Sutton's People Committee has approved the borough's Children's Social Care Self-Assessment, a document that evaluates the quality and impact of services provided over the last financial year. The self-assessment, presented to the committee on Thursday, September 24, 2026, received really positive feedback
from Ofsted during their annual engagement meeting.
Nick Ireland, Strategic Director for People Services, highlighted that while overall performance across children's social care is generally positive, areas for improvement have been identified. Jonathan Williams, Director of Children's Services, shared remarks on the self-assessment, noting that it was presented in a dynamic online format with video content, though a printed version was provided for the committee.
Ofsted's positive feedback highlighted strengths such as stable and visible leadership, a supported and well-coached workforce, strong relationships between practitioners and families, effective brief interventions at the Front Door, and a robust regional response from the Children's Emergency Duty Team (CEDT). The document also notes that the Youth Justice Service is a top-tier performer nationally, and Sutton has a strong position regarding domestic abuse offences and reducing serious youth violence.
Councillor Stephen Kingdom, Vice Chair of the People Committee, raised questions regarding the effectiveness of improvement actions for delays in child and family assessments and for looked-after children going missing. Michael Duarte Radley, fielding questions on children's services, explained that a new daily missing tracker and protocol had been implemented for the out-of-hours social work team. He also acknowledged a discrepancy in definitions between the council and the Metropolitan Police regarding what constitutes a missing
child.
To address delays in child and family assessments, a multi-agency child protection team has been established to consolidate strategy discussions for every team in social care, aligning with the front door to ensure seamless communication. Adaptations have also been made to the Mace panel to allow for greater oversight of children who are missing. Andrea Bryant is overseeing an action plan, with positive performance hoped to be reported at the next committee or performance session. The current effectiveness is anticipated to improve from September onwards, with a target of ending the year around mid-eighties percent.
The discrepancy in definitions of a 'missing' child between the council and the Metropolitan Police lies in how they classify a child as 'missing' versus 'absent from placement'. The council might consider a child missing from placement after only 20 minutes, causing worry, while the Metropolitan Police's guidance may classify this as 'absent from placement' and not record it as 'missing'. This discrepancy is regularly pushed back on through London safeguarding children procedures and regional Mace subgroups, with challenging conversations held in monthly Mace meetings with police colleagues. Sutton contributes to pushing back on this issue both within London and nationally, acknowledging it as a wider national area needing work.
Beyond delays in assessments and missing looked-after children, the Children's Social Care Self-Assessment identified several other areas for improvement:
- Initial response to children at risk of physical harm: Ensuring thresholds are applied consistently across all agencies.
- Leaders' and managers' oversight: Improving the robustness of leadership oversight in discrete areas where practice was not currently effective, ensuring a clearer line of sight to frontline work.
- Case Recording: Improvements are needed to ensure that files on Mosaic are kept up-to-date, including case notes and chronologies.
- EHCP & Pathway Plans: Addressing administrative gaps, outdated plans, and missing transition strategies for older youth.
- Root Cause Support: Increasing referrals into adult services for Young Carers in applicable cases.
- The Voice of the Child & Young Person: While generally strong, there's a need to ensure systematic gathering of feedback outside formal audits.
- Multi-Agency Collaboration: While strong, continued focus is needed on active professional contributions in all cases, including unregistered placements.
- Front Door Decision Making: Ensuring all
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decisions are appropriate and well-supported. - Tangible Difference: Ensuring improved outcomes through identified supports for Young Carers.
- Children and Young People's Disability Service (CYPDS): Strategic realignment under the Education Director to strengthen integration with the wider SEND service.
- Preparation for Adulthood: Ensuring a seamless and consistent transition into adulthood, beginning early at age 14.
- SEND Multi-Agency Audit: While inter-agency engagement is strong, improving data sharing and consistency in outcomes for children in the early years, particularly through ICB commissioned services for 0 to 5 children's therapies and paediatrics.
For more details on the meeting, refer to the Agenda frontsheet and the Public reports pack.