Setting

Riana Nelson Executive Director of Children, Young People and Families The Civic Office Waterdale Doncaster DN1 3BU

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Focused visit to City of Doncaster Council children’s services

This letter summarises the findings of the focused visit to City of Doncaster Council children’s services on 14 and 15 July 2026. His Majesty’s Inspectors for this visit were Nabeel Hussain and Louise Walker.

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Focused visit to City of Doncaster Council children’s services

Inspectors looked at the local authority’s arrangements for care leavers. This included a focus on care leavers aged 18 to 25 with specific needs, for example unaccompanied asylum seekers, young parents or those who have had contact with the criminal justice system.

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Focused visit to City of Doncaster Council 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, senior leaders have maintained a clear focus on improving outcomes for vulnerable care leavers. This has resulted in tangible improvements across several areas of the Inspiring Futures service, including the quality of support for young parents, care leavers in custody and those who are at risk of harm. Most care leavers have stable and trusting relationships with their personal advisers (PAs). Care leavers’ individual achievements and successes are recognised and celebrated by PAs, managers, leaders and elected members, who are aspirational for them and share an ambition to help care leavers achieve in life.

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Headline findings

Senior leaders remain close to practice and have an accurate understanding of what needs to improve. In partnership with their workforce, they have fostered a culture of continuous learning and proactive improvement. There remains some variability in the quality of supervision and pathway planning, and caseloads for some PAs are 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 high. Senior leaders were already aware of these discrete areas of practice and have credible plans in place to address them.

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

◼ The quality and accuracy of pathway plans. (outcome 1, national framework)

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

◼ The quality of management oversight and supervision. (outcome 1, national framework)

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Main findings

Most vulnerable care leavers are allocated a PA before they turn 18. This supports them in building trusted relationships with PAs prior to them formally transferring into the service. PAs are effective in working with care leavers and their networks to develop a good sense of their needs and aspirations at the earliest opportunity.

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Main findings

PAs speak about care leavers with warmth and kindness. They maintain regular contact, arranging visits at times that fit around the care leavers education, employment and other commitments. Visit records are detailed and purposeful, clearly reflecting the care leaver’s views and contributions.

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Main findings

Care leavers are visited in their homes, and PAs are observant when it comes to their physical presentation, appearance and home environment. PAs are alert to care leavers’ vulnerabilities and remain cognisant of the impact of push-and-pull factors in their networks. They recognise that while young people may say they are settled and outwardly present as such, some situations are in fact fragile. In response, PAs are curious and increase the frequency of their visits where necessary. Consequently, many care leavers receive the right support when they need it the most.

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Main findings

PAs often accompany care leavers to significant appointments and events, including outside of usual working hours, when needed. Care leavers describe trusting their PAs, and they actively seek them out for advice and support. Many care leavers remain in contact with their PAs after leaving the service, sharing important milestones, such as securing employment or expecting their first child.

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Main findings

PAs work with care leavers to identify and understand the people who are important to them and the role these relationships play in promoting stability and reducing vulnerability. Care leavers who met with inspectors described how PAs were responsive, reliable and some had been central to changing care leavers’ lives.

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Main findings

The physical and emotional health needs of vulnerable care leavers are well understood by PAs and are reflected in pathway plans. Leaders have plans in place to strengthen further the emotional health offer through the pending recruitment of

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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. a specialist mental health worker. While it is too early to see the impact of this, the direction of travel is the right one for care leavers in this area of practice.

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Main findings

Since the previous inspection, the council has revised and strengthened the local offer. Care leavers access council tax exemption, free leisure passes and sim cards offering calls and data to reduce isolation. A very small number of care leavers told inspectors that they did not feel the local offer was accessible for all young people, for example those with young children or disabilities. Leaders are clear that strengthening the local offer is an ongoing process, which will continue to evolve and develop over time.

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Main findings

Most, but not all, pathway plans are clear, comprehensive and consider the holistic needs of care leavers. A small number of plans do not fully reflect the support being provided to care leavers and not all plans are updated following significant events. Consequently, for some care leavers, their plan is not an accurate reflection of their current circumstances or needs.

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Main findings

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking care leavers and those from global majority backgrounds are proactively supported by PAs to re-settle in diverse communities. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking care leavers unique cultural needs and identities are well understood, promoted and reflected in pathway plans.

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Main findings

The support to care leavers in custody has improved since the previous inspection. Visits to these young people are regular and purposeful. PAs plan ahead and work closely with housing services to ensure that young people have suitable accommodation, where possible, before their release.

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Main findings

Care leavers who are parents or are expecting a baby receive financial and emotional support to prepare for parenthood. When their children are subject to child protection plans or court proceedings, PAs support young parents to attend meetings and contribute to the planning for their children. This is an area of practice that has improved since the previous inspection.

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Main findings

When safeguarding concerns are identified, professionals respond promptly through well-established, multi-agency arrangements. With care leavers’ consent, concerns are considered at the Care Leavers at Risk Panel, where agencies share information, assess risk and agree proportionate actions. Where risks remain or escalate, care leavers’ circumstances are referred to the Transitional Safeguarding Panel for strategic oversight and additional scrutiny. Actions agreed at these forums help to reduce risk to care leavers. However, records are less clear on who is responsible for actions and when they will be completed.

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Main findings

Pathway plans highlight independent living skills and are clear in identifying areas of strength and where additional support may be required. Young people can access support and assistance from their PAs up until the age of 25, if this is what they need and want. In fact, many do remain in contact with the service into adulthood. Supervision for most care leavers occurs in line with Doncaster’s policy. Recorded evidence of management oversight between supervision sessions was more limited. As a result, if young people’s circumstances changed between supervisions, managers’ written oversight did not always keep pace and was not reflected on until the next formal supervision. While workers spoke positively about their experience of supervision, the quality of records was not always consistent or reflective of workers’ experiences.

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Main findings

Some PAs have high caseloads. While leaders have introduced a caseload weighting system to help them understand the impact of current pressures on PAs and care leavers, it does not always accurately reflect levels of need or workload demands. Leaders are aware of this, have responded appropriately and are proactively recruiting to additional posts.

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Main findings

A refreshed corporate parenting strategy has been co-produced by young people and is in the final stages of being launched. While it is too early to see the impact of the strategy, the direction of travel is a positive one. The quality assurance (QA) process is effective and is giving leaders an accurate line of sight into the quality of practice. There are credible plans in place to further strengthen these arrangements through the planned implementation of a new QA framework. Some of the approaches outlined in the draft framework have already commenced. This is helping to improve how learning is used to inform support for care leavers.

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Main findings

Leaders are outward facing and have deliberately commissioned external reviews to strengthen services for vulnerable care leavers. There is a clear appetite to invite constructive scrutiny and ensure high-quality, consistent support for care leavers.

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Main findings

Young people play an active role in shaping and improving services. Alongside the established and impressive ‘Hear me out’ group, a new participation and influence group has been introduced for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people. Leaders are keen to harness the unique experiences and perspectives of this cohort to inform and improve service development.

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Main findings

Personal advisers and social workers were very positive about working in Doncaster. They valued the training opportunities available and felt confident in constructively challenging one other and their managers to ensure that young people’s voices are amplified and their experiences are continually improved.

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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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