As most of my north-east colleagues will know, I moved to the assistant director role in Stockton on Tees in October 2024, following five years as a social care HMI with Ofsted. I have attended several regional ADCS events and meetings since then and have been warmly welcomed and supported by many of you, so thank you, I think I am forgiven!
Since my return to local authority, I have reflected on what I saw and learnt about leadership and management on inspections, compared to the actual experience of returning to the sector. It is no surprise that one of these is the relentless challenge of placement sufficiency, the external provider market, and the use of unregistered care arrangements for children. As an inspector I had no idea quite how much providers charge for often a very average standard of care, nor do I believe that Ofsted completely grasp the frequency of the poor practices around ending children’s care arrangements at very short notice, often without any due regard to the child’s emotional welfare or needs. I will be thoughtful of how we are more explicit with Ofsted around these challenges, as I now sit on the other side of the conversation.
Regional insights from a recent piece of work carried out by Newton only confirms the challenges we are all presented with: one in three children with complex needs in our region is not currently living in the most ideal home to meet their needs, and 20 percent of the time, practitioners felt a move into a complex care placement could have been avoided if support had been provided differently. Government measures for better market management, increased financial transparency, and accountability for placement providers can’t come soon enough, and I hope the strength of a regional partnership approach will support better outcomes for all children in care.
Support from the ADCS takes many forms and in Stockton on Tees we were lucky to be successful in bidding for a small package of SLI financial support. We used this funding to host a week of participation activities during February half term week, with the aim of improving the depth and the breath of influence of our children in care and care experienced young people. ‘Walk in my shoes’ week saw a host of accessible activities, including craft activities, songwriting, and photography sessions. I was able to take part in a beat boxing class, as well as a film making workshop, the highlight of my time in Stockton so far!
The activities produced artwork, films and songs that provide a real insight into children’s lived experiences. It has been a great opportunity to broaden children’s influence in a fun and meaningful way and to address one of our areas for improvement. We hope to share this with the region once we have pulled this all together. We will build on this as we seek to consult with children in shaping our Family First Partnership implementation plan. More beat boxing ahead, I think!
Louise Hollick
Assistant Director, Early Help, Safeguarding and Children in our care, Stockton on Tees