Gateshead Council is celebrating after achieving outstanding results in two high profile reports assessing its services to children and older people.
Gateshead Council is celebrating after achieving outstanding results in two high profile reports assessing its services to children and older people.
Recently published, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Annual Performance Assessment looking at the quality of services offered to Gateshead residents have both identified Gateshead Council as excellent.
The Annual Performance Assessment regarded Gateshead Council's services as overall serving people well in its contribution of education and children's services - maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people and serving most people well with its social care services. It was also recognised as serving people well with its overall capacity to improve its services for children and young people.
And the authority has received three star rating from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), rating the council's social services department as 'Excellent' as well as scoring a 'very good' judgement for its performance in education and children's social care services - the highest Annual Performance Assessment (APA) achievable.
The CSCI awarded the excellent rating to Gateshead Council for providing social services to children and adults 'well' and for having an 'excellent' capacity to make further improvements. It follows an extensive programme of work aimed at modernising social care services to support people who live in Gateshead.
The council was one of the first in the country to integrate their children and young people's department with education. The new structure aims to improve the way the council delivers services to young people, ensuring all children receive the best possible opportunities in life.
The council is currently taking part in a Department for Education and Skills (DFES) pilot scheme as one of ten local authorities developing new ways to 'join-up' services, with work especially focused on information sharing. We are also the only North East council to pilot the 'Parents for Children' scheme, which aims to match children with potential adopters and foster carers, using video technology. The LEA's GCSE results are amongst the best in the UK, and the best in the region.
And it's not just children's services that have improved. Since 2001, over £14 million has been spent on extra care housing for older people in the borough and £5 million on Promoting Independence Centres (PIC's). As well as four new extra care housing developments, Priory, Winton, Fountain and Marigold Court, the council has also invested heavily in 'PIC's', like Eastwood, aimed at providing short-term care and rehabilitating older people recovering from long stays in hospital.
Cabinet member for children and young people at Gateshead Council, Councillor Catherine Donovan was keen to point out that these achievements could not have been made without the support of both council employees and the determination of councillors to transform social care services throughout the borough. She said: "This recognition is a real achievement and shows that we have certainly got off on the right foot in terms of integrating children's services, as well as reflecting the quality of our existing services."
Councillor Peter Mole, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care added: "I am very proud that Gateshead Council has again achieved the highest possible rating for our social care services and would like to take this opportunity to thank both employees, councillors and partners for the commitment to achieving our targets. The reports reflect our determination to deliver the best possible standards of social care. It is now time to look to the future, and to continue to evolve and improve."