Derby City local authority children’s services

Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services

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Lead inspector: Margaret Burke, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Judgement Grade

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

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Judgement Grade

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

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of children in care Outstanding

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of care leavers Outstanding

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Judgement Grade

Children in Derby benefit from consistently high-quality social work practice and excellent support from other highly skilled practitioners. Derby has achieved one of the most stable social work workforces in the country, evidenced by its low rates of staff turnover, few vacancies, and no reliance on agency workers. Senior leaders, supported by politicians, have created and sustained an environment where social work can flourish. Alongside this, purposeful investment in early help, effective partnership working and a commitment to supporting children within their family networks are helping to keep children safe and supporting them to thrive. Children in care benefit from consistent relationships with their social workers and impactful life- story work and live in caring homes that provide security and permanence. Care leavers can access a range of high-quality accommodation and receive sensitive, committed support from their personal advisors.

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Judgement Grade

Since its last inspection, when services overall were judged to be outstanding, ambitious leadership has achieved further improvements in all areas. In a city facing significant challenges through deprivation and demographic change, leaders have ensured that services for vulnerable children are responsive and effective and help combat the impact of poverty. Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Management oversight of children’s experiences when children are living in the most complex circumstances and are at risk of prolonged neglect or other ongoing harm. (Outcome 3)

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protection: outstanding

1. Children and families access a variety of exceptional early support services from Derby City’s family hubs, community-based organisations and family practitioners. Well-written, detailed and purposeful early help assessments are completed by schools, midwifery and health visitors. These agencies, alongside highly skilled and sensitive early help practitioners, provide effective early help responses to presenting need for children and families, often preventing escalation to statutory social work services. When the statutory social work threshold is no longer met, families are able to seamlessly access ongoing support from early help services.

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protection: outstanding

2. When risks or harm to children escalate or more intensive support is required, children and their families are supported by skilled social workers and other proficient practitioners offering a range of expertise. For the vast majority of children, this response is at the right time and at the right level.

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protection: outstanding

3. The initial response team is highly effective. Partnership working is strong, as referrals from school, police and health contain sufficient information to assist informed decisions about risks to children and their needs. Thresholds are very well understood and appropriately applied by competent practitioners and experienced managers. Strategy meetings, including when there are allegations of sexual abuse, are convened with appropriate professionals to plan next steps and implement effective safety plans. When expert medical information is necessary, paediatricians attend along with relevant hospital safeguarding leads or health representatives in the multi-agency safeguarding hub.

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protection: outstanding

4. Effective safeguards are in place to support children outside normal working hours. The emergency duty service works seamlessly with day services to provide children and families with service continuity.

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protection: outstanding

5. Heritage and diversity information is routinely sought across service areas and this informs intervention with children and families. Cultural factors are appropriately considered within the service response to children. This includes providing communication support where English is an additional language for a family. Experienced, conscientious managers provide clear oversight for decision-

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protection: outstanding

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 Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025 making when progressing contacts, which ensures that children and families receive proportionate help.

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protection: outstanding

6. Social workers are promptly allocated when the need for an assessment has been identified, and managers provide clear guidance as to what needs to happen next. Children are seen promptly. Assessments of children’s needs are comprehensive and detailed. The assessments are strongly influenced by observations of children, and children‘s views are captured through direct work with them in different settings, such as home and school. Case summaries bring children to life in terms of their likes, aspirations, unique and protected characteristics, heritage and past experiences. The social work analysis in the assessment demonstrates an understanding of the child’s needs and helps to prioritise the focus of interventions. This all threads through and appropriately informs child in need and child protection planning.

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protection: outstanding

7. Social workers routinely consider and engage with members of children’s wider families, to support parents in meeting their children’s needs. Meetings are held to support co-production with families and assist workers in understanding individual families’ characteristics and diversity needs to ensure that effective, culturally sensitive interventions are put in place. Social workers work tenaciously, informed by the authority’s strengths-based model of practice, to reduce risks. They work alongside extended family members, drawing on their support. This approach has ensured that many children remain in their own family’s care and has, for some, prevented the need to escalate into child protection social work intervention.

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protection: outstanding

8. Children’s plans are regularly reviewed through a range of multi-agency forums and meetings involving relevant professionals alongside involved family members. Plans are detailed and coordinate the help provided to support families so that risks to children can be alleviated and families stay together. Plans include details about who is responsible for actions alongside specific timescales. Contingency plans demonstrate thoughtful and assessed alternative options for children should the primary plan not remain successful.

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protection: outstanding

9. Experienced and knowledgeable social workers, across initial response, locality teams and the integrated disabled children’s service, visit children and skilfully undertake creative direct work to meet the varying presenting needs of children. Workers use a range of communication methods with children. For disabled children, this includes Makaton, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), widgets and symbols. Children are supported to express their likes, dislikes and wishes as a result.

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protection: outstanding

10. Strong and determined partnership working provide holistic support for disabled children. Housing services, occupational therapy and social care work together to help children with complex needs to remain living in their family home when it is safe to do so. Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025 11. Young carers’ needs are assessed, and they are supported to access individually tailored programmes of activities. They are helped to engage in a range of positive activities where they can play as children, make friends and spend time away from their caring responsibilities.

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protection: outstanding

12. When children enter the pre-proceedings stage of the Public Law Outline (PLO), process management oversight and steer ensure timely intervention and children do not remain in pre-proceedings when the risks have reduced. A small number of children subject to child protection planning for lengthy periods of time move into the pre-proceedings stage without the necessary assessments being undertaken to help understand family dynamics. For these children, relevant assessments are newly commissioned in this pre-proceedings stage, when they might have been undertaken earlier. This late commissioning can result in delay in progressing plans and, on occasion, delay entry into care. For this very small number of children, the service management oversight, while evident, is not consistently or effectively ensuring that focus remains on the impact for children of ongoing risk or ensuring the timely progression of plans to meet their

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protection: outstanding

13. When allegations are made against people who work with children, risks are appropriately investigated, monitored and responded to in a timely way and processes are well managed. The local authority designated officer ensures that actions are consistently followed through to safeguard children.

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protection: outstanding

14. Persistent and effective work from practitioners in the specialist exploitation team is helping children build positive relationships with trusted adults to address and reduce risk. Children who qualify are routinely referred to the National Referral Mechanism and considered as potential victims of exploitation or at risk of modern slavery.

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protection: outstanding

15. Return home interviews for children who have an episode of going missing are conducted sensitively and purposefully. They include the views of the child, as well as parents and other professionals, seeking to both identify and reduce risks. These interactions have been increasingly successful, with almost all children, including cared for children, now accepting a return home interview. Effective support has led to fewer children going missing in Derby in the last year.

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protection: outstanding

16. There is a robust response for 16- and 17-year-old children at risk of homelessness or who are homeless in Derby. Children are well supported by independent advocates who help them to understand their rights and entitlements. Children become looked after if this is their wish or it is assessed to be in their best interests.

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protection: outstanding

17. The approach to supporting children in private fostering arrangements has been strengthened. Processes have been adapted and awareness-raising events held, resulting in more children being identified as being in private fostering arrangements. The quality of assessments for these children is variable, with some children not having their voices, wishes and feelings fully reflected in their Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025 assessments. Plans for these children, however, reflect that an appropriate range of permanence options are considered. Leaders acknowledge that while some progress has been made in this area, there is still more work to do to ensure these arrangements are consistently supporting children effectively.

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protection: outstanding

18. There is a coordinated approach to ensuring that children, especially those with vulnerabilities or special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are educated full time in schools. When children are electively home educated, information is shared effectively between teams to make sure that support is provided when needed, especially when there are other risks and vulnerabilities.

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protection: outstanding

19. The vast majority of children missing in education are located quickly because there is cooperation between local authority teams, other local authorities and external agencies. When children are placed on part-time timetables, the same teams are proactive in making sure that these are short term, and that support is in place to make sure that children return to full-time education as soon as possible.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

20. The clear commitment to supporting children to remain with their families, if it safe for them to do so, is evident throughout the service. The rates of children entering care in Derby City has dropped considerably from previous years, bringing numbers more in line with statistical neighbours and nationally. This has been achieved through the support to families from a range of services, including support offered to kinship and special guardianship carers and the work of the ‘staying together’ team, which has successfully supported many parents to make and sustain changes, resulting in their children being able to safely remain in their care.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

21. When children do come into care, it is because their welfare or safety demands this. When court proceedings are initiated to secure children’s futures, the quality of evidence produced by social workers for court hearings is strong. This was confirmed by both the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) and the designated family judge.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

22. Permanence planning is strong. When children enter care, leaders closely track children’s plans for permanence in its different forms. Social workers consider all permanence options for children and progress parallel or triple plans to help identify and secure the best permanent option for children.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

23. If children cannot remain safely in their parents’ care, social workers fully explore children’s family networks to establish whether children can move to live with someone they already know and trust. Following thorough assessments, a high number of children achieve permanence within their family network, with many carers going on to become special guardians for children. Special guardians receive an excellent and comprehensive package of support from Derby City, which includes financial support equivalent to fostering allowances, and practical Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025 and emotional support, which is available until the children being cared for become adults.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

24. Many children achieve permanence via long-term fostering. The ratifying of such placements at a permanence panel, and a celebration of permanence being achieved, helps to give children certainty about their future living arrangements. Some foster carers go on to become special guardians for the children they foster, resulting in children enjoying life without ongoing statutory involvement. Again, for these carers, special guardianship support packages are comprehensive.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

25. Social workers regularly and appropriately consider whether children in care can or should return home to their birth family. Comprehensive assessments undertaken by skilled exit from care workers inform decisions in this area. When children are placed under placement with parent regulations, this plan and associated legal status are regularly reviewed to assess whether they remain appropriate. When judged appropriate, social workers make timely applications to the court to discharge the care order. This means that children do not remain in care for longer than they need to.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

26. When a child’s permanence plan is one of adoption, family finding for children starts sensitively prior to the placement order being granted through a regular tracking system. Once placement orders are granted, skilled and experienced workers carefully consider children’s needs in terms of matching them with prospective adopters. Earnest efforts are made to keep brothers and sisters together when this is in their best interests, as is maintaining direct contact with birth siblings and parents when this is in their best interests. When there are delays in adoption being achieved, there are purposeful, child-focused reasons for this.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

27. Transitions into adoptive placement are well planned and regularly reviewed. Informal meet-ups, careful preparation with children using transitions books and a build-up of relationships assist with smooth transitions. Adopters are well supported through the adoption process. Those spoken to said that the children they have adopted have been well and carefully matched to them. One adopter said: ‘I have nothing but good things to say about Derby. They prepared me for the worst, and I got the best.’ A comprehensive post-adoption support offer is available in Derby City working in partnership with Adoption East Midlands, the regional adoption agency, throughout children’s lives.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

28. Children benefit from consistent, enduring and trusting relationships with social workers who know them well. As a result, children have a social worker whom they can share their worries and aspirations with.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

29. Social workers enjoy spending time with children, and for the vast majority of children this is at a frequency that is dictated by their level of need. Using the ‘My Life My Journey’ approach, social workers articulate children’s views very well. This informs planning. Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025 30. Life-story work is impressive and gives children a thorough overview of not only why they are in care and their life in care but also of their heritage and their birth families. Purposeful work is undertaken with children to produce the final product, which is given to children and placed on their records. Children’s contributions to this work are visible.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

31. Social workers regularly update assessments of children’s needs when children’s circumstances change. This results in plans that outline needs and set clear targets about who will be taking actions to achieve them. Consequently, children are making excellent progress in many aspects of their lives.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

32. Independent reviewing officers (IROs) chair regular looked-after reviews to consider children’s plans. Children mostly attend, as do those people who are important to children. Most IROs know children well and seek the views of children directly and regularly. Where IROs have not maintained this high level of contact, the impact of this is minimised through consistent social workers who are strong advocates for children, as well as them having access to independent advocacy support.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

33. When appropriate, brothers and sisters and extended family members are routinely included in children’s lives as part of their wider networks. Family time is well considered and promoted so that children can safely enjoy time with those who are important to them.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

34. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in care are supported by skilled and capable social workers who know their children well. Exceptionally well-written and detailed plans set out children’s rights and entitlements and where they can access additional support and guidance if needed.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

35. Disabled children in the care of the local authority live in homes that meet their complex needs. Their workers are strong and impressive advocates for children as they know them well, having spent a long time working with them. Workers are familiar with children’s communication needs, so they can ensure that they capture children’s views in their care plans.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

36. Some older children in care aged 16 to 17 move to live in supported accommodation when social workers have assessed that they no longer need care but would benefit from ongoing support. Children are making progress in these placements and social workers visit them regularly. Most of these placements are now registered with Ofsted, with others having applied for registration.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

37. Social workers respond effectively to risk when children go missing or are at risk of exploitation. Children have clear plans as to how risks can be mitigated. This includes seeking alternative placement options, visiting more frequently, and seeking legal orders to restrict a child’s liberty when absolutely essential to keep them safe. Plans in place to mitigate risk are continually updated, reflecting positive changes when children’s circumstances change. In addition, a range of Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025 specialist support options, such as ‘Safe and Sound,’ and robust management oversight of those at risk, helps ensure that safety plans remain effective.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

38. Social workers, carers and health professionals meet children’s physical and emotional health needs well. Completed strengths and difficulties questionnaires inform care planning. Children benefit from prompt access to commissioned emotional health services and child and adolescent mental health services, to promote good emotional health.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

39. Children in care are well supported by an ambitious and aspirational virtual school to attend and achieve in school. The progress of children at key stage 4 is significantly stronger than national averages. The virtual school works effectively with schools inside and outside the local authority boundary. Personal education plans are of a good quality, targets are precise, and the voice of the child is considered.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

40. The enrichment offer from the virtual school is wide and growing. There have been a number of successful projects over recent years and more are planned. These include social creative events that offer small groups to pursue talents and interests as well as much larger events.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

41. Children in care live in high-quality, stable foster placements, whether that be within or outside Derby City. The training and support offered to Derby City foster carers help them to provide safe care and to help children to make progress and have positive experiences. Children in both foster care and residential care participate in a range of fun and enriching activities that help them develop their skills, confidence and self-esteem.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

42. Sufficiency challenges continue to exist, particularly for children with the most complex needs. As a result, a small but reducing number of children continue to live in unregistered children’s homes. These children are visited regularly by their social workers, whom children know and trust. They have wraparound packages of help and support. While unregistered homes, these placements are usually sourced from known registered providers. There is robust quality assurance and regular senior leadership review of each of these placements. This is providing the local authority with assurances regarding children’s safety and welfare while they are living in these homes. Leaders encourage providers that are meeting children’s needs to register as children’s homes. A comprehensive sufficiency strategy is gaining traction in its quest to eliminate the need to place children in unregistered children’s homes.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: outstanding

43. Derby City’s Children in Care Council, ‘Our Voice, Our Success’, continues to influence service development. For example, children have been consulted and contributed to service developments relating to language that cares, life-story work and Derby City’s Diversity and Heritage Pledge. Children’s achievements are celebrated at an annual celebration event, in recognition of the excellent progress they make. Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

44. Children are well supported to prepare for leaving care with regular and robust review processes in place to ensure this. This has meant young people receive continuity of support as they transition into leaving care services. Most children have the opportunity to meet and get to know their personal advisors (PAs) before they leave care.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

45. Care-experienced young people from Derby City receive consistently strong services that are focused on ensuring that young people’s outcomes improve. PAs build and maintain relationships, which demonstrate warmth, care and commitment to the young people they support. Young people are seen regularly, and PAs respond quickly when additional support is required. Care-experienced young people told inspectors that they appreciated the practical and emotional support their PAs gave to them.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

46. Care-experienced young people are helped to expand their social and support networks, and, when appropriate, to reconnect with family members to increase their sense of belonging. Recognising their complexity, PAs provide sensitive support to help young people navigate these relationships. Further practical financial help is provided via a monthly communication allowance, which assists young people to maintain contact with their families.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

47. There is an extensive local offer that is ambitious and aims to ensure that care- experienced young people are not disadvantaged. Leaders have ensured that the offer is the same regardless of where a young person lives. A quick response (QR) code is included in care-experienced young people’s pathway plans. PAs are well informed on the offer and help young people to access their entitlements.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

48. Pathway plans are routinely kept updated and comprehensively outline care leavers’ rights and entitlements. PAs work with care leavers and support them to share their opinions, views and aspirations in their pathway plans. Contingencies are well set out. When creating and reviewing plans, PAs outline the support available to young people to meet actions set. PAs work with young people, at times holding difficult conversations to support them to manage risks and ask challenging questions about life choices. Practice in this area has considerably improved since the last inspection.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

49. Care-experienced young people routinely receive a copy of their health histories when they reach the age of 18. Care-experienced young people’s health needs are mostly met and, when required, their PA will help them to arrange and attend a variety of health appointments.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

50. The vast majority of care-experienced young people live in suitable accommodation where they feel safe and are settled. Strong partnerships across housing and children’s social care have enabled leaders to prioritise the needs of these young people. When appropriate, young people are supported to stay put with their former foster carers. Care-experienced young people are well Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025 supported to gain the confidence and skills to live independently and to maintain their own tenancy successfully. They have access to impressive accommodation options. A resolute housing prevention PA provides effective support to address any difficulties young people experience, specifically those who are at risk of homelessness, those in custody and those care-experienced young people who live outside of Derby City.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

51. Care-experienced young people who are former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in care receive effective support from well-trained, suitably skilled workers. These PAs’ expertise and knowledge enable them to triple plan and support young people with the potential uncertainty about their immigration status and future. Young people are helped to build peer networks and to integrate into their local community. Like other care-experienced young people, they are also supported to access suitable accommodation and to progress in education and employment.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

52. Care-experienced young people who are parents are supported to be good parents. They are helped to understand potential risks and supported by their PA when there are concerns about their ability to care for their child safely. PAs and social workers work together, and their work ensures that care-experienced young people are supported and prepared for any outcome. The strength of this work was recently commended by a judge in relation to one of Derby City’s care- experienced young people.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

53. Most care leavers in custody are visited in line with statutory visiting timescales where their circumstances permit, and they receive a regular communication allowance to help them maintain contact with people important to them. However, not all care leavers are visited regularly or have their pathway plans updated following significant events. For this small number of young people, management oversight does not always provide sufficient direction or curiosity when they are reluctant to engage.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

54. PAs provide effective support to help care-experienced young people to remain in education or training, or, with help from the employment hub, to find suitable employment. Care-experienced young people can access a variety of social activities that are specifically arranged for them, such as Picnic in The Park, the Derby City care-experienced football team and holidays. Care-experienced young people are positive about this support. PAs celebrate the achievements young people make and this is supported by a formal annual celebration event.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

55. The care-experienced forum enables the views of care leavers to be shared with leaders to ensure that their experiences are understood.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: outstanding

56. Care leavers continue to receive support after the age of 21 if they need or request it. The level of this support is dependent on an assessment of their needs and can range from contact with a duty worker through to the continued involvement of the same PA. Requests for ongoing support are responded to appropriately and the support provided clearly benefits young people. Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025

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families: outstanding

57. Children are held firmly at the centre of Derby City Council’s policy and vision. This commitment is backed by political leaders and all corporate services, as demonstrated through their commitment to meeting the needs of Derby City’s children, particularly vulnerable children, and their families and those also who are affected by poverty. Children’s services continue to be supported financially, with ongoing investments in early help services, family hubs and increasing social worker capacity. Derby City’s children are clearly benefiting from this investment.

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families: outstanding

58. Leaders are aspirational and tenacious in their ambition for Derby’s children. They have achieved significant improvements from an already strong base. These improvements are informed by an accurate and insightful understanding of service effectiveness and guided by a strong child-focused value base. There are robust governance arrangements and scrutiny from senior leaders across the service. Monthly meetings with the lead member, the chief executive, the independent scrutineer and the principal social worker provide an opportunity for them to discuss practice and performance, challenge and support progress and to hold the strategic director for people services, the director of early help and children’s social care and their leadership team to account.

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families: outstanding

59. Derby City provides a network of locally based social work and specialist services to meet the identified needs of children. Clear frameworks and workflow processes ensure that children and their families are supported by services that intervene early to meet their needs. Established multi-agency partnerships in Derby City have embraced the national social care change agenda. Derby City’s work with families and its commitment to safely maintaining and supporting children in its family networks is a significant strength.

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families: outstanding

60. Leaders have successfully developed strong and effective strategic and operational partnerships, which is demonstrated in the multi-agency response to support children. This is well evidenced through the large numbers of early help assessments completed by schools and other key partner services, and the active roles these services play in providing early and continuing support to the children in their care.

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families: outstanding

61. The recently refreshed corporate parenting strategy provides clarity in respect of how Derby City will act as corporate parents and grandparents and help children and young people in its care to have opportunities to flourish. The sufficiency strategy and plans are gaining traction, impacting positively on the availability of placements for children. Effective corporate parenting is ensuring that children in care are very well supported by the impressive work of the virtual school and that care leavers are provided with excellent-quality accommodation. The strong focus on ensuring permanence for children supports children and young people to feel assured about where they live and who they will live with while they are in care and beyond. Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 2025 62. Leaders have an accurate appraisal of their services as set out in their self-

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families: outstanding

evaluation, which demonstrates how well they know themselves and services. Leaders have delivered against all the actions identified for improvement in previous inspection reports. The My Life My Journey and Diversity and Heritage Pledge are integrated into core practices. The consistency of recording in children’s case records has improved and is increasingly evidenced in work with families. Life-story work is evident for children and is of a high standard. The response to 16- and 17-year-old homeless young people has been strengthened, and processes and support for children placed in private fostering have improved. Comprehensive quality assurance frameworks provide leaders with opportunities to learn and shape practice, which they then translate into better outcomes for children and young people.

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families: outstanding

63. Children’s services are led by an experienced and stable senior children’s leadership team, the members of which are visible and appropriately steer and direct practice. Staff have created and model a culture of care, and their commitment to the workforce and to supporting children to flourish is tangible. Extensive training and well-being offers are provided for all staff. Caseloads in most parts of children’s services have reduced considerably and are now much more manageable, although workloads in the leaving care service are higher. Workers all say they are well supported by managers at all levels and feel valued. Supervision practices have improved. However, as the case audits have raised, there are still areas for further development and consistency. There is also a need for greater scrutiny by managers to understand the impact of long-term neglect when making decisions for a small number of children.

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families: outstanding

64. Leaders in Derby have developed and sustained a very stable and capable workforce, with extremely low vacancy rates and no agency staff. Leaders continue to give good attention to supporting the workforce and ensuring successful recruitment and retention. Frontline practitioners are the service’s greatest strength. Their consistently high-quality work with children and their families is making a real difference to the safety and life chances of Derby City’s most vulnerable children. Inspection of Derby City local authority children’s services 19 to 23 May 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 training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education

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families: outstanding

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

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families: outstanding

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

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