{"id":68100,"date":"2025-12-15T15:02:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T15:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=68100"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:07:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:07:31","slug":"commissioner-praises-improvements-in-devons-childrens-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/commissioner-praises-improvements-in-devons-childrens-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Commissioner\u00a0praises improvements in Devon\u2019s\u00a0children\u2019s services\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Devon\u2019s Children\u2019s Commissioner\u00a0has\u00a0acknowledged\u00a0significant\u00a0improvements at Devon County Council and warned against the risk of breaking up the service as part of local government reorganisation.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a report published this week&nbsp;the&nbsp;Department for Education\u2019s Commissioner&nbsp;Nigel Richardson CBE&nbsp;recognises&nbsp;significant progress&nbsp;in improving services for children and families, while acknowledging that further work is needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;Commissioner concludes that Devon now has the capacity and capability to improve&nbsp;itself,&nbsp;and&nbsp;recommends that operational control of services should remain with the&nbsp;council&nbsp;rather than&nbsp;be transferred to a trust.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report praises:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>strong corporate leadership:\u00a0children\u2019s services are now the\u00a0council\u2019s top priority, with clear commitment from\u00a0senior staff\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>strong political leadership, with\u00a0the Leader and Cabinet\u00a0having made\u00a0children\u2019s futures their top priority\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>a stabilised leadership team: An experienced interim Director of Children\u2019s Services (DCS) and a strong Deputy Director have brought confidence and clarity, supported by a permanent senior leadership team for the first time in years\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>workforce development:\u00a0recruitment and retention are improving, supported by initiatives such as the Social Work Academy and Leadership Development Programme\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>strategic investment:\u00a0the\u00a0council has committed \u00a3156m over 10 years through its Growing Futures programme to provide more local homes for children in care.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>improved partnership\u00a0working:\u00a0relationships with Ofsted and safeguarding partners have strengthened, and sector-led support from Essex and Hertfordshire continues to drive best practice\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_acf-block-694022f512c06\" class=\"councillor-quote align-right dcc grid-x\">\r\n\t<blockquote class=\"councillor-quote-blockquote medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n                    <div class=\"councillor-quote-title\"><p>Devon County Council\u00a0leader\u00a0Councillor Julian Brazil has welcomed the fact that improvements have been recognised.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\r\n        \t\t<div class=\"councillor-quote-text\"><p>&#8220;Children&#8217;s services in Devon are in a much better place to where they were in 2013,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur strategic plan places children and young people at the heart of everything we do, and\u00a0we will not rest until\u00a0those improvements are felt by all the families we support.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our\u00a0clear\u00a0challenge is to continue this improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n        <div class=\"councillor-quote-aside medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n\t<figure class=\"councillor-quote-image grid-x\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"small-6 cell medium-12\" src=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/UserData\/7\/1\/1\/Info00000117\/bigpic.jpg\" alt=\"Councillor Julian Brazil\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\r\n        <figcaption class=\"councillor-quote-description small-6 cell medium-12\" >\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=117\" rel=\"noopener\">Councillor Julian Brazil, Leader of the Council<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n            <\/figure>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n    <\/div>\n\n<div id=\"block_acf-block-694022f512c63\" class=\"councillor-quote align-right dcc grid-x\">\r\n\t<blockquote class=\"councillor-quote-blockquote medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n                    <div class=\"councillor-quote-title\"><p>Councillor Richard Jefferies, lead member for\u00a0children\u2019s\u00a0services, said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n        \t\t<div class=\"councillor-quote-text\"><p>\u201cWhile the Commissioner notes\u00a0that much\u00a0remains\u00a0to be done, there is\u00a0also a lot\u00a0to be encouraged\u00a0by\u00a0in this important report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis view that the council requires support\u00a0rather than further scrutiny\u00a0to achieve its ambitions for children and young people is\u00a0a\u00a0welcome\u00a0and constructive\u00a0approach. I\u00a0look forward to focussing on\u00a0this vital work with our dedicated officers\u00a0with urgency and pace.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n        <div class=\"councillor-quote-aside medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n\t<figure class=\"councillor-quote-image grid-x\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"small-6 cell medium-12\" src=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/UserData\/4\/8\/5\/Info00011584\/bigpic.jpg\" alt=\"Councillor Richard Jefferies\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\r\n        <figcaption class=\"councillor-quote-description small-6 cell medium-12\" >\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=11584\" rel=\"noopener\">Councillor Richard Jefferies, Cabinet Member for Children&#8217;s Services &#8211; Social Services<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n            <\/figure>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Progress is clear&nbsp;since the service was&nbsp;deemed&nbsp;inadequate by Ofsted,&nbsp;the Commissioner\u2019s report&nbsp;says, and he&nbsp;stresses that improvement must accelerate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ofsted&nbsp;identified&nbsp;six priority areas, including&nbsp;timely&nbsp;responses to children at risk, better risk assessment, and stronger management oversight. The Commissioner recommends targeted practical support to embed reflective supervision, expanding&nbsp;support schemes&nbsp;Family Group Conferencing and Lifelong Links, and refreshing&nbsp;the Restorative Devon approach to create a shared language across agencies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Devon County Council\u2019s&nbsp;new strategic vision,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/strategic-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Building a Positive Future for Devon Where Everyone Thrives<\/a>, places children and young people at the heart of everything&nbsp;it&nbsp;does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In&nbsp;November&nbsp;the council&nbsp;submitted&nbsp;its business plan for local government reorganisation, a&nbsp;Government&nbsp;programme to replace district and county councils with unitary authorities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The county\u2019s proposal is the only one which keeps children\u2019s services together. Breaking them up, the Commissioner concludes, would pose a significant risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnything that breaks that model would risk stopping the existing work in its tracks with an even bigger risk that things would quickly slip backwards,\u201d he writes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Devon County Council is recruiting and training social workers\u00a0roles and\u00a0signing up more\u00a0foster carers\u00a0to help deliver its ambitious plans\u00a0for young people. To find out more visit\u00a0www.devon.gov.uk.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":68101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,24,2175],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children-families-and-education","category-dcc-homepage","category-send-category"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":68101,"title":"News Page size (61)","alt":"A circle of teenagers holding 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