Ofsted finds East Midlands CAFCASS "inadequate"
Ofsted has published its first report on a CAFCASS team as part of the agency's expanded remit and has found that the East Midlands area was "inadequate". Since 1 April 2007 Ofsted has assumed responsibility for inspecting CAFCASS, a role formerly performed by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Court Administration. In their first report they identified both the strengths and weaknesses of the East Midlands team but came up with the following general assessment
"General assessment
Overall, the quality of practitioners' work with children and families in the East Midlands region is inadequate.
Of concern is the unacceptable number of instances where Cafcass has failed to ensure the safeguarding of the children and young people to whom it is providing a service. The proportion of case records, case plans and court reports judged by inspectors as inadequate is not acceptable.
The region's delivery of services to children and their families is not sufficiently consistent; where work is adequate or good, overall delivery is undermined by levels of unsatisfactory practice."
In particular there were concerns regarding the case files and conclusions of Family Court Advisers saying that "often it was not possible for inspectors to identify how FCAs .... reached their conclusions and moved from an assessment to a recommendation to the court." and that was no evidence that managers could be sure that FCAs were making the right recommendations.
The full report can be downloaded from the Ofsted website via this link: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/070205
18 February 2008