Bradford Children and Families Trust

Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust

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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 Requires improvement to be good

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of children in care Requires improvement to be good

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of children care leavers Good

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Judgement Grade

Overall effectiveness Requires improvement to be good

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Judgement Grade

Services to children, young people and care leavers who need help, protection and care have improved significantly since the last inspection. Leaders in the Trust and the Council have rebuilt the service with purpose and clarity. Workforce stability has been restored, partnerships are more cohesive and children’s safety, voice and wellbeing now influence decision-making. A more confident, well-trained and supported workforce is increasingly able to form meaningful relationships with children and families and respond to their needs with greater consistency and increasingly positive impact. Strengthened performance and quality assurance systems give leaders and managers clearer insight into children’s lived experiences, and both internal and external scrutiny are now used constructively to drive improvement.

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Judgement Grade

Despite this progress, important work remains. Frontline management oversight is improving but is not yet currently delivering timely decision-making for every child. Recording quality varies, and some partners remain cautious about practice improvements and change. Some children continue to experience drift and delay in the progression of their plans. Multi-agency meetings do not consistently review children’s progress. Leaders are unequivocal that every child must receive a consistently timely, high-quality response to their safety and care needs and were Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 already fully sighted on all areas for improvement prior to this inspection, with credible plans in place to address the issues.

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Recognition of the unique characteristics and increased vulnerability of disabled children in child protection plans. (outcome 3, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ The timeliness and effectiveness of permanence planning. (outcome 4, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Increased use of family network planning and ensuring children have the opportunity to be connected to their wider family in long-term planning. (outcome 4, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ The quality of direct work and life-story work for all children in care to help them understand their history. (outcome 4, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ The quality and effectiveness of management oversight of children’s plans. (enabler 2, national framework)

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protection: requires improvement to be good

1. Children’s experiences of help and protection have improved significantly since the last inspection, but not all children currently benefit from timely interventions that make a difference to their lives.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

2. Increasingly, more children are being supported by a wide range of timely early help services. Skilled early help workers develop trusting relationships with families, providing help and support when they need it. Targeted family help teams, implemented in response to the reforms, provide responsive, needs-led interventions overseen by a qualified social worker. This ensures risk and need are managed effectively. For many children, their situation improves. When needed, children’s cases step up quickly to statutory services for additional support. For additional safety, decisions for children to step down from statutory services are considered by a panel. The written records of these decisions are not always well documented on children’s records.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

3. The integrated front door (IFD) responds well to new contacts and referrals, with skilled and curious practitioners completing child-centred screening. Strong information-sharing supports timely, joint decision-making, and parental consent and views are clearly recorded. Risks are identified appropriately, and

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protection: requires improvement to be 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 Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 managers provide consistent oversight and guidance. Ongoing audits and reflective meetings between managers and practitioners strengthen learning and continually improve practice.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

4. Children’s cases move quickly from IFD to locality teams, which helps ensure timely responses when children need help and support. However, after moving into locality teams, some children’s cases are closed too soon, reflecting overly optimistic decisions that leave underlying concerns unresolved. This leads to some repeat referrals and leaves some children exposed to ongoing vulnerability.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

5. Children and families receive a timely and effective response from the emergency duty team, whose members respond to concerns about children’s safety and welfare outside office hours. The local authority designated officer service is effective and responds appropriately to allegations against people working with children and vulnerable adults.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

6. Decisions to convene child protection strategy meetings are timely and well attended, reflecting stronger partnership engagement. However, some partners still lack confidence in social work decision-making, leading to an overuse of child protection enquiries. As a result, some children and families experience this unnecessary statutory intervention. Senior leaders are aware of these weaknesses and have credible plans to improve practice.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

7. Assessments are generally timely and robust, giving workers a strong understanding of children’s histories, culture and identity and lived experiences. Thorough analysis considers parental circumstances and previous interventions, supporting proportionate and appropriate decisions. Children are seen regularly, and their views meaningfully inform assessments. Parents who spoke to inspectors report feeling involved and well supported by approachable workers. Child in need planning is effective for most children, although plans too often overlook the potential contribution of the wider family network.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

8. Pre-birth assessments are comprehensive and inform decision-making and planning, including contingency planning for babies. Effective engagement of most parents and joint working between workers, midwives and other professionals lead to clear safeguarding plans for babies from birth.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

9. Decisions to proceed to initial child protection conference are based on thorough assessment of risk, but a small number of children wait too long for these multi-agency meetings to take place. While interim safety planning is evident, management oversight during these periods varies. Child protection conferences are well attended by partner agencies and parents, enabling effective information-sharing and planning by those who know the child and family well. Most decision-making is appropriate, including when child protection plans end. Conferences follow the Bradford Children and Families Trust practice model, using group conversation to explore the family strengths, concerns and what needs to change. Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 10. Despite recent improvements, some children’s circumstances do not improve quickly enough. Some plans lack clear outcomes and timescales, limiting their

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protection: requires improvement to be good

impact. Although core groups are now regular and well attended, they do not robustly evaluate progress or drive timely change for children. Some child protection chairs identify drift or delay, but this is not the case for all children. When chairs do raise a challenge, the effectiveness and impact are at times impacted by changes in workers and some slow managerial action or direction.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

11. When managers recognise that children’s circumstances are not improving, pre-proceedings under the Public Law Outline (PLO) are usually initiated in a timely and appropriate way. Family group decision-making is used well to build resilience and identify alternative carers. However, for a minority of children, delays in progressing to PLO result in them remaining in neglectful situations for too long. Letters before proceedings, while clear about the concerns, are not consistently shared with parents promptly, limiting their ability to engage meaningfully in the process and delaying necessary change.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

12. The children allocated to the problem-solving court team benefit from being supported. Relational, solution-focused practice helps empower some parents to make improvements in their parenting and meet their child’s needs. Interventions are well structured and needs led. Progress is evaluated and informs the child’s care planning.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

13. Very few children are identified as living in private fostering arrangements, despite efforts by leaders to raise awareness. Statutory checks and assessments of adults are mostly timely and inform suitability of carers for children.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

14. When children are at risk of exploitation, the response is prompt, well coordinated and effective for most children. Workers are skilled in building trusting relationships with children, which ensures that assessment and planning reflect the risk and include the child’s voice. Arrangements for talking to children after a period of going missing have significantly improved since the last inspection. More children are engaging in these conversations, and some episodes of children going missing have reduced. Workers explore potential push-and-pull factors and gather information, although for a small number of children, it is not always clear how the valuable information obtained is taken forward into safety planning.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

15. The response to children aged 16 and 17 years old who present as homeless is effective. Workers actively engage children and their families to support children’s safe return. Children are informed of their rights and the option of coming into care, ensuring that those children who need to come into care do so. The record-keeping for these conversations is not always explicitly well documented in children’s records.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

16. Children who are young carers receive an improved service compared with the last inspection. Children’s caring roles are recognised and mostly considered in Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 care planning and visits. When assessments are completed by a commissioned service, these are not always recorded on the child’s file or shared with the child’s social worker. This impacts on how well children’s needs are understood. Leaders have already taken action to address this.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

17. Edge-of-care services are making a positive difference to children and supporting them to remain with their families when it is safe to do so. Families receive intensive, strengths-based support and guidance, with wraparound intervention from multi-agency practitioners.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

18. The response to notifications about children who are missing education and those who are electively home educated (EHE) is mainly effective. A robust system is in place to locate children who are missing from education, or who are missing out on education, and critical safeguarding checks are carried out for those children who are EHE.

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protection: requires improvement to be good

19. Disabled children are mainly well supported by social workers who know the children well, understand their views and provide needs-led support. Most child in need and child protection plans are child centred and well written, involving other agencies and regular visits to the child and their family. However, for some disabled children, particularly those in large sibling groups subject to child protection plans, their individual needs and specific vulnerabilities are not always clearly identified.

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improvement to be good

20. Children who need care outside their birth families receive consistently stronger and more effective support. Practitioners demonstrate a clearer understanding of each child’s history, identity and lived experience. Improved analysis is informing more purposeful and responsive planning. Edge-of-care interventions are increasingly helping families stabilise and maintain safe care where this is possible. This is ensuring that when children do enter care, it is for the right reasons and at the right time. A growing number of children are living in mainly appropriate kinship arrangements with connected family. These arrangements are well supported and robustly assessed.

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improvement to be good

21. Increasingly, children are living in stable, nurturing homes where their needs are well met and where they make meaningful progress. Children are achieving legal permanence more quickly than at the last inspection. Court reports have stronger evidence base and better focus on children’s needs. This improved practice is supporting more confident decision-making, and care proceedings conclude in a timelier way. This is reducing uncertainty for children and enabling them to move into permanent stable arrangements, wherever possible with their brothers and sisters, at the earliest opportunity.

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improvement to be good

22. Special guardianship is providing some children with legal security and long-term permanence when children cannot live with their parents. Leaders Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 recognise that while some children’s plans recommend this type of legal order, applications to progress them have been delayed. Additional resource has been commissioned to progress these children’s plans.

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improvement to be good

23. Most disabled children in care are well supported by carers who can meet their needs effectively and keep them safer. Children and their families benefit from a range of support services. Skilled workers in the disabled children’s service have a good understanding of the needs of disabled children in care. Transition planning for disabled children is mostly timely and effective, supporting them into adulthood.

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improvement to be good

24. Transition planning for children and young people moving to adult services is not consistently well planned. Some young people are not referred in a timely way, and therefore, assessments and plans are not aways completed in readiness for adulthood. Where planning is more timely, effective joint working between children’s social care and adult services ensures better quality assessments, advocacy and thorough planning that secures the packages of support that young people need. This extent of support is not always reflected in young people’s written records.

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improvement to be good

25. While permanence planning has improved for some children, not all children’s plans progress quickly enough. Early permanence is considered for unborn babies, but some delays in planning mean that a small number of babies experience unnecessary temporary placements before moving to their permanent homes. Senior leaders’ tracking systems, while much improved, are not currently effective enough to drive timely progression of all children’s plans. Independent reviewing officers (IROs) provide more consistent oversight and challenge than at the last inspection, and their scrutiny of children’s care plans has strengthened. Despite this improvement, their challenge is not having enough impact in preventing drift and delay for all children to achieve permanence at the earliest opportunity. Leaders understand these challenges and have meaningful improvement plans in place.

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improvement to be good

26. The quality of foster carer recruitment and assessment has improved, resulting in more approved carers. The fostering panel is well resourced, and decision- making and recommendations are timely and in line with making good decisions for children. Foster carer morale is generally good and significantly improved since the last inspection. The Mockingbird model has expanded to increase support to more carers, providing a valuable resource and increasing placement stability for some children. Foster carer completion of the trust’s mandatory training remains an area for improvement, which leaders have a clear plan to address.

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improvement to be good

27. Children whose plan is adoption are matched with suitable adoptive parents in line with children’s needs. The relationship between the trust and the regional adoption agency (One Adoption West Yorkshire) is effective, with clear governance arrangements. The meaningful joint working means that the 2 agencies have aligned plans to develop the service. Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 28. Persistent sufficiency challenges mean that some children live in homes that cannot fully meet their needs. While placement stability is improving, some children continue to experience multiple moves. Too many younger children remain in residential care without a plan for permanence and live in residential settings at a very young age. A small number of children live in unregistered homes. These arrangements are used only as a last resort, with senior leaders

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improvement to be good

maintaining strong oversight, offering guidance to providers on registration and ensuring that children are visited frequently so their wellbeing and safety are closely monitored.

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improvement to be good

29. Children are now benefiting from a far more stable and consistent workforce, with fewer changes of social worker and stronger, more trusting relationships. Social workers visit children regularly, including those living out of area, and invest meaningful time in understanding their daily lives. Direct work does not currently match the quality of these relationships. Too many children lack age-appropriate life-story work and clear explanations about their past and the decisions made about their care. This limits their ability to make sense of their experiences and influence future planning.

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improvement to be good

30. Children’s written records have improved since the last inspection. Workers, including managers and IROs, write directly to children, with accounts of their unique observations and conversations with children. This makes children’s records more personalised and unique to them, reflecting their experiences in care.

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improvement to be good

31. Assessments of children’s needs are updated routinely, but some quality is inconsistent. Management oversight in some teams is not addressing these gaps, which affects the quality and ambition of written plans. This inconsistency means not all children experience the timely, well-coordinated planning they deserve. Leaders have meaningful plans to build on the relational strengths of the workforce and secure consistently high-quality direct work, assessment and planning so that every child has a clear understanding of their journey and a plan that drives their progress with purpose and ambition.

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improvement to be good

32. Most children are supported to enjoy family time, with risks assessed and children supported to understand changes. However, for some children, long- term plans missed the opportunity to maintain or increase wider family relationships and networks.

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improvement to be good

33. Children’s physical and emotional health is well promoted. Social workers ensure that children have up-to-date health assessments and plans that address their physical health needs. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires are routinely completed to identify when children need additional support and are regularly reviewed. Some children who need services relating to mental health and neurodiversity assessments wait too long. Leaders and workers strongly advocate for these children to receive the healthcare needed, which helps reduce waiting times for some children. Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 34. Since the last inspection, leaders have undertaken substantial work to improve children’s educational experiences, and as a result, most children are supported to receive education. The virtual school engages effectively with a wide range of external agencies to support children’s learning. Children are encouraged to

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improvement to be good

pursue hobbies and interests and have access to a range of activities that promote their wellbeing. The quality of children’s personal education plans (PEPs) has improved, although some children experience delays in receiving their initial PEP when they first enter care. This impacts on the quality of education planning and understanding of children’s talents and strengths prior to coming into care, and also their progress thereafter.

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improvement to be good

35. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children receive a prompt, needs-led response. A newly established team of skilled practitioners who are in tune with children’s needs has strengthened the quality of support and care planning in this area. Children live in appropriate accommodation and receive compassionate practical and emotional support, with access to community services with expertise in working with people seeking asylum. This forms a basis for children to start to settle, build trust and feel safer.

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improvement to be good

36. The response to children’s vulnerabilities and risks is effective. Risk of exploitation is well understood by workers and is thoroughly considered in multi-agency planning. Workers from the Breaking the Cycle service engage children at greatest risk, build rapport with them and provide engaging interventions and purposeful visits to help reduce risks to children. When children go missing from care, their carers and other professionals work together to find the child as soon as possible. Most children receive timely follow-up visits from workers to talk about the episode of going missing, which enables workers to understand the child’s experience and revise risk management plans.

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improvement to be good

37. Opportunities for children and young people to participate, be included and receive advocacy have significantly improved. Their views are increasingly central to planning and decision-making, and this is reflected in their written records. Senior leaders have placed greater emphasis on hearing the views of children in care and care leavers and have consequently invested in the Voice and Influence Team. Children’s participation in the corporate parenting council continues to provide a platform to influence strategic priorities and engage directly with senior leaders. Some Children in Care Council members spoke to inspectors and described how they value the opportunity to influence change and enjoy attending the board meetings, staff recruitment interviews and delivering workforce training. This participation is helping children to be heard and supports leaders to shape services that are informed by children’s lived

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improvement to be good

experiences. Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

38. The experiences of care leavers have significantly improved since the last inspection, in part due to the service restructure and increased worker and manager capacity. This is enabling personal advisers (PAs) to develop stronger relationships with young people.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

39. Young people’s cases typically transition from their social worker to their PA between the ages of 17 and 18. Information-sharing between workers is initiated sometimes several months ahead of the handover. This ensures that PAs have the knowledge needed to provide consistent, well-planned support from the outset.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

40. Most care leavers are visited regularly by PAs, with additional visits, telephone calls and messages when young people need it. PAs visit young people’s homes, continuously assessing the suitability of accommodation and providing practical and emotional support. Young people who spoke to inspectors were complimentary about their PAs, citing them as reliable and easy to talk to. Young people identified occasions in their lives when PAs had played a critical role in providing emotional and practical support, day and night.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

41. Young people understand their entitlements and benefit from a broad range of practical and financial support. The care leaver offer is accessible to care leavers online and regularly reviewed to reflect the changing needs of Bradford’s care leavers. PAs regularly revisit the offer with young people to ensure they are aware of support, including elements that they have not accessed, including those who live out of area. The ‘Always Here’ offer reflects a deliberate shift towards relationship-based support, encouraging young people to remain connected to services beyond 25 whenever needed. Leaders acknowledge that previous gaps in the quality of support contributed to some young people stepping away. Leaders are actively addressing this issue by appointing a dedicated worker to rebuild relationships and proactively reach out and welcome young people back into the service.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

42. Pathway plans are well written, personalised and thorough. Plans are mostly up to date and explore a wide range of the young person’s needs, goals and aspirations, including safety planning. However, they lack contingency planning or an account of how the young person’s family network is involved in planning. Young people are helped to obtain important documents, such as birth certificates and a range of other identification documents, and to apply for bank accounts. They are encouraged to access their records with appropriate support and when the time is right for them.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

43. Most care leavers have their education, employment and training (EET) needs identified. The virtual school provides consistent oversight from the age of 16 and works effectively with partners to support young people to remain in learning or move into work. Leaders in the Trust and Council are ambitious for care leavers and recognise that too few are accessing education, employment Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 or training. Apprenticeships within the trust and council have increased, and employer and university partnerships are growing. Young people’s engagement in activities has improved over the past year because opportunities are more appealing to them. The appointment of an enrichment coordinator is helping more young people, particularly those who previously felt excluded, to connect with services. Young people’s achievements are celebrated through

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

personalised messages from PAs and also recognised at coordinated celebration events, social gatherings, fun activities and wellbeing workshops.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

44. Participation of care leavers in service development has improved since the last inspection, although many of the plans are still in the early stages of implementation. Care leavers’ feedback supports leaders to understand young people’s perspectives and informs service developments, such as the design and resources of the care leaver hub.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

45. Most care leavers live in suitable accommodation that meets their needs. Where suitable accommodation cannot be accessed immediately, this is reviewed by senior managers, and PAs engage proactively with housing to identify temporary arrangements for young people.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

46. Young people are supported to remain in ‘staying put’ arrangements with foster carers. They receive stable, protective and supportive care, often from carers they have lived with for many years, until they are ready for independent living. Planning begins before the young person’s 18th birthday. Suitability and recommendations for these arrangements have robust management and IRO oversight.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

47. Vulnerable care leavers, such as young parents and young people in custody, receive responsive and thoughtful support. Young parents receive guidance about parenting from PAs who act as positive role models. They encourage young people to work with community resources and children’s services when required. Young people in custody receive support, advice and their entitlements. PAs keep in touch with young people, and visits are regular. They advocate for young people and work in partnership with other agencies to plan young people’s release from custody and resettlement into the community.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

48. Young people who are at risk of exploitation receive help from a range of effective multi-agency services. PAs are alert to the vulnerabilities and risks that care leavers face. PAs take effective action to reduce the risk wherever possible and encourage young people to access universal and specialist services. PAs are persistent and, together with other professionals, use relational practice to engage young people in their own safety planning.

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

49. Former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who are now care leavers receive strong support. PAs know them well, understand their experiences and cultural needs and work sensitively with them to write personalised pathway plans that set out the young person’s needs and goals. Emotional and practical support helps young people reconnect and maintain family links where possible. Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 PAs advocate for young people to receive necessary legal advice while concurrent planning ensures that contingencies are in place irrespective of immigration application outcomes. Young people are encouraged to engage in their local communities and build friendships, although this is not always clearly recorded in pathway plans. EET needs are prioritised, helping young people to have a daily routine, make friends and work towards achieving qualifications

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The experiences and progress of care leavers: good

that increase their chances of achieving employment.

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families: good

50. The establishment of the Trust marked a decisive turning point for Bradford, creating the focus, autonomy and accountability needed to shift services that had remained stubbornly inadequate. The depth of leadership commitment at every level, from the Chief Executive and Executive Directors to the Board, and the commitment of frontline teams, has shown collective determination, which is now translating into clear evidence of progress, supported by a stronger, more aligned partnership landscape. The Trust has created the conditions for real, sustainable improvement, and the impact of that is increasingly visible.

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families: good

51. The senior leadership team in the Trust has made a significant and positive difference to the safety, experiences and progress of children and care leavers who need help, protection and care. When the Trust assumed responsibility 3 years ago, it inherited a service that had twice been judged inadequate, with serious consequences for children, families and care leavers. Inspectors recognised the scale of transformation that has been made in a relatively short period of time.

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families: good

52. The Chief Executive of the Trust and the senior leadership team have built a clear understanding of the service’s risks, capacity strengths and vulnerabilities. This essential diagnostic work established the foundations for sustainable improvement and services that children need. Trust leaders, supported by the Council and the Interim Director of Children’s Social Care, have created a far more cohesive and aligned partnership and fundamentally a shared vision to improve the experiences and progress for children, young people, care leavers and families.

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families: good

53. The new council chief executive has played a pivotal role in galvanising this renewed partnership, strengthening trust and reorienting the corporate focus on children’s services. Council leaders and members have worked with determination to place children firmly at the centre of their corporate parenting responsibilities. This collective leadership is providing the stability, ambition and accountability needed to sustain improvement and ensure that children’s needs remain the driving force behind decision-making.

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families: good

54. Senior leaders’ line of sight to practice and to children’s lived experiences has significantly improved due to the strengthened performance management and quality assurance arrangements. Leaders actively invite external scrutiny to test Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 the quality of practice and to hold themselves to account. This openness to external evaluation, combined with more rigorous internal oversight, is informing focused action to improve children’s experiences.

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families: good

55. A strong strategic focus on early help is making a meaningful difference to children and families. The development of targeted early help, aligned closely with national children’s social care reforms, is improving the early identification of need at the point when support can have the greatest impact. As a result, fewer children now require statutory social work intervention, reflecting that families are receiving timely and effective help earlier.

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families: good

56. Leaders have also transformed how children access help and protection through the strengthened IFD. Partnership working is now more cohesive and purposeful, with agencies collaborating to ensure that children receive the right help at the right time. The strengthened relationship between the ‘front door’ and early help services is particularly impactful, creating more refined pathways for families to receive timelier, proportionate and child-centred support.

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families: good

57. Leaders have improved responses to child protection, but historic partner mistrust in children’s services has created pressure to escalate children’s cases unnecessarily to child protection enquiries, leading to risk-averse and avoidable processes. Although leaders recognise this and have plans to address it, the issue persists.

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families: good

58. There has been significant investment in the workforce at every level, from senior leadership and heads of service to frontline practitioners and early help teams. The transformation of what was previously a mostly agency workforce to almost all permanent staff is remarkable. This reflects leaders’ commitment to achieving a highly skilled, stable and confident workforce that delivers an effective service.

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families: good

59. Many children benefit from consistent, trusting relationships with social workers who know them well. Most practitioners have manageable caseloads and are skilled, well trained, supported and confident in identifying, analysing and responding to risk. Decision-making is stronger, analysis of children’s needs is more robust and interventions are timelier and more proportionate. As a result, children move through legal processes at the right pace, and partners, including the judiciary and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), are increasingly confident in the quality of social work practice and management oversight. The right children are now entering care at the right time, ensuring they receive the protection and stability they need without delay wherever possible.

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families: good

60. Leaders have implemented a robust sufficiency strategy that is driving significant improvements in the experiences of children in care. This strategic focus means that more children are experiencing placement stability. Fostering and adoption services have been strengthened and significantly improved the quality of care children experience in the trust’s children’s residential homes. Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 61. Despite this progress, sufficiency challenges remain. Too many young children continue to live in residential care, and some children are placed in unregistered settings because suitable alternatives are not available. Leaders maintain a strong understanding of these challenges and are taking purposeful action to address them. Their continued focus on sufficiency and placement quality demonstrates a clear commitment to ensuring that all children have access to

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families: good

stable, nurturing homes that meet their needs. The quality of early help and edge-of-care services is helping families receive support at an earlier point, reducing the need for children to come into care.

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families: good

62. Senior leaders have driven a profound cultural shift in corporate parenting, with clear accountability and ownership now embedded across children’s social care, alongside the council ‘Promise’ that sets out the council’s, trust’s and partners’ clear priorities and promises to their children in care and their care leavers. The voice of the child is championed by the senior leadership team and is promoted and encouraged in practice. Children’s participation is developing and helping to shape plans, influencing decisions and informing service development in meaningful ways.

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families: good

63. Workforce diversity has increased and is more reflective of the communities that the trust serves. Staff feel valued, supported and well equipped to carry out their work. They benefit from visible, accessible leadership and mostly regular supervision. Practitioners are proud to work in Bradford. Leaders now have the foundations of a confident, skilled and committed workforce, inspired to deliver high-quality, child-centred practice to all children. Inspection of Bradford Children and Families Trust children’s services 12 to 23 January 2026 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: good

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: good

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