Memorandum submitted by Lancashire County
Councillor John Shedwick,—Chair of the county council's
Scrutiny Committee
The following link
http://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/council/meetings/displayAgendas.asp?meetid=8200
will take you to a report that was considered by the above Committee
at its meeting today, 8 October on the issue of Private Children's
Homes. The role of Ofsted is key here as they are the inspecting,
monitoring and regulatory body for these establishments, of which
there are approximately 72 in Lancashire. We believe that our
report contains evidence that should be useful to your enquiry
as described in the terms of reference that you published.
In debate, councillors raised a number of concerns
about: the role and performance of Ofsted; the current national
policies, practices and limitations of the current inspection
regime in seeking to drive up standards of care and outcomes for
looked after children placed across local authority boundaries.—
Councillors agreed therefore to undertake a more detailed review
of this issue in the Lancashire context.— Given the national
dimension to this issue, councillors would like to submit their
findings—in addition to the above report—to the Education
Committee to use as evidence in its own work (the review will
get underway straight away). Our members would be happy to be
of any further assistance that the Education Committee sees fit
for their own enquiries into Ofsted. In addition, our members
would be most grateful for any assistance that the Education may
be able to offer the county council in their seeking appropriate
evidence to draw fully informed conclusions for Lancashire, in
particular perhaps use of the formal powers that the Committee
has to hold Ofsted to account
The draft terms of reference for Lancashire County
Council's Scrutiny Committee review are:
— Assess
whether current arrangements to support cross-boundary Looked
After Children in Lancs or from Lancs are effective —and
value for money in achieving standards of care as set out in Care
Matters and Every Child Matters.
— Establish
what vulnerabilities there may be in the current arrangements,
in particular with regard:
— Safeguarding.
— Education.
— Access
to health services.
— Community
safety.
— Identify
whether these possible vulnerabilities increase any risks that
the county council and other local service providers fail to fulfil
their statutory duties in an efficient and value for money way.
October 2010
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