Havering’s Children’s Services have been told they are making “good progress” following a visit from Ofsted inspectors.
It was the inspectors’ third monitoring visit (16 and 17 September 2025) to the borough since the service was given an “Inadequate” rating by Ofsted in December 2023.
Councillor Oscar Ford, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
“I am proud to share that we have been told that good progress has been made since Ofsted last visited in March.
"Inspectors noted tangible improvements, with children and families benefiting from stronger social work support.”
“Inspectors shared that the strong cross-party political support and increased funding we have allocated to children’s services, is ensuring our social workers now have manageable caseloads, enabling workers to spend more time with children and families.”
“They have told us that our regular visits to children and families are helping build stronger relationships to support our interventions, and improved supervision of front-line staff, means children’s needs are being planned far more effectively.
“Inspectors found staff are also becoming more confident in their roles and are tailoring their support to reflect the diverse backgrounds and needs of all our families.
“They also told us we are working closely with our multi-agency partners, including professionals from schools, health services, police and other organisations, and social workers are better able to share and use multi-agency information to reduce risks.
“Inspectors found our response to domestic abuse through local Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC) is strengthened and saw good attendance from partners which is ensuring domestic abuse risks are understood and tackled.
“Inspectors found our interventions are more culturally sensitive and accessible to our wide range of residents who need support.
“Through our improvement plan for Children’s Social Care, which was agreed by full Council, we have focused on strengthening social work practice, improving management oversight, and ensuring children’s voices are heard.
“Inspectors fed back positively that the delivery of our plan is now visible within our services.
“They reported during this visit they could see better use of tools like our NSPCC graded care profiles to identify and address issues of neglect and noted our response to children missing or at risk of exploitation has improved, with clearer pathways and stronger casework.
“Support for children with complex medical needs and disabilities has also improved, with social workers advocating for children and responding when their needs change.
“However, there are still areas where we need to do more, and we are committed to building on our progress to date.
"Ofsted have confirmed that our leadership is focused on the right priorities, and we are investing in training and support so staff can deliver their best work.
“I would like to thank all our staff and partners for their dedication and resilience. Together, we are creating a learning culture where services put children and young people first to improve their outcomes.”