This week I have been happy to learn about the Wakefield Early Help Strategy upon return from a holiday. I believe that taking major steps quickly and efficiently is necessary for dealing with the results of the recent Ofsted report, which deemed improvements in Wakefield’s Children’s services inadequate.
The way to tackle this issue would be to first identify the problems: e.g. in September 2018, children from the most advantaged backgrounds were three times more likely to develop a mental health disorder in the Wakefield district. Then, we would have to focus on the effectiveness (and speed) of the response to such problems. Currently, as highlighted by Ofsted, it’s not good enough.
I’m glad to see action being promised.