ESSEX County Council’s (ECC) Children’s Social Care team has been praised by Ofsted following a recent visit focused on its care leavers service.

Ofsted reported that ECC has “created a positive environment” for care givers which helps them to “find solutions to challenges faced by the care leavers they work with”.

The report also noted that the council has created a “wealth of innovative initiatives” which benefit individual care leavers, supporting them to successfully transition onto independence.

Ofsted cited that this creative culture has continued throughout the pandemic restrictions and beyond, with staff flexibly adapting their ways of working. ECC care staff working with children and families have continued to be available and to reach out to care leavers, providing “effective support in response to their needs”.

This was the first focused visit from Ofsted for children’s services since ECC achieved an Outstanding rating for its children’s social care services in 2018.

Cllr Beverley Egan, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Early Years, said: “The findings reflect how well we know our care leavers and how high a priority they are for us.

“Our Personal Advisers are exhibited as highly valued by the young people they work with, as well as caring, persistent, hardworking and willing to go that extra mile. Our managers have also created the right environment for practitioners to be creative in their solutions to challenges faced.

“There are some areas we need to improve on including ensuring education, employment and training opportunities are consistent across the county. However, we are aware of this and are already working towards meeting this ambition for our care leavers.

“I would like to thank all members of our Children and Families teams for their amazing work, the relationships they have made and the strength they bring to those relationships.”

The full Ofsted report can be found at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/.