STATEMENT FROM CLLR CHRIS BOTTEN ON SURREY OFSTED LETTER
Ofsted has today published a letter summarising the findings of the recent monitoring visit to Surrey Children's services. This is the 8th monitoring visit since the County Council was inspected in 2014 and found to be inadequate in the Ofsted report published in 2015. In the latest monitoring visit, Ofsted inspectors noted recent improvements. However some changes have taken too long to achieve and children continue to receive an inconsistent response to their needs and for some, potential risks are not explored quickly enough.
Cllr Chris Botten, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Children & Schools, said:
"Although the County Council has clearly improved its services to protect vulnerable children since the inadequate Ofsted inspection report in 2015, much remains to be done.
"The delays in assessing, helping and protecting vulnerable children have to be tackled so that children receive the appropriate support when needed.
"In relation to missing children more robust processes are required and the risks facing these children addressed.
"More needs to be done to provide early help to children experiencing problems to help prevent them reaching crisis point.
"I shall be pressing the County Council to make the necessary improvements as quickly as possible so that vulnerable children receive the support and protection that they need".
A copy of the Ofsted letter to Surrey can be found here: