South Tyneside hails top marks for child services department

A report to the the full meeting of South Tyneside Council next week outlines how last year Ofsted inspectors reviewed services to support families and protect vulnerable children and young people and found them to be “consistently high quality”, whilst the adoption service was rated as “outstanding.”

South Tyneside is one of just 25 local authorities out of 161 in the country to have achieved a good or better rating in all the inspection categories.

The adoption service was singled out for particular praise by inspectors who were impressed by its effectiveness in finding new families for children in need - 67% of children are placed with their adoptive family in just over a year, well above the national average.

Coun Joan Atkinson, lead member for children, young people and families, said: “It is with genuine pride that I bring this report to council. “Although South Tyneside is an area with high levels of deprivation, and the associated complex social care challenges that come with this, this report shows what an outstanding success story our children’s services are.”

She added: “Despite councils having to work under intense financial pressures, this report shows that we are succeeding in positively transforming the life chances of some of our most vulnerable young people.

“This is due, in no small part, to the dedication of our staff and partners and the Council as a whole for maintaining a resolute focus on improving services for families and young people who need our help.”

The report will be presented at the meeting on Thursday.