Children in Bristol are well protected

Children in Bristol are successfully being looked after by protection services according to Ofsted.

Bristol City Council’s Children and Young people’s Services who are responsible for child protection referrals are working well within national guidelines.

Social work teams received an unannounced visit during which Ofsted inspectors examined electronic records and supervision notes. Social workers and managers were observed as they dealt with cases.

Ofsted concluded that cases where children needed protection were well identified and their wishes were taken into consideration by social workers.

Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Clare Campion-Smith, said: “This inspection is important because it tells us not only where we could improve services to reduce child abuse and neglect, but also the strengths of our social work teams.

“I’m pleased that, overall, inspectors have delivered a very positive report, with no priority areas for action.  This is especially important as safeguarding activity has increased since the Baby P case, with child protection investigations up by 40 per cent this year. One of Bristol’s key strengths is the quality of its social workers and this is now recognised by Ofsted”.

To address the high number of cases that social workers have to work through individually, the council are now recruiting another six social workers.