Children's Services Ofsted feedback

Our children's services department is inspected by Ofsted. They provide an independent assessment of the quality and standards of services we provide for children in need of help and protection, children in care, and care leavers. 

Ofsted inspected our children services in February 2025 and published their report in May 2025. We were rated outstanding in all areas. 

You can also see all previous Ofsted reports about Norfolk Children's Services on the Ofsted website. 

We are grateful to all of the children, young people and families that were part of the inspection. 

Key highlights from the latest report:

Overall effectiveness

• Children in Norfolk receive consistently strong services that impact positively on their and their families' lives. Since the previous inspection in November 2022, leaders have relentlessly continued to strengthen and enhance practice for children, young people and their families.
• Inspectors highlighted "inspirational strategic and operational leadership, alongside child-centred corporate and political support."
• Praised partnership working and integrated system.
• Organisational culture where children and care leavers come first.

Children who need help and protection  

• High-quality multidisciplinary teams.  
• Responses to contacts and referrals are prompt and proportionate.  
• Social workers and practitioners know children really well.  
• Children experiencing exploitation receive targeted and highly individualised support.  

The experiences and progress of children in care  

• Children in care receive exceptional help and support.  
• Decisions for children to enter care are timely and grounded in thorough assessment and only made when options are exhausted and children cannot remain safely with their families.  
• Kinship carers are supported by a specialist team that responds with sensitivity, and increasing timeliness, to the needs of carers and children.  

The experiences and progress of care leavers  

• Care leavers in Norfolk receive meaningful and ambitious support from the life beyond care service.  
• Care leavers have stable and longstanding relationships with their PAs.  
• Exceptional support is provided to care leavers who are parents.  
• Care leavers receive warm, practical and ambitious support that help many make steady progress towards accessing education, employment or training.  

The impact of leaders on social work practice  

• Children in Norfolk benefit from a highly effective and wide range of services, led by a stable and highly aspirational senior leadership team.  
• The DCS and senior leadership team model a consistently tenacious, ambitious vision for children and care leavers.  
• Impressive resilience and determination sets a positive tone across the whole system.  
• Corporate and political leaders maintain a firm and sustained focus on children's services.  

Area for improvement

Inspectors identified one area for additional improvement: the recognition and consideration of young carers who receive statutory services.