Bracknell

Bracknell Forest Borough Council is offering good services for children and young people say inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

The Ofsted inspection team visited in October for the Bracknell Council’s annual performance assessment (APA) and their report gives it an overall grade three, good rating.

The APA is an annual inspection that Ofsted are required to carry out within each local authority.

The APA makes judgements about:

* Bracknell Council’s children’s services and the specific contributions they make to improve outcomes for children and young people
* The contribution services make to improving the five outcomes for children and young people
* The Council’s capacity to improve these services

The inspectors' key findings in summary are:

Overall effectiveness of children’s services - Grade 3, good

The report says that Bracknell children’s services have made an increasingly good contribution to the lives and achievements of the borough’s children and young people. It highlights a number of key factors such as listening to the voice of children and young people, the drive to improve services for children in care and children with learning difficulties/disabilities and the way in which the needs of children with English as an additional language are taken into account.

Be Healthy – Grade 4, outstanding

The APA noted this area of work as outstanding. The health of children and young people is good. There are some effective programmes in place to support health needs of children and young people which include programmes on teenage pregnancy, healthy schools and reducing smoking.

Stay Safe – Grade 3, good

The contribution of the Bracknell authority to improving outcomes for children in this respect is good. There is a strong commitment to making the borough a safe place for children; traffic accidents are low and there are good levels of safety in schools and in pre-school settings. The Local Safeguarding Board provides effective multi-agency direction and oversight through its business plan.

Enjoy and Achieve – Grade 3, good

The contribution of the Council’s services to improving outcomes for children and young people in this aspect is good. In 2006, at the end of Years 2, 6 and 11 there was an upward trend in attainment, making the local authority one of the most improved in the country.

Make a Positive Contribution – Grade 3, good

The contribution of the Council’s services to improving outcomes for children and young people in this aspect is good. The Council is committed to encouraging children, young people and their families to be actively involved in decision-making and to help shape the provision of services in the area.

Achieve Economic Wellbeing – Grade 3, good

The contribution of the Bracknell Council’s services to improving outcomes for children and young people in this aspect is good. Ofsted inspections in 2006 judged all secondary schools to be satisfactory or better in relation to economic well-being.

Capacity to Improve – Grade 3, good

Many strengths identified in this section including the Children and Young People’s Plan and the review, service management and good use of finances, good leadership. Good prioritisation was also acknowledged with a view that key areas for development are well known and understood.

Results from the APA inspection will be presented to the Executive next Tuesday (18 December).

Tony Eccleston, Director of Bracknell Education, Children’s Services & Libraries said: "I am very pleased that the APA inspectors recognised that the Council is a providing good services to children and young people.

We are especially pleased that the inspectors graded us as outstanding for contributing to children being healthy.

"The recommendations for improvement are areas which we have already begun to work on including the need for more foster carers for young people with complex needs, the need to improve boys’ attainment in schools and work to further reduce the number of warnings, reprimands and convictions of looked after children and young people."

Cllr Alan Ward, Executive Member for Bracknell Education and Libraries, said "I would like to congratulate all staff involved in children’s services for this excellent inspection report.

The Council works very hard to make sure that children’s services are making a good contribution to the lives and achievements of its residents.

This is clearly shown in this report which rightly highlights the Council’s good work for children and young people."

Bracknell Forest Borough Council