles and work is underway to develop indicators that further demonstrate the effectiveness of services. Healthy living is promoted in school and there are good resources to provide good quality school food. There have been no teenage pregnancies. All looked after children have had health and dental checks and there is strong collaboration with the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) to promote their well-being. The authority has worked with unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people to identify and respond to their health care needs, particularly on immunisation, health screening and the promotion of health awareness. There are effective joint arrangements for children’s mental health services, with a particular focus on prevention work. More evidence needs to be gathered about the impact of services on

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Being healthy

improving health outcomes for children and young people.

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Staying safe

Outcomes in this area are very good. There is an extensive range of services to support children in need and their families, although more evidence needs to be gathered about outcomes to demonstrate further the success of these services. There is effective joint working across all children’s services to ensure children and young people’s needs are identified early and that they are protected. There are few children who need to be safeguarded through the formal child protection system, though this works well for these few children. There is a good service for looked after children, the majority of whom are asylum-seeking young people who are placed in semi-independent accommodation in Peterborough. These arrangements are being closely monitored by the authority to ensure that a good standard of care is provided. Joint planning between education and social services for children and young people with disabilities

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Staying safe

and special educational needs is well developed. The extension of Direct Payments is also being well planned with the recruitment of a specialist to assist with re- assessments and a targeted promotional campaign. Work to raise awareness about the need to register private fostering arrangements and recruit adoptive families has also been effective, with three families recently being successfully assessed as prospective adopters.

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Enjoying and achieving

Outcomes in this area are very good overall. The quality of early years provision is good and supports children well in their learning. A newly established child and family centre prioritises early support and work with parents. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 in the sole primary school have been consistently above national averages in reading. Those in writing and mathematics tend to fluctuate, but the school adds value to pupils’ prior attainment at Key Stage 2 and standards are consistently above national averages. The authority has worked effectively with the school to ensure that challenging targets are set and met. Some underachievement in mathematics has been tackled with support from the authority. There is good support for the attainment of minority ethnic pupils and also for those with special educational needs. Links with social care teams are effective in ensuring early intervention. Overall, Bangladeshi and

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Enjoying and achieving

black Caribbean pupils make good progress. There is additional classroom support in the lower school to support attainment and behaviour at an early stage, including a focus on the needs of the increasing numbers of black pupils. The school manages attendance well and absence rates have been reduced over recent years. Authorised absences are in line with national averages, and unauthorised absences are below average. There is no secondary provision in the City and all secondary age pupils travel to schools in neighbouring boroughs. There are no looked after children resident in the City, but the educational progress of the small numbers living and studying elsewhere is carefully tracked and monitored. Typically, they are unaccompanied asylum-seekers and are provided with educational opportunities to meet their needs, particularly in English as a second language, literacy and personal development. The authority is

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Enjoying and achieving

working to support improvements in secondary standards in London, for example through its sponsorship of academies in neighbouring boroughs.

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Making a positive contribution

Outcomes in this area are good. There is a range of opportunities for young people to express their views. Young people are involved in programme planning and determining activities in the four youth clubs. A well-attended consultative week was held in autumn 2004 and is to be repeated, and a youth forum is to be established in 2005/06. A young person was elected from the City to the UK Youth Parliament. The primary school has a school council. The authority has identified the further involvement and engagement of children and young people as their top priority in the development of the children and young people’s plan. All looked after children and those with special educational needs have transitional plans and have participated in planning for their futures. Looked after children have also communicated their views to a statutory review. Few young people are involved in offending behaviour. There are

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Making a positive contribution

multi-agency arrangements in place to address the needs of young people at risk of offending and anti-social behaviour, including the provision of diversionary activities.

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Achieving economic well-being

Outcomes in this area are very good overall. Although the authority does not have any secondary schools, it is working closely with the local Learning and Skills Council on developing 14-19 provision. Sixth forms are an integral part of the authority’s academy programme for neighbouring boroughs. The authority provides good support for the development of work-related learning in neighbouring boroughs, for instance through participating in education business partnerships and funding programmes of careers awareness in secondary schools. A new integrated youth support and development service combines the functions of a youth service, Connexions and education welfare, and there are increased resources for youth service provision.

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Achieving economic well-being

The tracking of participation by young people after 16 has been hampered in the past by lack of specific information from Connexions on young people resident in the City. This problem has been resolved and improved information will enable the analysis of trends in attainment and destinations. Local intelligence suggests that the numbers not in education, employment or training currently are low. All looked after children are in employment, education or training. Almost all are aged over 16 and attend courses at the college of further education in Peterborough, where they are in semi-independent accommodation. The progress and achievements of looked after young people are carefully tracked and monitored. The majority achieve vocational qualifications or make appropriate progress in English and other skills. The small numbers of young people with SEN all progress to positive destinations at age 19. There is joint working with the

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Achieving economic well-being

youth offending team in Tower Hamlets to engage young offenders in education, employment or training and prevent re-offending.

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Strengths Areas for improvement

Being healthy: • joint arrangements for children’s mental health services • effective joint working with Hackney PCT • good promotion of healthy lifestyles in school • good resources to provide quality school meals • no teenage pregnancies • health checks for looked after children. Being healthy: • gathering evidence of impact of services on improving health outcomes.

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Strengths Areas for improvement

Staying safe: • range of services to support children in need and their families • arrangements for safeguarding the few children who need protection • support and care for young people seeking asylum • effective joint planning between education and social care for the small numbers with SEN or disabilities. Staying safe: • gathering evidence of impact and success of prevention services.

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Strengths Areas for improvement

Enjoying and achieving: • the quality of early years provision • standards and attainment overall, and challenge to school in raising standards further • support for attainment of minority ethnic pupils and pupils with SEN, in collaboration with social services • support for looked after children • improved access to a range of support by the new youth support and development service. Enjoying and achieving: Making a positive contribution: • range of opportunities for children and young people to communicate their views • multi-agency arrangements to prevent offending and anti-social behaviour, and low rate of youth offending • contribution of looked after children and those with special educational needs to their reviews and transitional plans. Making a positive contribution:

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Strengths Areas for improvement

Achieving economic well-being: • links with neighbouring authorities and education business partnerships to support opportunities for pupils resident in the City • support for looked after young people, and their involvement in education, employment and training • access to Connexions, careers advice, personal development and welfare • tracking of progress and destinations of looked after children and young people with SEN. Achieving economic well-being: • the development and analysis of data on participation and destinations of young people aged 16-18 resident in the City.

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Service management

The authority has high expectations and ambition for the quality of its services, building on a strong track record of continuous improvement. Given the unusual context, it is resourceful in finding ways to support children and young people, many of whom are not educated in the City, and works well with local partners to this end. The authority is engaging at all levels with the relevant stakeholders in the new children’s services arrangements.

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Service management

There is a clear vision for the City, set out in the community strategy, which informs department and partnership plans. The self-assessment identifies appropriate priorities for the children’s services authority, from the respective social services and education business plans, and also provides a clear evaluation of provision and areas for development. A new community and children’s services department is to be established, under a new director taking up post in the autumn, who will oversee the preparation of the children and young people’s plan for April 2006. A children and young people’s strategic partnership is already in place, comprising statutory and voluntary agencies, although there is a need to improve representation and link it more effectively to the local strategic partnership. There is excellent capacity to improve, and good management of resources.

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Being healthy

Healthy life-styles are promoted for children and young people:

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Being healthy

• evidence of impact of services on improving health outcomes.

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Staying safe

Children and young people are provided with a safe environment:

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Staying safe

The incidence of child abuse and neglect is minimised:

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Staying safe

• evidence of impact and success of prevention services.

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Enjoying and achieving

All children and young people can access a range of recreational and voluntary learning provision:

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Enjoying and achieving

• participation in youth service provision and its quality.

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Enjoying and achieving

Action is taken to ensure that educational provision 5-16 is of good quality:

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Making a positive contribution

Children and young people are encouraged to participate in decision making and in supporting the community:

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Making a positive contribution

• consultation arrangements for children and young people and their involvement in the development of the Children and Young People’s Plan.

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Achieving economic well-being

Action is taken to ensure that 14-19 education and training is planned and delivered in a coordinated way, and to ensure that education and training (16-19) is of good quality:

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Achieving economic well-being

• participation, achievements and destinations of young people aged 16-18.

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Final judgements

Please see your final annual performance assessment judgements attached at the end of this letter.

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FLO HADLEY

Divisional Manager Office for Standards in Education

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JONATHAN PHILLIPS

Director – Quality, Performance and Methods Commission for Social Care Inspection

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APA final judgements 2005: Corporation of London Council

The contribution of the local authority’s social care services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people The contribution of local authority’s education services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people. The contribution of the local authority’s children’s services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people. The council’s overall capacity to improve its services for children and young people 4

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APA final judgements 2005: Corporation of London Council

Grade Service descriptors Capacity to improve descriptors A service that delivers well above minimum requirements for users Very good

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APA final judgements 2005: Corporation of London Council

A service that consistently delivers above minimum requirements for users Good/promising

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APA final judgements 2005: Corporation of London Council

A service that delivers only minimum requirements for users Adequate

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APA final judgements 2005: Corporation of London Council

A service that does not deliver minimum requirements for users Inadequate

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