Our Children’s Services department has been rated ‘outstanding’ for the first time – marking a major moment in the council’s journey to improve outcomes for children and young people.
These things do not happen overnight, and we have clearly been on a journey, but it does demonstrate the borough’s progress and reaffirms the choices we have made to invest in these services for children, young people, and families.
As well as being leader of the council, I’m also a proud mum to a five-year-old and I’m passionate that we give all our children and young people the best start in life so they can fulfil their potential.
We are absolutely committed to improving the experiences of those who receive care, help and protection from the council.
This was recognised in the recent inspection from Ofsted, which highlighted the impact of strong leadership, robust safeguarding arrangements, and a strong emphasis on our early years through to our support for care leavers.
This was a team effort, and I want to thank my cabinet member for Children, Schools and Families, Cllr Zena Brabazon and the leadership of the council’s corporate director of Children’s Services, Ann Graham as well as all our Children’s Services teams and partners.
This rating reflects their passion, professionalism, and deep commitment.
Ofsted said that this was “a significant achievement” and is “testament to the hard work and tenacity of the leadership team past and present.”
Our young people are our future, and we should be proud of the fact that 98% of our schools and nurseries are ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.
We are also thrilled to say that we received the highest Ofsted rating for our special educational needs and disabilities provision while our alternative provision has also been rated ‘outstanding’ and is among the best in the country.
We know that we cannot be complacent and will not rest on our laurels.
There is always more to do, and we are committed to making Haringey a place where every young person and family can belong and thrive.
We will use this top rating from Ofsted as a platform to work even harder to improve outcomes for our children and young people.
We do it for them, and the work does not stop here.
- Peray Ahmet is the leader of Haringey Council.
