Ofsted Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS) improvement action plan

Between 3 and 7 June 2024, Ofsted completed an Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS) in Suffolk County Council.

The overall inspection judgement stated the service ‘requires improvement to be good’. The individual judgement areas are outlined below:

Judgement Grade
The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families Requires improvement to be good
The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection  Requires improvement to be good
The experiences and progress of children in care Good
The experiences and progress of care leavers Requires improvement to be good
Overall effectiveness Requires improvement to be good

An Improvement Action Plan has been produced to address the findings arising from the inspection and this has been shared with Ofsted and is attached.

 On 16 and 17 September 2025, Ofsted completed a focused visit to Suffolk children’s services, to assess the progress of the authority’s ‘Front Door services’.

The letter noted ‘early signs of improvement beginning to emerge'. 

Read the Ofsted focused visit letter