More criticism for CAFCASS from Ofsted
The latest Ofsted report on a CAFCASS area has shown up familiar shortcomings. The report on the South Yorkshire area has been published on the Ofsted website and highlights several areas of weakness with concerns that:
- case records often did not show how Cafcass had come to its conclusions about children
- there were delays in servicing private law cases, they were not prioritised systematically and there was no risk analysis of delayed cases
- there was no evidence of a consistent assessment model used by staff
- initial responses to complaints were handled badly and service users reported that complaining was felt to be a waste of time
Commenting on the report, Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, said:
"Some of the services provided by Cafcass in South Yorkshire are adequate. However, some failings are serious and improvements are clearly necessary. Overall the region has a number of inadequacies, particularly in the handling of private law cases, where children may be left at risk from domestic violence due to delay in allocation of work, inadequate risk assessment and poor reports to the courts. Ofsted will continue to work with Cafcass in South Yorkshire to ensure that services deliver better outcomes for children, young people and families."
The full report can be found on the Ofsted website.
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