Wakefield council boss says children's services 'outstanding' mark is just the start

Two other Wakefield Council run children’s homes – Cottam Croft Home and The Croft – were rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted last October following their assessments. All three homes are based in the Pontefract area.

And now Vicky Schofield, who is director for children's social care at Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council, says the council will continue to improve care for young people and is set to introduce new services to help the transition from children’s homes into foster care.

She said: “I guess what we've done is really gone on a journey to try and organise our placements around the needs that we know our children have. And that's led us to the position that we've arrived at, although we're not done yet.

“The next step on the road is opening a fostering hub in autumn of 2024. It is very different from the kinds of provisions you will find regionally or nationally. It will be the first of its kind.

“We’re aiming to provide a stepping stone for children who live in children’s homes into foster care, but what that home will do is provide an ongoing source of support for the foster carers of the children who take those placements.

“So children will be able to have some overnights at the children’s home there will be activities that are run from the home, there will be training and emotional support for foster carers, there will be emotional support for children provided from that home 24/7.

“It will provide two beds for children in advance of matching and moving them along to foster carers. The aim is to drive up interest and confidence in fostering adolescents as it is one of the areas that we really struggle with.”

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Vicky took over from Beate Wagner who had led the transformation of children’s services in Wakefield from an inadequate Ofsted rating in 2018 to good in just three years.

Since 2021 she has overseen the transition from homes that cater for four to five children into ones that typically house just two.

It is part of a series of measures that have resulted in the ‘Outstanding’ rating and fully justified Vicky returning to Wakefield after roles in Doncaster and Rotherham where she had a similar impact.

She said: “I live outside of it now but Wakefield is home for me. I have lived there all my childhood and the majority of my adult life.

“What has kept me in social work – I left for a little while and re-trained to be a lawyer – is the absolute potential of touching the lives of children which are completely transformational. I know that sounds a bit corny but it is true.

“We make huge differences. The decisions are big and scary sometimes but the impact is equally big and transformational when we get it right.

“What is unfortunate about this profession is that the times it receives publicity are the times when we don’t make the positive difference. It’s those tragic awful cases when the difference hasn’t been achieved.”

Vicky, who has two teenage children, said a passion for working with young people led her to her current role but it was a spell outside social work that has given her the tools to lead the resurgence of services in Wakefield.

“I was really unusual actually as lots of people who find their way into this profession are often older and had experiences that lead them to it,” she explained.

“As a young person I had a little bit of contact with the system but not masses. I can’t say that that was what drove me to it, though. I wanted to work with children, and it was an alternative to being a teacher.

“In terms of getting involved in improvement work I started that in Doncaster in 2010, and then Rotherham and then Wakefield after re-training as a lawyer.

“The law is a large element of the work that social workers do and I don’t think that is often widely understood. We work with a very clear legal framework, so prior to going off to re-train I had a lot of experience of being in courts and working with the law.

“What the legal training did is creates some objectivity around what could be quite a subjective role. That for me has always been really helpful. It helps you ask and answer questions and find a route through to a conclusion in areas that could go on for years and years.

“When you’re working with children you want to find solutions as quickly as we can be that within the family or outside the family so they can have the best chance. With kids the earlier you get it as right as possible the better they do.

“The law has always provided a framework, which means the kinds of decisions and judgements a social worker needs to make are done within a more objective context.”

Cllr Margaret Isherwood, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People at Wakefield Council, said: “We are very proud to have received our third outstanding rating in recent months. This is testament to the dedication of all those who work with and support our children and young people.

“We want to provide the best possible care to help our young people thrive, and this is great recognition that we are delivering high quality and effective support."

To find out more about fostering visit wakefield.gov.uk/children-and-families/fostering