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Background

1.1 The Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) and Hertfordshire County Council agreed, in Spring 2003, that the SSI would undertake an inspection of child protection services in the county, as a result of work following the Victoria Climbié Inquiry. 

1.2 After the publication of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry report in January 2003, councils were asked to complete a self audit of child protection services, using standards and criteria developed by the SSI. The self audit findings for each council were evaluated by SSI inspectors during May 2003, and a report was produced. This provided observations on the self audit and highlighted any variations in assessment. Councils were required to present these reports to the relevant social services committee or cabinet, as a matter of public record.

1.3 The evaluation of Hertfordshire's self audit was generally positive, although the SSI expressed concern regarding the high number of child protection cases that were reported by the council as unallocated.  The initial number presented was significantly above the 5 per cent threshold highlighted by the SSI as a key performance indicator.  If confirmed, the high return would have adversely affected the SSI's overall performance appraisal of Hertfordshire's children's services. The county would have been assessed as 'serving some children well'.

1.4 A lower figure was subsequently accepted, on the basis that the definition for unallocated cases used by Hertfordshire misrepresented the level and quality of intervention provided to children and families in the absence of a named, coordinating key worker. A significant percentage of cases, previously designated as 'unallocated', were overseen by a qualified social worker who offered support to a child on a consistent basis, though not necessarily from a mainstream fieldwork team.  It was agreed by the SSI that these cases should be defined as allocated for the purpose of the evaluation.  As a result, the proportion of unallocated child protection cases in Hertfordshire fell below the SSI threshold. A judgement of 'serving most children well' was, therefore, made.

1.5 In view of the issues arising from the above discussions, the lack of clarity regarding definitions of unallocated work, and the acknowledged workload difficulties experienced by the council, it was confirmed that a child protection inspection would be carried out by the SSI in late 2003.   Fieldwork for the inspection took place between 24th November and 3rd December 2003.  The inspection focused heavily on the practice and workload management issues that were highlighted as a result of the self audit and evaluation process.

1.6 In view of the limited focus of the inspection, the SSI has not produced an overall matrix judgement of services. However, the inspection evidence will contribute to the next round of performance assessment judgements.

• Download Inspection of child protection services - Hertfordshire County Council - December 2003 (PDF, 673K)