Setting

Mrs Alison Michalska Director of Children, Family and Adult Services East Riding of Yorkshire Council County Hall, Cross Street Beverley East Riding of Yorkshire HU17 9BA

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Annual children’s services assessment

Ofsted guidance published in April 2011 explains that the annual assessment of children’s services is derived from the performance profile of the quality of services for children and young people in each local area. This performance profile includes findings from across Ofsted’s inspection and regulation of services and settings for which the local authority has strategic or operational responsibilities, either alone or in partnership with others, together with other published data.

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Annual children’s services assessment

In reaching the assessment of children’s services, Ofsted has taken account of inspection outcomes including the arrangements for making sure children are safe and stay safe and performance against similar authorities and/or national measures. More weight has been given to the outcomes of Ofsted’s inspections and regulatory visits (Blocks A and B in the performance profile).

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Annual children’s services assessment

The annual assessment derives from a four point scale:

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Annual children’s services assessment

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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Annual children’s services assessment

Within each level there will be differing standards of provision. For example, an assessment of ‘performs excellently’ does not mean all aspects of provision are perfect. Similarly, an assessment of ‘performs poorly’ does not mean there are no adequate or even good aspects. As in 2010, while the performance profile remains central to Ofsted’s assessment, meeting or not meeting the minimum requirements alone does not define the grade. The assessment has involved the application of inspector judgement. Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1231 Textphone 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 020 7421 6666 Direct F 020 7421 5633 Juliet.Winstanley@ofsted.gov.uk

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Children’s services assessment Performs well (3)

Children’s services in the East Riding of Yorkshire Council perform well. This performance has been sustained since 2010. The large majority of services, settings and institutions inspected by Ofsted are good or better overall and the very large majority of provision helps children to stay safe and to learn. There has been some progress in the key areas for development identified in last year’s assessment. Previous inspection judgements for secondary schools that have become academies have been taken into account in making this assessment.

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Children’s services assessment Performs well (3)

An unannounced inspection of contact, referral and assessment arrangements for children in need and children who may be in need of protection carried out in October 2010 found one area of significant strength, a number of areas of satisfactory practice and no areas for priority action. However seven areas for development were identified.

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Strengths

ƒ As in the previous assessment, the large majority of early years and childcare provision is good or better. Since the last assessment seven of the local authority’s children’s centres have been inspected and all were judged to be good. ƒ The very large majority of nursery and primary schools make good or better provision for children under the age of five. Achievement at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage has improved particularly well and the rate of improvement is the same for children from low-income families and their peers. This was an area for development in 2010. ƒ The large majority of primary schools make good provision for children. Key Stage 2 results are in line with similar areas and the national average but did not improve in 2010. However, provisional data for 2011 suggest there has been substantial improvement. ƒ The three local special schools and both pupil referral units are all good.

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Strengths

This is an improvement from the previous year when one pupil referral unit was satisfactory. The local authority’s fostering and adoption agencies are both good. ƒ The proportion of 16-year-olds who achieve at least five GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, has improved and is now in line with the averages nationally and for similar areas. The proportion of young people achieving a level 2 qualification by the age of 19 is higher than that found in similar areas and nationally, and in line with these comparators for level 3 qualifications. The gaps between the attainments of 16- and 19-year-olds from low-income families and their contemporaries have narrowed.

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Areas for further improvement

ƒ Less than half of secondary schools and of secondary school sixth forms are good or better. One secondary school continues to be inadequate. Monitoring visits show that the local authority is providing good support for this school. ƒ The two local authority children’s homes, both good last year, are now only satisfactory. Two-thirds of the provision that the local authority commissions from elsewhere was good or better at the time the data collection was made. However, a third was only satisfactory. ƒ There are many aspects of satisfactory practice in the contact, referral and assessment arrangements for children in need and who may be in need of protection. However there are also a significant number of areas for development. These include the variable quality of child protection enquiries and assessments, the significant number of unallocated assessments in one office, the number of assessments not completed

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Areas for further improvement

within time scales and the need to embed the Common Assessment Framework.

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Areas for further improvement

This children’s services assessment is provided in accordance with section 138 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

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Areas for further improvement

Juliet Winstanley Divisional Manager, Children’s Services Assessment

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