Children and young people in Newcastle enjoying improving services

Services aimed at children and young people in Newcastle are performing well and have improved significantly with a large majority of services, settings and institutions rated as outstanding, according to a new report.

Ofsted's Children's Services Assessment for Newcastle, published in December, also states that a recent unannounced inspection of front-line child protection services found much that was strong and no areas for priority action. It also praises the council's special schools and improvements in the city's children's homes.

And the report notes that the majority of young people in the city are performing in line with or above national averages and that the education of children and young people from low-income families is improving. The number of schools not reaching the expected minimum standards is reducing.

There has also been a steady reduction in the number of 16-18 year olds not in work, education or training and arrangements for keeping children and young people safe are good.

The report also states that participation by young people in decisions about their lives is good and makes special mention of the 'My Place' project which has had substantial input from young people.

Improving attendance rates in secondary schools and continuing to improve outcomes at age 16 for people from low-income families are described as two areas for further development.

Newcastle City Council executive member for children and young people, Cllr Nick Cott said: "This report continues to build and improve upon firm foundations. I'm particularly pleased by praise for improvements in our children's homes and the recognition of the outstanding work done in our special schools.

"We still have much to do, but I'm confident we have a committed and hard-working staff who will continue to perform above expectations and make these vital services even better. I would like to thank everyone from across Children's Services for their continued dedication and hard work which has gone a long way towards producing this very positive inspection outcome"