Northumberland County Council’s Children’s Services have been rated outstanding overall by Ofsted. 
 

The inspection report, published today, found that services to children who need help, support and care in Northumberland have improved since the last inspection in 2020 and “children benefit from high-quality social work practice that improves their lives.” 
 

The upgrade from “good” to “outstanding” now places the council amongst the top 15% in the country. 
 

Inspectors praised the “highly impressive” children’s services senior leadership team which has “embedded a shared vision with political leaders and across the whole council to make things better for children and their families.” 
 

The quality of direct work is also described as “impressive” with social workers creatively building meaningful relationships with children and the positive use of family networks. 
 

The voices of children and care-experienced young people are “valued and heard” and the message from care-experienced young people is: “keep doing what you are doing, you’re doing mint.” 
 

The report also highlights the council’s family hubs, describing them as “highly effective” and “committed to supporting families at the earliest opportunity, providing help within their communities.” 
 

Across the service there is “a high value on developing and empowering staff” and “leaders have successfully embedded a culture that inspires staff to practice creatively and puts children at the centre of all they do.” 
 

Foster carers are “supported well” and the innovative Social Work Academy is said to be a “real strength.” 
 

Cllr Guy Renner-Thompson, Cabinet member with responsibility for Inspiring Young People, said: “I’m incredibly proud that Ofsted has recognised Northumberland’s Children’s Services as outstanding. 
 

“This really is an impressive report, and I would like to congratulate everyone involved on this fantastic achievement. 
 

“It makes us one of the top councils in the country for children’s services and means everyone in Northumberland can have confidence that, as a council, we care for and look after our most vulnerable children and families.   
 

“It is testament to the dedication and passion shown by all our teams across the service and our partners to put children and families at the heart of all that they do. They are all true children’s champions.” 
 

Overall effectiveness of the service is rated ‘outstanding,’ along with the impact of leaders, and the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection. The experiences and progress of children in care and the experiences and progress of care leavers are rated as ‘good.’ 
 

Audrey Kingham, Executive Director of Children, Young People and Education, said: “We are delighted with our outstanding Ofsted report, and I am very proud that it reflects the hard work and commitment that our teams show every single day.  
 

“We do what we do for our children and young people, and it was brilliant to read that their message for us is: ‘keep doing what you are doing, you’re doing mint.’” 

Read the full report here: Northumberland County Council Ofsted reports