'Social workers close one in 10 cases early'

Sep 30 2009 By Emma Heseltine

County Hall in Kingston

SOCIAL workers at Surrey County Council are closing one in 10 children's care cases prematurely according to a new report.

Education watchdog Ofsted made an unannounced inspection of the county over two days in August after a damning report last year which labelled the children's services 'inadequate.'

The report was published on Friday September 18, and although it found significant improvements, there were still some areas that needed work.

The report said: "Since the Joint Area Review of 2008, when safeguarding services were judged to be inadequate, the remedial changes implemented by the council have impacted quickly and positively in raising standards of practice within children's front line services."

Some of the strengths highlighted in the report include high staff morale, and a professional child-focused approach. But it also said that services could be more accessible and that 'children in need' cases were being closed prematurely.

Last year's report, in the wake of the high profile death of Baby P in Haringey, London, said that Surrey was failing vulnerable children, that pregnant teenagers could not get an education and that social workers were not being checked for criminal convictions.

And the latest Ofsted findings were published in the same week it was revealed that one in 10 child protection cases are dropped by the council so that it could concentrate on the most vulnerable youngsters.

Mr Roberts said that the Baby P case had meant more cases were reported to the council, but not all needed attention.

He added: "To ensure that our social workers can continue to focus on Surrey's most vulnerable children, cases where the safety of the children has been confirmed are now being closed."

Andy Roberts, strategic director for children, schools and families at the council, said that there had been big improvements. He said: "In Surrey there are no significant areas for action and significant strengths. But we can still make progress. We think we're on an upward trajectory and we're improving all the time."

And new leader of Surrey County Council, Dr Andrew Povey, added: "I am delighted that this inspection identified the huge amount of progress that has been made in a year.

"This gives us a platform to raise standards even further. We won't rest until the services we provide to vulnerable children in Surrey are outstanding."