David Thomas: What Ofsted’s visit tells us about children’s services in Torbay

This week I want to focus on our children and young people, and the many ways we are working to support them and their families across Torbay.

Last week, we received a call from Ofsted to let us know they would be visiting us to carry out an inspection of our children’s services under the ILACS framework. 

These inspections are always unannounced. As is standard practice across the country, Ofsted rang us by 10am on Monday morning, with the formal inspection process beginning immediately afterwards. 

From Tuesday morning, teams across the council began uploading information and evidence to support the inspection.

The priority for inspectors is to look closely at how well we support children, how effectively we help families to stay together, and whether children, young people and parents can access the right help at the right time. 

This is about understanding how services work in practice, not just on paper, and how well different organisations work together to support families.

The inspection also considers how we care for our most vulnerable children. That includes children who are currently in care, those who have previously been in care, and children who are adopted. 

These are areas of enormous responsibility, and I want to recognise the dedication of our staff and partners who work tirelessly every day to secure the best possible outcomes for young people, whatever their circumstances may be.

Over the five days the inspection team is on site, they will speak to and hear from hundreds of people connected to children’s services. This includes social workers, managers, partner organisations, carers, families and, crucially, children and young people themselves. 

Inspectors review real casework, observe practice as it happens, and test how decisions are made and followed through. It is an intensive process that builds up a detailed, rounded picture of how services operate day in, day out. 

Once the inspection concludes, Ofsted will publish their findings, which we expect to be at the end of February. Whatever the outcome, our commitment to putting children and young people at the heart of everything we do remains absolute.

That commitment is reflected not just in strategy and policy, but also in the everyday environment we create for children and families. 

Recently, we refurbished a couple of our meeting rooms that are regularly used by children and their families when meeting with professionals. We wanted to make sure these spaces felt welcoming and supportive.

Children from our participation groups worked over the summer to redesign the rooms, helping to make them brighter, more colourful and more child-friendly. 

A long conference table was removed and replaced with a round table, helping conversations feel more relaxed and less formal. We also added beanbags, books and puzzles so that younger children have something to do and feel more at ease.

I am also pleased to say that, at the start of this month, three play clubs run by Play Torbay returned. 

After facing a funding shortfall last year, we stepped in to help, meaning these much-valued sessions will now run throughout 2026. ASRUS in Brixham and Mayfield School in Torquay host evening clubs aimed at children with autism, while Indigos Forest School in Brixham runs sessions on Wednesday mornings for young people who are electively home educated.

The coming weeks will also see changes for South Devon’s YMCA, as they prepare to move to new premises on Belle Vue Road, having outgrown their current site in Clennon Valley. 

We have been supporting them through this transition, and I hope the move goes smoothly. Their work with children and young people is invaluable, from running a nursery and providing education for those who cannot attend mainstream school, to offering a night-stop service for vulnerable young people.

Finally, I want to highlight the return of our Healthy Holidays half-term activities programme next month. Running from February 16 to 20, the programme offers children and young people who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals the chance to take part in sports, arts and crafts, cooking, music and much more. Everyone who attends also receives a healthy meal, helping to support both wellbeing and family budgets.

Details on how to book will be shared on our website and social media channels over the coming weeks. 

Supporting our children and young people is one of the most important things we do as a council, and I am proud of the work happening across Torbay to give them the best possible start in life.