Setting

Jacquie Burke Group Director for Children and Education Hackney Service Centre 1 Hillman Street London E8 1DY

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Focused visit to Hackney children’s services

This letter summarises the findings of the focused visit to Hackney children’s services on 23 and 24 June 2026. His Majesty’s inspectors for this visit were Monique Lindsay and Mark Scanlon.

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Focused visit to Hackney children’s services

Inspectors looked at the local authority’s arrangements for care leavers, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable young people in this cohort, including young parents, former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in custody, and on the suitability of the housing available for them.

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Focused visit to Hackney 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

Care leavers benefit from warm, trusting and purposeful relationships with practitioners who are ambitious for them and committed to helping them achieve positive progress into adulthood. Practitioners know young people well and they work collaboratively with partner agencies to ensure that care leavers receive practical, emotional and therapeutic support that responds to their individual needs.

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Headline findings

Leaders have established a strong relational culture that is underpinned by the authority’s systemic, trauma-informed and anti-racist approach. They understand the areas where greater consistency is required. Corporate leaders demonstrate a clear commitment to their responsibilities as corporate parents in improving the experiences of care leavers. 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

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

◼ The consistency with which supervision is provided to practitioners (Enabler: leaders drive conditions for effective practice).

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

◼ The provision of health summaries to care leavers (Outcome 4, National Framework).

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Main findings

Leaders have strengthened services for care leavers since the last ILACS inspection in 2024. Leaders are ambitious for care leavers and understand that improving their experiences requires effective partnership working and sustained corporate commitment. Care leavers are recognised as a corporate responsibility across the council and strong relationships between children’s services, housing, health and wider council departments have resulted in tangible improvements to services.

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Main findings

Corporate leaders have effective oversight of the leaving care service, and they understand young people’s achievements and the challenges they face. Regular scrutiny through corporate parenting arrangements ensures appropriate challenge and support. Leaders have successfully maintained care leavers as a strategic priority despite wider financial pressures and increasing demand across children’s services.

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Main findings

The authority’s systemic, trauma-informed and anti-racist approach is evident throughout leadership, policy and practice. Practitioners understand the importance of considering young people’s individual identities when assessing need and planning support, and this is reflected in young people’s plans and case recording. Staff describe the approach as integral to their day-to-day practice rather than an additional framework, helping them to work thoughtfully with care leavers from diverse backgrounds and who have differing experiences.

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Main findings

The stable and committed workforce helps care leavers make progress. Practitioners speak warmly about the young people they support and demonstrate persistence and curiosity in developing meaningful relationships with them. Most practitioners describe workloads as manageable, enabling them to spend meaningful time with care leavers while maintaining oversight of their needs.

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Main findings

Practitioners value the training they receive, including in systemic practice and motivational interviewing, describing how it strengthens their ability to engage young people. Accessible managers provide advice, support and opportunities for reflective discussion. Practitioners speak positively about the culture within the service and managers’ commitment to supporting their development.

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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. Leaders have an accurate view of the quality of practice. They have established a comprehensive quality assurance framework that supports continuous improvement. Before this focused visit, leaders had recognised the limitations of a previous leaving care generic audit tool and introduced a revised framework that has strengthened auditing, moderation and shared learning.

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Main findings

During this visit, inspectors identified a small number of care leavers aged 18-21 who had not been allocated a named practitioner, despite this being a statutory requirement. Leaders responded to this finding, reflecting on the issue and ensuring that all of these young people were allocated a named practitioner who will make contact to assess their needs and offer support. Leaders’ response demonstrates their commitment to fulfilling their statutory duties to relevant and former relevant care leavers by maintaining relationships with young people aged 18-21, ensuring that support is proactively offered rather than waiting for young people to seek help.

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Main findings

Most care leavers are supported by practitioners who know them well and understand their individual circumstances, strengths and aspirations. Practitioners speak positively about young people and demonstrate warmth and genuine interest in their lives. Care leavers value their relationships with practitioners, who listen to them, advocate for them and remain alongside them during periods of difficulty.

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Main findings

Pathway planning is purposeful and mostly co-produced with care leavers. Plans reflect the authority’s relational practice and thoughtful consideration of young people’s identities, relationships, education, health, emotional wellbeing and independence. Young people’s wishes and feelings are consistently reflected in planning, so that decisions remain focused on what matters to them. Managers’ oversight of pathway plans is effective. Their reflective commentary and appropriate challenge help maintain a clear focus on improving outcomes for care leavers.

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Main findings

Most care leavers receive visits that reflect their individual needs. Practitioners meet young people where they feel most comfortable, whether in their homes, at the new care leavers’ hub, Sonder Space, or elsewhere in the community. These conversations help practitioners develop meaningful relationships and understand changes in young people’s circumstances. Case recordings of visits are personalised and demonstrate curiosity about young people’s experiences. Some records of visits are not completed promptly, so case records do not always provide a current account of all care leavers’ experiences.

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Main findings

Young people’s health needs are routinely considered in pathway planning and reviewed as their circumstances change. Practitioners encourage care leavers to attend health appointments and, when appropriate, accompany them to provide reassurance and practical support. Accessible in-house therapeutic services and effective work with health partners ensure that care leavers’ emotional wellbeing is supported well. Young people do not consistently receive a summary of their health history as they move towards greater independence. Disabled care leavers or those with additional vulnerabilities are supported well. Practitioners adapt their approach to meet young people’s needs, including using accessible pathway plans and visual communication tools when appropriate. They work closely with partner agencies and specialist services to fully involve young people in planning for adulthood, so they can develop independence at a pace that

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Main findings

reflects their individual circumstances.

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Main findings

Care leavers who are parents or preparing for parenthood receive coordinated support from practitioners who understand the additional challenges they face. Practitioners work effectively alongside children’s social workers and partner agencies to provide practical, emotional and financial support. They help care leavers prepare for caring for their children while maintaining their own aspirations for education, employment and independent living.

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Main findings

Effective partnership working contributes positively to care leavers’ experiences. Practitioners advocate for care leavers, particularly when access to accommodation, specialist services or legal advice requires challenge. Professionals work together to reduce barriers for care leavers and respond promptly to their changing needs.

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Main findings

Most care leavers live in suitable, safe accommodation. Joint working with housing services has helped more care leavers access permanent housing and strengthened planning for independence. When care leavers experience periods in less suitable accommodation, practitioners maintain regular contact and provide practical support while advocating for better long-term arrangements. Practical advice and effective financial assistance help care leavers to establish and sustain their tenancies. Staying put arrangements continue to provide support for some young people beyond the formal arrangement, enabling important relationships to endure well into adulthood.

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Main findings

Care leavers are encouraged and supported to fulfil their ambitions through education, employment and training. Practitioners understand the barriers that some young people experience. They work creatively to promote their participation and help them access bursaries, apprenticeships and other opportunities.

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Main findings

Sonder Space makes a positive contribution to care leavers’ experiences. The hub provides care leavers with a welcoming environment where they can access practical advice, therapeutic support, participation opportunities and informal contact with trusted practitioners. Young people describe Sonder Space as somewhere they feel safe, listened to and respected. It helps to reduce isolation by providing opportunities to develop friendships, participate in activities and access support without the formality of appointments. Practitioners use the hub flexibly to strengthen relationships with care leavers and respond quickly when they require additional support. The development of Sonder Space demonstrates leaders’ commitment to creating services that reflect what care leavers say they need.

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Main findings

Participation is firmly embedded in the leaving care service. Care leavers influence the development of services through a range of forums, with dedicated groups for ‘junior’ and ‘senior’ care leavers, and former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Leaders actively seek young people’s views and use their feedback to shape service development, commissioning decisions and improvements to the local offer. Care leavers spoke positively about opportunities to influence decisions. This culture of participation helps young people to develop confidence while ensuring that services continue to evolve in response to their experiences.

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Main findings

Former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children receive highly responsive support from practitioners who understand the complexities associated with immigration, identity, trauma and settlement. Specialist personal advisers for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children form lasting relationships with young people and ensure they receive coordinated legal, emotional and practical support, including advice, education, housing and health services. Opportunities to participate in dedicated groups and community activities strengthen young people’s sense of belonging and support successful transitions to adulthood.

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Main findings

Care leavers in custody receive purposeful support that reflects their individual needs and circumstances. Practitioners maintain relationships through regular visits and ensure that planning for release begins at an early stage. Pathway plans appropriately consider accommodation, education, employment and emotional wellbeing needs, helping young people prepare for a successful return to the community. Care leavers continue to receive financial support and are encouraged to maintain their aspirations while in custody.

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Main findings

Management oversight is typically purposeful, supporting practitioners to think critically about their work with care leavers. Supervision provides opportunities to review risks, reflect on young people’s progress and consider how practitioners can best build effective relationships with them. Managers are accessible and provide appropriate support and challenge. However, supervision is not always held within the authority’s expected timescales. Although inspectors did not identify any adverse impact on care leavers arising from these delays, greater consistency would ensure that reflective discussions take place at the right time.

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Main findings

Care leavers benefit from practitioners who know them well, advocate effectively on their behalf and remain ambitious for their futures. Enduring relationships are at the heart of practice, supported by committed leaders who continue to invest in services that respond to young people’s needs and aspirations. As a result, most care leavers make positive progress into adulthood.

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Main findings

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

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