Doncaster local authority children’s services

Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services

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Lead inspector: Catherine Heron, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Judgement Grade

The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families Good

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection Good

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of children in care Good

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of care leavers Requires improvement to be good

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Judgement Grade

Since the last inspection of children’s services in 2022, senior leaders have acted to improve services for children and young people in Doncaster. Following the identification of significant shortfalls in practice for vulnerable children, The City of Doncaster Council took the decision to decommission the Doncaster Children’s Service Trust and return the social care function under local authority control. Since that time, senior leaders have delivered on the service improvement plan at pace.

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Judgement Grade

Children receive support at the right level in a timely way from effective early help services. Most children receive child protection services that improve their situations. When children’s situations do not improve, most children receive effective pre- proceedings intervention and, where appropriate, receive oversight of the court to inform their care plan. Children come into care at the right time and family networks are considered as a first option to provide care, where appropriate to do so. Services to care leavers have improved in some areas of practice but further work is needed to ensure consistently good support for all care leavers. Senior leaders are responding to the feedback from the national adviser and improvement work is under way. Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 Senior leaders’ unwavering commitment and drive for change have inspired staff and

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Judgement Grade

Leaders know their children and their organisation well. They have identified areas for improvement and have implemented impactful plans which have improved the experiences and progress of children in many areas. Where further improvements are needed, sound plans are in place to support continued developments so that services and the experiences of children are universally good.

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Work with other agencies to improve the quality of contacts and referrals and their attendance at strategy meetings (Enabler 1).

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ The number of children subject to repeat child protection planning, particularly those children experiencing neglect (Outcome 3).

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Consistency of service to vulnerable care leavers, in particular young people in custody and male parents (Outcome 4).

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protection: good

1. Several areas of practice for children who need help and protection have improved since the last inspection. As a result, most children who need help and protection receive a good service.

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protection: good

2. There is a strong early help offer and well-established community-based services provide bespoke intervention that meets children’s needs at the earliest opportunity. Workers skilfully build relationships with children and their families, hear their views and advocate strongly for them. Early help assessments are comprehensive and timely and lead to clear plans. The impact of help and support is regularly reviewed and adapted according to children’s changing needs. Family network meetings are used effectively to increase family resilience and ability to sustain change. Children’s situations improve because of the early help support that they receive.

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protection: good

3. When children and families’ needs escalate, children’s cases are promptly stepped up to statutory children’s social care. This ensures that children are supported by the right professionals at the right time. Strong management oversight in early help reflects clear rationale for decision-making within children’s records. This is an improvement since the last inspection.

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protection: good

1 The areas for improvement have been cross-referenced with the outcomes, enablers or principles in the Children’s Social Care: National Framework . This statutory guidance sets out the purpose, principles for practice and expected outcomes of children’s social care. Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 4. Social workers and multi-agency professionals at the ‘front door’ and the multi- agency safeguarding hub (MASH) have a good understanding and application of thresholds. They screen contacts and referrals effectively and make appropriate child-centred decisions about next steps. Not all professional contacts provide sufficient information to assist this process. This means social workers must make additional enquiries about children’s circumstances, including seeking parental consent, before decisions can be made. Leaders are already aware of this and are actively addressing this within the partnership.

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protection: good

5. Managers in the front door screen all contacts swiftly and identify levels of risk and need. Social workers analyse all available information and make appropriate recommendations. Some children’s records do not show well enough the managers’ rationale for next steps or direction to social workers.

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protection: good

6. When contacts identify children at risk or with complex needs, these progress to the MASH quickly. Social workers are very skilled at recognising harm and abuse in all its forms. Children who are at risk of exploitation are discussed in a daily triage meeting. These are attended by key professionals who share information and intelligence to inform the actions needed to reduce risks and to make children safer. When safeguarding concerns are identified, children’s cases are transferred without delay to the duty and assessment team.

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protection: good

7. The Emergency Social Services Team (ESST) provides an effective response to children and their families out of office hours and at weekends. Their intervention increases children’s safety until daytime services take over. There are clear and effective handover arrangements in place between these services. This is an improvement since the last inspection.

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protection: good

8. Overall, social work assessments are completed in the right timescale for the child. Assessments are comprehensive, include relevant history and are child- centred. Children’s social workers have received and can articulate the training regarding the identification of neglect. The use of tools to assist social workers to analyse the impact of neglect is not consistently embedded in practice. For a small number of children, this impacts on how well their circumstances are fully understood.

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protection: good

9. Social workers undertake timely and effective pre-birth assessments. Historical family context and parenting capacity are well considered alongside family strengths and protective factors. Social workers engage with parents, the wider family network and professionals to inform decision-making and support. This means planning and support for newborn babies and their parents begins at the earliest opportunity.

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protection: good

10. Social workers visit children during their assessment and engage with children to ensure that their voices are heard and understood. Parents and wider family members are encouraged to share their views and are helped during the assessment process to understand the concerns. Children are supported from the outset of the assessment, according to the presenting need, changing as Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 the child’s experience is better understood. Support and interventions are provided to families from the outset to improve the chances of successful outcomes and positive change.

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protection: good

11. Assessments inform children’s plans which, when possible, involve the use of family networks and family group conferencing. Family group conferencing has been successful in supporting some families to reduce the need for statutory social care, bringing family and friends closer together.

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protection: good

12. When safeguarding concerns are identified, most strategy meetings are timely. Key partners, particularly health professionals, are not always able to attend but most provide written information to assist the consideration of risk and required actions. Information-sharing by those present considers relevant factors to understand the child’s experience. A small number of strategy meetings are delayed, due largely to police availability. In most cases, this does not prevent action being taken to safeguard children where there are urgent concerns. Written records of strategy discussions and decisions are well documented and the outcomes appropriate.

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protection: good

13. Child protection enquiries are mostly thorough and timely. Workers visit children quickly and, when appropriate, see them alone. Skilled social workers take time to understand children’s views, which help to inform their understanding of the child’s experience. Decisions about next steps, including whether to hold initial child protection conferences, are appropriate and in line with identified risk and need.

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protection: good

14. Initial child protection conferences are usually timely and are chaired by experienced child protection conference chairs. Social work reports are detailed and informative. Conferences are well attended by agency partners who share information to inform the consideration of risk and protective factors for children and how the family will be best supported. Parents and wider family networks are encouraged to participate in discussions throughout the child protection process to find safe solutions to improve children’s circumstances.

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protection: good

15. Thresholds for children becoming subject to a child protection plan are appropriate and demonstrate increased awareness and identification of risk and need. Social workers are effective in helping families and improving outcomes for most children. The number of children who have become subject to a child protection plan for a second and subsequent time has reduced slightly but still remains relatively high. For some children, improvements in their situation are not sustained prior to decisions to step down from a protection plan so they experience repeated periods of child protection intervention for the same issues, in particular neglect. Senior leaders are aware of this and as a result, children who experience repeat protection planning are now reviewed at service manager level, where legal gateway pathways are considered.

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protection: good

16. The pre-proceedings stage of the Public Law Outline (PLO) process is effective. When safeguarding concerns increase, children’s cases are promptly escalated Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 to the Legal Gateway Panel for consideration of the pre-proceedings stage of the PLO. Pre-proceedings letters to parents are clear and succinctly outline the concerns and what is needed to improve their child’s circumstance, what support they will receive, and what may happen if improvements are not achieved in children’s timescales. A small number of children have been subject to previous PLO interventions. There is now robust management oversight of children’s risks and needs during the PLO process. Social workers provide additional support to children and their families during this time. There is a strong emphasis on exploring the wider family network to reduce delay for

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protection: good

children should their circumstance not improve.

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protection: good

17. Children on the edge of care benefit from the intensive and bespoke support provided by the Families Together teams and Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) team. Collaborative working between these teams, in conjunction with the child’s social worker, provides child-focused intervention to support children to live safely at home whenever possible.

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protection: good

18. Disabled children are well supported by social workers who recognise their diverse needs and uniqueness. Workers use their skills to engage children, helping them to express their wishes and feelings using their preferred way of communication. Assessments of disabled children and their family’s needs are timely and include the views of parents, carers and the relevant agencies working with the family.

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protection: good

19. Most children’s plans are detailed, with an appropriate focus on actions needed to improve the child’s situation. Children’s plans are regularly reviewed through purposeful multi-agency meetings. Professionals share information, ensuring that the team around the child and the family network know what is happening in children’s lives and their progress.

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protection: good

20. Most children are visited in line with their needs by social workers who know them well. Social workers spend time engaging children and understanding the views of children and their families.

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protection: good

21. The response to children at risk of exploitation is a strength. Specialist child exploitation workers spend time building meaningful relationships with children and undertake creative direct work that reduces risk. Most children who go missing from home or care are offered a return home interview in a timely way. The information and intelligence from these interviews are shared to help inform disruption, intervention and support.

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protection: good

22. The response that vulnerable children aged 16 and 17 who present as homeless receive is not always effective. While some assessments result in practical support and help, not all children are routinely informed of their rights and entitlements. This impacts on the quality of support to a small number of children. Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 23. Young carers receive a highly effective service. The unique and diverse needs of this group are well recognised. Specialist practitioners provide responsive and flexible support to young carers and their families, which is adapted as children get older or their circumstances change. The young carers council meets regularly with the service lead to influence the schedule of activities for young carers and how the service is run. Young carers who spoke with inspectors said that they are listened to and that the specialist workers are

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protection: good

24. The response to children who are privately fostered is variable. Some assessments are timely with relevant essential checks, whereas others experience delays. Visits to all children are regular, and help to closely monitor children’s well-being and progress, but formal private fostering reviews are not regular enough. Children’s plans do not clearly identify children’s unique situations associated with being privately fostered. Leaders recognise that more work is needed in this area of practice.

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protection: good

25. Allegations against adults in trusting positions are appropriately reported to the local authority designated officer (LADO). The LADO provides a swift and well- coordinated response and takes a lead on proactively raising awareness of their role within children’s social care and beyond.

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protection: good

26. The response to notifications about children who are missing education (CME) and those who are electively home educated (EHE) is swift. Clear processes mean that children who are missing education are identified and regularly monitored. Families of children who are electively home educated are encouraged to engage with the local authority and work alongside professionals to ensure that parents have the necessary information to make informed decisions. Where necessary, statutory orders are used to support children to attend school.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

27. When children are unable to remain safely at home, social workers make every effort to identify carers from children’s family and friends networks so children can live with people familiar to them when it is safe to do so. Viability assessments of family members are sensitively undertaken and timely. Robust scrutiny by the fostering panel and senior managers ensures that any gaps or queries in the assessments are thoroughly explored so that decision-making on carer suitability for children is safe and appropriate.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

28. When care proceedings are issued, the Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) reports that children’s cases come to court at the right time. Social workers are well prepared, and the quality of evidence is sound. Cafcass reports that social workers have a good understanding of children’s lived experiences. Most assessments during care proceedings are thorough and child- focused. All alternative care options are explored and there is a real ethos of keeping children at home if it is safe and appropriate to do so. Family networks Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 are explored early with increasing success. When possible, permanence with family members is secured, often via special guardianship orders which are well supported practically and financially.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

29. The local judiciary report positively on the quality of care applications and evidence. The timeliness of care proceedings is improving, reflecting the positive work completed in pre-proceedings.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

30. The majority of children in care live in stable homes which meet their needs, and they make positive progress. Permanence for children is considered at the earliest opportunity. Senior leaders closely track children’s progress to minimise delay. Children are very well supported to understand the reasons that they live in care, or with family members. Children who spoke to inspectors said they are happy where they live.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

31. Children in care are visited by social workers who know them well. Social workers spend time building trusting relationships with children, through purposeful visits. Children’s views and opinions are captured and well considered. Most visit records are detailed and written using warm and nurturing language, mindful of children accessing their records in the future.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

32. When children leave care and return home to their families, for most children the decisions are well considered and informed by assessments. Safety planning is carried out, and visits and overnight stays take place at the child’s pace. Parents are supported to increase their parenting capacity with practical and emotional assistance from their family network. This helps children successfully live within their families and reduces the likelihood of children returning back into care.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

33. For children where placement with parent regulations apply, practice ensures that for most of these arrangements they are appropriately assessed and reviewed. In a very small number of children’s cases, while assessments were completed, these were not endorsed and signed off for some time by senior managers.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

34. Children’s care plans are detailed and address many aspects of children’s diverse needs. Social workers speak with confidence about the children and the work that they are doing and why. Care plans are reviewed in regular keep-on- track meetings which, like child in care reviews, are well attended by the relevant professionals and children’s families.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

35. Independent reviewing officers (IROs) maintain oversight of children’s progress and their footprint is visible on children’s records. This has improved since the last inspection. Social workers and IROs keep in touch about children’s progress through timely care planning reviews, midpoint meetings and regular conversations. IROs make appropriate and clear recommendations at children in care reviews with necessary timescales. When elements of children’s planning are not completed, IRO challenge is not always effective in achieving Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 change for children. Senior leaders are developing this area of the service to improve the impact of the IRO service.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

36. Strong emphasis is placed on the importance of children having safe family time with people who are important to them. Workers go out of their way to promote children’s family links and are persistent in encouraging the participation of children’s parents and the child’s network. This helps children in care to connect with people who are important to them.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

37. The voices of children in care are represented through the Hear Me Out children and young people’s groups and shared with the service via the participation team. Children are supported to complain and have access to advocacy services when needed. This helps to ensure that children feel listened to and that services are shaped around their views and experiences.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

38. When there are concerns about children’s placement stability, the Families Together service provides additional support to strengthen stability and helps children to continue living with their carers. When this is not successful, social workers search for alternative suitable homes without delay. For most children, the rationale for placement choices is well documented in their written records.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

39. A very small number of children live in unregistered children’s homes because nationwide searches for registered provisions have been exhausted. Leaders, managers and social workers understand the inherent risks associated with children living in unregistered settings and ensure high levels of oversight and scrutiny with high frequency of visits to children. The local authority actively encourages providers to register with Ofsted, resulting in some providers making an application. When registered provisions are identified, children move at the earliest opportunity.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

40. Foster for Doncaster is promoting fostering in the area and enquiry rates have increased. The fostering team is led well and has significantly improved since the last inspection. Foster carer assessments are thorough and robustly quality assured by the fostering panel representatives. Foster carers receive appropriate training to increase their skills and knowledge. Doncaster’s project to support carers is a strength, helping to provide continuity and a network of high support for children and their carers.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

41. There are well-established relationships between the local authority and the regional adoption agency (RAA), One Adoption South Yorkshire. The RAA provides effective recruitment, assessment and support to adopters. Training, in preparation and following a match, helps adopters provide care sensitive to children’s individual needs. This means that when children have plans for adoption, there is a range of approved carers resulting in children being suitably matched in a timely way.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

42. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have access to care that meets their cultural and religious needs. These children benefit from a specialist service Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 where workers have a comprehensive understanding of their needs associated with their experiences. Written records sensitively reflect children’s wishes and diverse needs. Children’s family and friends relationships are promoted. Social workers show curiosity and safety plan to assure themselves that children’s visits to friends and family are safe.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

43. Risks to children in care related to exploitation and being missing from home are appropriately recognised and monitored. Missing-from-home interviews are used to gather information and, when possible, identify intelligence about the child’s whereabouts and push and pull factors. Children’s social workers and practitioners from the specialist exploitation team work together with the child’s multi-agency network to identify harm and target risk reduction. This helps to increase the safety of children in care.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

44. Overall, children’s health needs are well met. Social workers use assessments and questionnaires effectively to identify areas of support for children’s health and well-being. Children with complex needs receive coordinated care through multidisciplinary care plans. Children are appropriately referred for emotional and mental health support to relevant services when required.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

45. Children in care are supported to access education. Social workers engage effectively with the virtual school team to promote the education and progress of children. The virtual school provides timely support to schools and other settings. Staff maintain regular oversight of children, ensuring that strategies put in place to support individuals are having the intended impact. Children are encouraged to engage in a variety of hobbies and activities that they enjoy. As a result, children develop confidence and social skills. Social workers celebrate the achievements of children in care and are proud of the progress children are making.

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improvement to be good

46. Young people are allocated a personal adviser (PA) in advance of them leaving care. Although some introductory visits are delayed due to PAs’ workload pressures, this does not prevent most young people from developing positive, trusting relationships with their PA in the longer term. PAs know their young people very well and understand their histories. When young people need more encouragement to engage, most PAs persevere in their approach to convince young people that professionals can be relied upon for support. Consequently, most care leavers keep in touch with their PAs and are confident in asking for information and additional help when needed.

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improvement to be good

47. Most care leavers are seen in accordance with their wishes and receive the support that they need. Visits are purposeful and comprehensively recorded and some link well to young people’s goals. For some care leavers that require higher levels of support, this is not always well recognised. This is in part due to some PAs having higher caseloads, meaning that they have less time to Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 spend with young people. For these young people visiting schedules do not increase, leaving some vulnerable care leavers, for example those in custody, without meaningful contact and less effective pathway planning.

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improvement to be good

48. The local offer is detailed and accessible to care leavers. They understand what they are entitled to and how to access support. Some sections of the offer are being further developed. It is too early to evaluate the impact of this for care leavers.

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improvement to be good

49. Support for young people is maintained when they reach 21 years of age and they continue to receive support in line with their wishes. PAs support young people to develop social networks that endure into adulthood and that can be relied upon when they need support.

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improvement to be good

50. The majority of care leavers live in suitable accommodation that meets their needs. Challenges in housing availability mean that some young people have fewer options, resulting in them experiencing some delays in moving to their chosen area. Some care leavers have far fewer options for suitable housing and, for a very small number of young people, they have lived in unsuitable temporary accommodation. Senior leaders are committed to expanding housing options for all care leavers in Doncaster and are engaging relevant agencies and organisations to support this, which is making a difference for young people.

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improvement to be good

51. When possible, young people benefit from ‘staying put’ arrangements with their foster carers. Carers value young people as members of the household and include them as ‘family’. Young people benefit from the continuity and stability that these arrangements provide.

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improvement to be good

52. Former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who are now care leavers are supported to access services to maximise their opportunities. PAs use their knowledge about access to legal support to guide young people through the process. Young people live in suitable accommodation in communities which meet their cultural and identity needs and connections to people they know. PAs appropriately advocate for young people and routinely consult them to inform decision-making.

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improvement to be good

53. The quality of pathway plans varies. Some are well written and informed by consultation with young people. They are detailed and set out young people’s goals, the support being provided and their entitlements. Other plans are brief and do not feature young people’s future aspirations and ambitions and how they will be supported to achieve them.

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improvement to be good

54. Care leavers are encouraged to live healthy lifestyles. The health needs of care leavers are well understood by PAs who support them to access their health histories. Care leavers are supported to register and access health support through universal services and when needed specialist services, such as drug and alcohol reduction support. PAs recognise the impact that previous life Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 experiences have on young people’s well-being and provide emotional support. Although the local authority in-house psychology service is available for care leavers, this is not promoted well, reducing the take-up of this service and its overall impact for young people.

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improvement to be good

55. Care leavers who are parents are mostly well supported. A pilot project is available for female care leavers, providing them with person-centred bespoke packages of support. The service focuses on care leavers whose children have been permanently removed from their care or who are at greatest risk, working to enhance young people’s well-being and resilience. This is having a real impact for these young people. Some care leavers who are fathers do not receive the same level of support or recognition of how fatherhood shapes their identity. This means the emotional and practical impact of being a young male parent is not assessed and opportunities to develop parenting skills are overlooked.

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improvement to be good

56. Care leavers are encouraged to develop later life skills and prepare for increased levels of independence. The ‘Key to My future’ booklets are a useful tool for young people to strengthen their skills and those who use it benefit from the experience. PAs encourage young people to make positive connections in the community and make lifelong links so that young people have continued support into adulthood.

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improvement to be good

57. Some care leavers are not supported effectively to access education, employment and training. Planning for this area of young people’s lives does not take place early enough. PAs are not proactive in creating opportunities that enhance young people’s interest and confidence in education, employment and training. Although care leavers can access careers advice from the virtual school, the lack of drive in pathway planning means that some young people who have ambitions and the potential to find work are not supported to do so.

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families: good

58. Children’s services in Doncaster have significantly improved since the last inspection. Leaders in children’s services, the council and partners have worked in partnership to make the wide-reaching changes that were needed. The scale of improvements in light of the starting point is impressive. There remain pockets of practice which require further work, which is recognised by leaders.

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families: good

59. Council leaders took decisive action in response to the shortfalls identified in the last inspection and this commenced the transformation of children’s services. The children’s trust was decommissioned and services and staff were transferred back into full council control. This was well managed and has been a critical factor in improving the quality of children’s services.

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families: good

60. Senior leaders and members of the council demonstrate strong commitment to improving the lives of children in Doncaster. The chief executive is well Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 informed, and he holds senior leaders to account through robust scrutiny arrangements. The shared vision for children’s services is evidenced in corporate decision-making and continued investment to deliver the outcomes set out in the service improvement plan.

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families: good

61. The senior leadership team has an accurate evaluation of practice because of their improved line of sight, achieved by better tracking systems and practice panels. The quality and accuracy of performance information has improved since the last inspection. The social care database has been revised with simplified forms to make data entry easier for workers and improve children’s records. Leaders recognise that there is more work to do to increase data accuracy further.

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families: good

62. The quality assurance framework focuses on continuous improvement, identifying strong practice, themes and trends. Learning from audits is shared widely with staff and forms part of improvement plans. Some case file audits vary in quality and do not include feedback from children and families. Leaders have recognised opportunities to strengthen the quality assurance framework and have identified sector-led improvement work to address this.

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families: good

63. Doncaster is a learning organisation and has responded effectively and quickly to areas for development. Leaders have welcomed peer reviews and external scrutiny to help them evaluate the impact of practice for children. Their leadership style has motivated and reconnected the workforce, changed the culture and cultivated a positive working environment where social work can flourish. As a result, staff choose to work for Doncaster, the workforce is stable, staff morale is high and turnover is low.

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families: good

64. Leaders want the best outcomes for their children in care. They accept responsibility for them and make their needs a priority. The corporate parenting approach has been strengthened. There is an increased collective responsibility for safeguarding children and improving outcomes for children. The impact of this has been evidenced across the service, from increased registered provisions for children to live, to empowering care leavers by making care experienced a protected characteristic. Leaders rightly recognise that there is scope to increase the voice of the child in further shaping services and have meaningful plans to address this.

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families: good

65. Partnership working has improved. Strategic safeguarding partnership arrangements have a renewed sense of commitment and collaboration between partners. Senior leaders have been involved in active discussions with South Yorkshire Police for some time to address the issues about police availability for strategy meetings and this remains a priority. This approach is enabling key partners to better support each other to jointly agree local safeguarding priorities, develop strategies, share resources and measure the impact.

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families: good

66. Partnership working involving the local authority and schools is effective. Leaders have addressed previous shortfalls in the identification of CME and Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 EHE. The virtual school provides timely support to schools and settings and there is a greater awareness among the social care workforce of the importance of children’s education in care planning. The virtual school applies scrutiny and challenge to the impact it is making for children. Leaders are refining processes to enable them to review their support more effectively to children post-16 in accessing education, employment or training.

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families: good

67. Sufficiency of placements continues to be a challenge. Leaders have plans to increase placement options for children and have opened a new children’s home, registered their supported accommodation for older children who have been looked after, and rebranded the fostering service.

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families: good

68. The senior leadership team is ambitious and is in the process of reviewing their services in response to the national reforms. The use of family networks is encouraged throughout the service and has resulted in promoting family resilience and more children living with family members.

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families: good

69. Leaders have applied caution in other areas of the reforms and have considered feedback from other local authorities on new models of practice in the context of Doncaster’s improvement journey. The family help pilot commenced in November 2024. It is in its infancy; the new service is developing and adapting based on family experiences and worker feedback from the pilot. It is too early to evaluate the effectiveness and impact for children.

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families: good

70. Leaders and managers at all levels are visible and approachable. Leaders understand the complex realities of frontline practice. They have prioritised improvement in management oversight and regular supervision, which has made some impact on the management oversight and direction of some children’s planning. Leaders know that more work is needed on the quality of supervision and documentation of management oversight.

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families: good

71. Workloads for most workers have reduced, enabling them to spend more time visiting children and families and progressing children’s plans. When workers have significantly lower caseloads, this impacts positively on the quality of work provided to children and families.

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families: good

72. The senior leadership team recognises that their workforce is their greatest asset. Practitioners are encouraged to upskill and complete training which promotes their professional development and improves practice. The majority of practitioners said that training was easy to access. Newly qualified workers and those in the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) have lower caseloads. ASYE workers spoke highly of the support and learning they receive to develop their practice. One worker said: ‘I’ve found my place. This is how support should be.’ Inspection of Doncaster local authority children’s services 20 to 31 January 2025 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher

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families: good

training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk . This report is available at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/ . Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more

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information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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