Inspection of Children`s Services

Cumbria’s Safeguarding and Children Looked After children services will be inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission under the existing framework between 10 April and 20 April 2012 . Whilst we have had two unannounced inspections of contact, referrals and assessment over the last year and a half, we have not had an announced inspection since the Joint Area Review (JAR) in 2006.

The announced inspection will assess the effectiveness of Cumbria’s Children’s Trust and local children’s organisations, and whether their policies and procedures comply with statutory requirements and guidance. A feature of the inspection will be how well agencies and professionals work together to identify, safeguard and promote the welfare of potentially vulnerable groups of children and young people in Cumbria.

The inspection should be a positive experience, which will help us to improve our services for children and young people. It is an opportunity to highlight our many strengths, not least of all the effectiveness of our strategic and operational partnerships. The following links will take you to Ofsted’s official guidance concerning the inspection process, together with a series of documents which will be useful in preparing for the experience:

More documents will be added in the coming days.