Setting

Martin Birch Director Children and Family Wellbeing Cumberland Council Cumbria House 117 Botchergate Carlisle Cumbria CA1 1RD

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Focused visit to Cumberland children’s services

This letter summarises the findings of the focused visit to Cumberland children’s services on 3 and 4 March 2026. His Majesty’s Inspectors for this visit were Lisa Walsh and Leanne Cooper.

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Focused visit to Cumberland children’s services

Inspectors looked at the local authority’s arrangements for the ‘front door’, the quality of strategy discussions, child protection enquiries, the response to children who present as homeless and the experiences of children who live in private fostering arrangements.

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Focused visit to Cumberland children’s services

This visit was carried out in line with the inspection of local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework.

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Headline findings

Since the previous inspection in October 2024, leaders in Cumberland children’s services continue to provide stability and clear direction for ongoing improvement, contributing to the workforce feeling valued. Quality assurance activity is becoming more reflective and collaborative, although expectations of what constitutes good practice are not consistently understood by all auditors.

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Headline findings

Children who need help and protection are identified appropriately within the Cumberland Children’s Advice & Support Service (CCASS). Thresholds are well understood but inconsistency in practice means that some children do not always receive a timely or appropriate response. When children are at immediate risk of harm, intervention is swift and effective. When concerns are less urgent, delays in decision‑making mean some children wait longer than they should for support. Management oversight does not always prevent drift, and the absence of an effective performance management system limits managers’ and leaders’ ability to monitor timeliness and quality at the front door. Oversight and responses for specific Ofsted

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Headline findings

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 Textphone 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.gov.uk/ofsted vulnerable groups, such as children who present as homeless and those who live in private fostering arrangements, have been strengthened.

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What needs to improve in this area of social work practice? 1

◼ The timeliness of responses to requests for help from front door services. (Outcome 1, national framework) ◼ The quality and effectiveness of management oversight. (Enabler 2, national framework)

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Main findings

Early help arrangements have strengthened since the previous inspection, enabling more children and families to receive support at the earliest opportunity. All early help contacts are now triaged through CCASS, where practitioners appropriately consider case history and triangulate information from partner agencies and parents. This leads to clear and comprehensive contact forms and well‑informed, appropriate recommendations. However, for a few children, practitioners in CCASS take too long to signpost families to appropriate services. This means that these children do not always receive the help they need as quickly as they should.

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Main findings

Partner agencies make prompt and detailed referrals to CCASS when concerns arise, supporting accurate decision‑making at the screening stage. Social workers complete comprehensive and clear screening records that set out a clear rationale and next steps. They appropriately consider children’s history, including the cumulative impact of trauma. This includes a strong emphasis on contacting parents and capturing the child’s voice during triage and screening.

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Main findings

Thresholds within CCASS are applied appropriately and most children at risk of immediate harm receive a swift and effective response. When requests for help are less urgent, responses are not consistently timely. Delays in processing requests, decision‑making and information-gathering mean that some children remain in vulnerable situations or without support for longer than necessary. Leaders do not have full oversight of timeliness, and the absence of a performance dashboard limits senior managers’ ability to track workflow effectively, resulting in over‑reliance on manual case tracking.

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Main findings

For a small number of children, decisions made in CCASS to progress to assessment are overturned inappropriately by the support and protection teams. This takes place without appropriate senior leader oversight. This means that these children do not receive the support that they need at the earliest opportunity, leaving them in situations of unassessed need. Leaders are aware there is more to do to ensure

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Main findings

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. proportionate and timely responses to ensure children get the right help or protection at the earliest time.

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Main findings

When children are at risk of significant harm, most strategy meetings are quickly convened, and meetings are usually well attended, with effective information- sharing. However, the absence of health information in some meetings limits the depth of analysis. The quality of the minutes from those meetings is variable, and gaps in health contributions and children’s voices reduce the effectiveness of risk analysis. While many meetings consider family history and its impact on children, this is not consistent. Actions do not always provide social workers with specific and timebound actions, increasing the risk of drift. Safety planning is usually explored well, and children are visited promptly when safeguarding concerns are significant. Most strategy meetings identify ongoing risk appropriately, leading to timely and proportionate child protection enquiries.

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Main findings

Most child protection enquiries support well‑rounded risk analysis and safety planning which are proportionate to presenting risk and need. However, for some children, missing partner agency information, limited capture of children’s voices and unclear safety planning reduce the quality and effectiveness of enquiries.

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Main findings

Children living in circumstances of neglect, including those experiencing educational neglect, are generally recognised by partner agencies and referred appropriately for support and intervention. Social workers identify indicators of neglect and respond effectively. They are aware of the range of non‑statutory support available and help parents to understand professional concerns and the purpose of targeted intervention, ensuring that families are clear about next steps.

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Main findings

Leaders have strengthened processes to ensure a consistent and effective response for children living in private fostering arrangements. The introduction of a dedicated panel and the allocation of an independent reviewing officer (IRO) have improved oversight of children. This means that the ongoing safety and wellbeing of these children are carefully reviewed.

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Main findings

When children present as homeless, CCASS and the emergency duty team act swiftly to secure their immediate safety. These children are progressed promptly to CCASS for further enquiries. When children cannot remain within family or friendship networks, assessments and interventions are allocated to a social worker in a timely way. Social workers explore whether children can remain at home safely, and where this is not possible, undertake care‑versus‑support assessments. However, for some children referred under the homelessness protocol through CCASS, enquiries into family or friendship support take too long, delaying opportunities to support and repair family relationships. For some children, it is unclear from records whether they are given sufficient information to enable them to make informed decisions and seek advice when needed.

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Main findings

Social workers speak with pride about working in Cumberland. They describe a strong, supportive environment and express pride in their roles. Staff value the support from senior leaders, managers and colleagues, particularly during difficult personal circumstances, when flexible working has been offered.

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Main findings

Ofsted will take the findings from this focused visit into account when planning the next inspection.

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