The national regulator has praised Oldham Council’s work in keeping children safe – highlighting the council’s improvement and commitment to giving children the best start in life.
Cllr Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council, said: “I am absolutely thrilled with this outcome that reflects our commitment to keeping children safe and keeping families together. This is about saving lives and that’s what our teams do. Our dedicated social workers have shown their excellence and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
“We’ve made giving children and young people the best possible start in life one of our top priorities, and this is a big step on the journey to achieving that. This was an intensive independent inspection and showed how committed are teams are and how their work is impacting children.
“I’m pleased that the improvements we’ve made have been recongised by Ofsted and it shows that as an authority we are heading in the right direction to deliver for our residents.”
Oldham Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Shaid Mushtaq, said: “This is a fantastic result for our children’s services and places us as one of the fastest improving authorities in the country.
“I’m so proud of our teams who have made this happen. They’ve shown that Oldham is a place where children are getting the best start in life and that by prioritising our young people, we can make a real difference in their lives and the quality of support we offer them.
“A massive thank you and well done to the teams that have made this happen.”
The good rating was across all five areas of the inspection, which were: The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families, the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection, the experiences and progress of children in care, the experiences and progress of care leavers and overall effectiveness.
Last inspected in March 2019 where services for children and families were judged to be requires improvement, Ofsted have now praised major improvements such as the political and corporate commitment that has translated into significant financial investment to strengthen services and provide increased workforce stability.
The children’s services team are now looking for excellent and driven people to join them as they continue to aim for excellence - Choose Oldham and see what jobs are available right now.
You can read the Ofsted report in full here https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50252252