Joint Area Review (2008)

What The Inspectors Had To Say About Kent's Services For Children & Young People (2008)

The inspectors were responsible for checking the quality of services for children and young people visited Kent in February/March 2008.

Overall they felt the services being provided were very good and gave the following marks out of 4:

• Keeping all children and young people safe: 3 (Good)
• Looking after children in council care: 3 (Good)
• Children with learning difficulties or disabilities: 3 (Good)
• The way the services are generally managed: 4 (Outstanding)
• The ability of services to improve in the future: 4 (Outstanding)

The inspectors said:

Children and young people's safety

• Services work with each other to make sure children and young people stay safe.
• Services are good at helping families with their problems earlier and are helping children and young people who have been abused.
• Children or young people who have mental health difficulties should not be put in wards with adults.

Children and young people looked after by the council

• Children who are looked after by the council, rather than their own family, are treated well and in most cases are in good placements with other families or elsewhere, and are doing quite well in education.
• Those who are looked after by the council need more access to health checks and older young people need better plans for the future.

Children and young people with learning difficulties or disabilities

• Services help these children and young people as soon as possible/as they need help, and have good ideas on how the services will get better.
• Services give out good information about education but need to get better at providing information about other services and support.
• Support for those with learning difficulties or disabilities who have mental health problems should be improved.

Teenage Pregnancy

• Services to help stop young people getting pregnant are OK and there is better information and support about sexual health.
• Services should have up-to-date information about how much they are helping, especially about some areas of the county.

Education for children and young people 14-19 years old

• Services for children and young people who are not doing well at school are really helpful.
• There are more choices for young people to carry on with their education.

All services for children and young people

• The places that provide help to children and young people across Kent have a very clear idea of what they are doing and make sure they improve the lives of children and young people.
• The inspectors thought the services for children and young people in Kent were likely to get even better in the future.

You can view the full report from the Ofsted inspectors at our publications page.

If you want to say anything about this page or want more information please email: eileen.mckibbin@kent.gov.uk.