Ofsted has carried out a focused visit to assess Nottinghamshire’s ‘front door’ services - the first point of contact for anyone worried about a child’s safety or wellbeing.
Inspectors identified strong early help support and effective information sharing, while also highlighting areas where decision making and management oversight must improve to ensure all children receive an appropriate and timely response.
The report notes that many children benefit from early identification of need and swift signposting to community support, preventing escalation for families. However, some children experienced delays.
The report also recognises that children are seen promptly and many receive appropriate support.
As well as highlighting some important areas for improvement, inspectors recognised strong examples of direct work with children and efforts to capture the voice and views of children to inform decision-making. A positive culture of learning and openness, strong management support and manageable staff workloads were also recognised.
On receiving the report, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Director of Children’s Services, Anne Coyle, said: “We welcome Ofsted’s feedback. It’s great to see good practice recognised, but we know that a timely response was not provided to some children and we’re acting quickly to fix that. We will continue to build closer relationships with partners in recognition that all partners have an important role in making sure that we get it right first time for children in Nottinghamshire.
“We have taken immediate action and practical steps to develop consistently strong services that ensure timely, effective responses that protect children and support families.”
Nottinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Councillor Rory Green, said: "Our priority is, and always will be, the safety and wellbeing of children. We fully support the steps that senior leaders are taking, without delay, to make the improvements in the two areas identified, and we will closely monitor progress. We are committed to working together with partners in the best interests of children and families by offering the right help at the right time.”
Following the Ofsted visit, senior leaders acted immediately in the areas requiring improvement. Steps already taken include enhancing quality assurance measures, strengthening management oversight in the multi-agency safeguarding hub and closer partnership working to fully embed the principles of ‘working together to safeguard children’ guidance.
A focused visit was carried out in November 2025 and findings have been published today.