SENIOR Hampshire councillors have met the government Education Secretary and England’s Chief Social Worker to look at new ways of helping children in the county.
Hampshire County Council (HCC) leader Cllr Roy Perry said: “Our proven track record as a consistently high performing Children’s Services Authority means we are very well placed to influence national policy and play a leading role in the transformation of children’s social care through the Department for Education’s (DfE) ‘Partners in Practice’ initiative.
“In this, we are one of just seven local authorities selected by the DfE to be a partner.”
Council spokesman for children’s services Cllr Keith Mans added: “Thanks to Partners in Practice, we have been able to trial new ways of working, including being able to explore alternative practice and processes that will enable our social workers to be more agile and flexible in how they work.
“In this way, they are able to spend more time supporting vulnerable families and working to reduce the need for children to come in to care by enabling them to remain safely with their own families.”
Education Secretary and East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds said: “Social workers are the often unsung heroes of society.
“We want every child to have a happy and safe childhood and social workers play a vital role in transforming the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children.
“I was pleased to see the innovative work being done in Hampshire to improve support for families in need of additional help.
“Through initiatives like Partners in Practice we want to help councils like Hampshire develop new and effective ways of making a real difference to children’s lives.”
The government Chief Social Worker, Isabelle Trowler, said: “It’s been so inspiring to see how social workers are working hard to turn back the tide towards family support and reunification.
“I am pleased to see the confident and skilled practice in use here.”
HCC Children’s Services are rated ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features by Ofsted.
The council has also been asked by the government to lead and guide improvements in children’s services in Portsmouth, Southampton, Buckinghamshire, Torbay and on the Isle of Wight.