Ofsted publishes inspection of Warwickshire children’s services 

The inspection, conducted during a period of significant transformation, rated the experience and progress of care leavers as ‘good’, while other areas were judged as ‘requires improvement to be good’, with this forming the overall rating. 

Warwickshire has been leading the way nationally as a pathfinder for the Department for Education’s Families First for Children programme. This initiative has driven a major shift in children’s social care practice, the most significant in a generation, resulting in a substantial internal restructure between December 2024 and March 2025. As part of this the council has been reviewing its approach to supporting families in need and establishing new ways of working with a range of partners in health, the police and education. 

When inspected, Warwickshire was still in the early stage of implementation and Ofsted acknowledged the council’s proactive approach and the foundations laid for future success.  

Key strengths highlighted in the report include: 

• Launch of Family Connect and Family Help services for early and targeted support. 
• Establishment of Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPT) and expansion of Family Network Meetings. 
• High staff morale, visible leadership, and an open learning culture. 
• Strong multi-agency collaboration and restorative practice. 
• Effective support for care leavers, children at risk of exploitation, and homeless 16–17-year-olds. 
• Positive use of trauma-informed approaches and direct work with children. 
• Effective planning and partnership working for children with disabilities. 
• Robust oversight of elective home education and professional risk management. 

Areas for improvement identified in the report include: 

• Use and oversight of unregistered children’s homes. This is a national issue within a market described by the Competition Markets Authority as broken. In Warwickshire a strategic plan is already underway to expand registered provision, and five new children’s homes have opened since 2022. 
• Consistency in child protection responses and supervision practices. 
• Continued embedding of new systems under the Families First programme. 
• Enhancing permanence planning and stability of care. 

Nigel Minns, Executive Director for Children and Young People at Warwickshire County Council, said:

“The six months the Ofsted inspection focused on were a period of significant change for the Council’s children’s services. As a Families First for Children pathfinder we were in the process of implementing new systems and approaches. These changes involved a major restructure, and we recognise that we are still on our journey to embed new ways of working. 

 

“The resulting report reflects our work to transform services and the strong foundations we’ve built, yet highlights some areas for improvement. 

 

“Whilst we are disappointed with Ofsted’s overall judgment of 'requires improvement', the many areas of good practice highlighted must reassure residents and partners of the good work taking place in Warwickshire. The positive areas highlighted in the inspectors' report include our 'good' work with care leavers, an effective emergency duty team, sensitive work with children and a strong workforce including our multi-agency partnerships. 

 

"This is the first graded inspection by Ofsted of a local authority which has fully implemented this completely new approach to children’s services. The council’s role as a pathfinder authority requires leading a new approach for families through bold and innovative changes to practice including a multi-agency child protection service involving education, health and police. We feel the inspectors did not fully consider these evolving practice methods in their judgement. 

 

"Work is already taking place across the areas for improvement noted in the report as our services continue to develop under this new approach and we are confident that the positive impact of these changes will become increasingly evident as change is embedded. We are immensely proud of the progress made and the dedication of our workforce and we remain focused on delivering high-quality, child-centred services which will drive improvements for Warwickshire’s children and families."