• Find a children and families services inspection report
• Understanding a children and families services inspection report
• Types of children and families services Ofsted inspects
• Inspecting children and families services
  • Inspecting children's social care
  • Inspecting Cafcass
  • Inspecting local authority children's services
    • Before a local authority children's services inspection
    • During a local authority children's services inspection
    • After a local authority children's services inspection
• Types of children and families services Ofsted regulates
• Regulating children and families services
• Safeguarding children
• About our survey reports
• How to complain

During a local authority children's services inspection

For the period May to September 20013 we will undertake inspections of local authority services for looked after children. For further information go to the Inspection of services for looked after children page, which has the key inspection documents.

Inspections of local authority arrangements for the protection of children

The inspection takes eight days. Usually the inspection team has five inspectors. Four will be social care inspectors; one will be an education inspector.

The lead inspector will ask for the list of information detailed in annex A of the framework and begins the inspection. The lead inspector meets with the director of children’s services to plan the rest of the inspection, including how to involve children, young people and their families.

The inspectors carry out inspection activities like: shadowing social work staff; observing multi-agency meetings; looking at case files; and talking to children, young people, parents and carers. The inspectors will tell the relevant senior manager if they find any unresolved issues of significant risk of harm to a child or young person.