Inspectors from Ofsted have taken a close look at our council?s Children?s Services and told us that we have areas where we need to improve.

Regular inspections are carried out by Ofsted at all councils that provide support and care for children who are vulnerable or at risk.

The inspectors judged our service to be ?inadequate?, which is far from where we want it to be. They found that more work is needed to ensure children and young people get the right care and support at the right time.

Our inspection took place from 4-22 July and identifies some key areas for improvement, such as:

• A quicker response when children are first identified as being at-risk
• More social workers to support children and young people
• More places for children who need to come into care

I want to assure you that we have a plan to address the areas for improvement.? Although more work is needed, the inspectors acknowledged that progress had already been made in Children?s Services. In particular, they found:

• Children are well-supported once they are allocated a social worker. Strong relationships are formed between the social worker and the families they help
• Foster carers provide consistent, good quality care
• The emotional and mental health needs of children are being met

During the visit, Inspectors also noted that we remain committed to improving the quality of Children?s Services, despite the financial challenges we face as a council.

I am confident that we can take on board all of the feedback and recommendations from Ofsted and provide the right care and support. Our children and young people deserve nothing less.

I think it is important to be open about where our council must do better. We have created a dedicated page on our council website with the full report for you to read ? and we will use this webpage to update regularly on our progress. Visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/childrensofsted. ?

I must emphasise again how committed the city council is to ensuring that every child and young person achieves their full potential ? and so I would like to send my best wishes to everyone on the first day of the new school year. I never under-estimate how important it is when our new Foundation pupils take the first step on their school journey in primary school ? or when Year 11 and Year 13 pupils begin their important final countdown to GCSEs and A-Levels. Success in schools is a team effort, with pupils, parents, staff and the wider community all playing their part. I hope everyone had a good first day today. Let?s all look forward to a bright and positive year ahead.

I?m really pleased to hear that the Council has achieved Disability Confident Leader status. This is the highest accreditation achievable in the Department for Work and Pensions? scheme, which recognises and supports employers who recruit and retain people with disabilities and those with health conditions.

The Disability Confident Leader accolade recognises our commitment to lead the way on employing people with disabilities and health conditions as well as helping other organisations to become disability confident. Thank you to all our colleagues who have contributed to our work in this important area as part of our overall work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. You can find more information about Disability Confident Scheme here.