2 weeks Ago By Charlie Smith and Local Democracy Reporter
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Bucks Herald, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. Ofsted inspected the council’s children’s services in January and February of this year but will not publish its report into the authority until after next week’s elections on May 1. The council’s children’s services teams are responsible for things like child protection, family support, fostering, adoption, and youth services.
Advertisement Advertisement Ofsted pauses the publication of reports that make local authority-wide judgements if publication would be within 30 days of a local election. Following speculation by Bucks residents and politicians, the council stressed it was not suppressing any Ofsted report, and that Ofsted was simply following its own guidelines on ‘pre-election silence’. A council spokesperson said: “The publication of inspection reports is the responsibility of Ofsted, rather than the council.
The council is not able to determine when they are published.” The council also said it had not received the final draft of the report. It promised to publish a copy of the final report on its website once Ofsted had published it.
Advertisement Advertisement An email from a council officer seen by the LDRS says the authority expects the report to be published on May 13, but a spokesperson said they could not confirm a date. The council was asked if council CEO Rachael Shimmin and other officers had copies of the report, as has been claimed by some councillors. A spokesperson replied: “We received a draft of the report for comment, as per Ofsted standard process, but we have not yet received the final report.
” Opposition councillors have discussed the possible outcome of the inspection, with some claiming the council has control over the timing of the release of the report – despite its insistence it does not. Advertisement Advertisement Green Councillor Greg Smith told the LDRS: “Children’s services have been struggling for a long time. They are not doing well in Buckinghamshire.
The word on the street is that we are coming out quite badly from that inspection.” The councillor said he had heard about the outcome of the inspection from ‘people involved in politics across Buckinghamshire’ after being asked for the source of the rumours. Lib Dem group leader Councillor Susan Morgan claimed a report had been given to Ms Shimmin, but did not specify whether this was a draft copy.
She told the LDRS: “When that was given to her, I don’t know. She said ‘I’m not publishing it until after the first of May’. Advertisement Advertisement “I understand that Ofsted have a set of guidelines around elections and if it was in the short campaign period, then I understand why it hasn’t been circulated.
If it was before that, then I don’t understand.” Meanwhile, Reform UK Councillor Paul Irwin said ‘we should be talking about children’s services’, explaining he was against the decision to delay publishing the outcome of the Ofsted inspection. He told the LDRS: “Children’s services is absolutely on its knees.
It’s obvious there is something very wrong there. They are refusing to release the report until after the election, which I think stinks. “We don’t believe it should be covered up.
I think that is a political decision that Rachael Shimmin has made.” Advertisement Advertisement Labour Councillor Robin Stuchbury also told the LDRS Bucks Council was ‘failing’ in providing adequate children’s services. He said: “We are now waiting for the findings of an Ofsted that has been suppressed because of an election.
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