'Fantastic' outcome for Kirklees Council after inspection of children's services

The inspection was carried out by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in June 2022.

The report summarises that Kirklees children who are at risk of exploitation or who are being exploited have their needs identified quickly, and they receive multi-agency support to manage and reduce risk to them effectively.

Julie Sykes, independent scrutineer on the Kirklees Children’s Safeguarding Partnership, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the work teams from across our partnership are carrying out to protect children and young people from criminal exploitation.

“Our aim is to make sure all children can have the best start in life. This can only happen when we work together to keep them safe.

“We know that vulnerable young people can be targeted by criminals who exploit them for their own gain, and we are working hard to make sure we can spot the signs of exploitation, act quickly to stop it and make sure young people are supported to move on with their lives in a positive way.

“As a partnership we have worked together to put in place measures that give young people access to the support they need and to provide professional training on what to look out for and what they should do if they think a child is being exploited.

“We are pleased that the inspection recognises our commitment to giving young people a voice and providing the right support quickly and efficiently to safeguard them.”

The report also highlighted some specific areas of good practice taking place in Kirklees. It stated that these are positive examples of how partners have acted on children’s views and their understanding of need across the district.

DCI Alex Bacon, of Kirklees Police, said: “All officers in Kirklees Police have had a role to play in our journey towards establishing a child centred approach to policing in the district.

“Kirklees Police and the partnership should be proud of these findings in recognition of our hard work and commitment to child protection and identifying and addressing vulnerability within all the children of Kirklees when they are missing and/or exploited.

“I am very humbled by the dedication of the teams that have achieved this fantastic feedback.”

The report recognised the introduction of trauma navigators in emergency departments in the autumn and the Youth Engagement Service (YES) in Kirklees as a successful resource.

Inspectors also recognised the impact that the services have had on the lived experience of exploitation. During their visit inspectors spoke with children, young people and their families.

A parent told inspectors that the intervention from the partnership “had been amazing” and that it had led to a reduction in the number of times their child went missing.

To read the full report, visit https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50190981