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Peterborough City Council's children's services are 'inadequate'

Emma Baugh/BBC A children's play area. Metal railings in the foreground are visible, with swings and a slide in the backgroundEmma Baugh/BBC
Inspectors said there had been a "deterioration" in quality

A council has been downgraded to "inadequate" by Ofsted for the way it looks after local children who need safeguarding.

Peterborough City Council was given the rating after inspectors visited in November 2023.

The most serious findings related to young people leaving care.

Peterborough's director of children's services, John Gregg, said he was sorry the services were "not currently at the standard they should be".

The report in to children's services said: "Since the last inspection of Peterborough, in June 2018, when all services for children were judged to be good, there has been a deterioration in the quality of practice, and in the experience and progress of children and young people... The significance of this decline was only identified relatively recently."

Emma Baugh/BBC One of the council's officesEmma Baugh/BBC
The last inspection of children's services at Peterborough City Council was in June 2018

The report said a new leadership team, led by an experienced director of children's services, had quickly "grasped the scale and nature of the improvement that is needed" but "there remains much to do".

Inspectors said there had been a lack of ambition for care leavers and some "young people are not getting the help or support they need, leading to delays and a deterioration in mental health and living conditions".

They noted that a "small but significant number of care leavers are not in suitable accommodation" and were sofa surfing and living in "bed and breakfast" accommodation.

"Too many workers have workloads that are too high to allow them time to help children make progress," the report said.

But staff were "committed", inspectors added, and there was a good availability of managers which provided "a promising foundation on which to build the necessary improvements to services for children in Peterborough".

Emma Baugh/BBC Director of children's services, John GreggEmma Baugh/BBC
John Gregg said the council was trying to ensure young people and families were getting the "right support"

Mr Gregg said: "I am sorry that children's services in Peterborough are not currently at the standard they should be to ensure all children are receiving the support and care they so rightly deserve.

"Since March, our focus has been on putting robust plans in place to ensure every child who needs our support is getting it, at the right time and in the best way to support their needs.

"However, we know there is still a lot to do."

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