Today Ofsted published their report following their focused visit to Torbay Children’s Services on 24 and 25 March 2021.

The report recognises the continued progress that has been made in improving services for children in Torbay during the unprecedented challenges we have all faced in the last 12 months.

“Despite the pandemic, the progress made in improving services for children in Torbay, noted at the previous monitoring visit in January 2020, has continued. Structures and strategic partnerships are now more firmly embedded, and positive steps have been made towards delivering the authority’s children’s services improvement plans.”

Councillor Cordelia Law, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services for Torbay Council said, “I am extremely pleased that Ofsted has recognised the improvements that Children’s Services have continued to make over the last 12 months. COVID-19 has provided challenges for everyone but it has not stopped us from following our improvement plan and that can be seen in the findings of the report.

Torbay Council remains totally committed to continue making positive steps to ensure we provide each and every child in our care with the best possible start in life in Torbay.”

Anne-Marie Bond, Chief Executive Torbay Council said, “I would like to congratulate everyone who has worked tirelessly to achieve the results outlined in this report. The inspectors noted that strong political, corporate, and financial support for children’s services has continued to strengthen and our strategic partnerships are now stronger than ever. It is through working together with our partners that we will continue to make improvements and provide a first-class children’s services for Torbay.

The council is committed to supporting our improvement journey every step of the way and the inspection has shown us shows that we are on the right track.”

Nancy Meehan, Director of Children’s Services for Torbay Council said, “I am incredibly proud of the work that each and every member of our team has achieved during such a challenging year. The report recognised dozens of improvements that we have made in children’s services, from top to bottom. It is a testament to the drive and passion of our staff that we have not only made such big strides but have done it all under the backdrop of a global pandemic.

The report has shown us just how far we have come in a short space of time, but also how far we have still left to go. Our improvement journey is ongoing and we have to ensure we continue to build on the foundations we have laid.”