Children's services in Rotherham remain 'inadequate', Ofsted finds
Children's services in Rotherham remain "inadequate", according to an Ofsted inspection launched after a report found widespread sexual exploitation in the town.
The schools watchdog's report ruled there are "widespread or serious failures" that result in children "being harmed or at risk of harm".
Ofsted inspected services in Rotherham in September, a month after the Jay Report revealed more than 1,400 children had been subjected to sexual exploitation in the South Yorkshire town between 1997 and 2013.
The report in August detailed how children had been raped and trafficked by organised gangs of men on a huge scale.
Today Ofsted's report painted a damning picture of children's services and the Local Safeguarding Children Board's ability to tackle ongoing and future abuse.
It said Ofsted inspectors referred 13 examined cases back to the local authority because of "serious issues of concern" and found "poor practice" remained despite new systems being put in place after the Jay Report.
The report also said police and social workers were still "ineffective" at working together.
The report judged the Local Safeguarding Children Board to be "inadequate", adding:
The report criticised in particular services aimed at protecting children in need of help, saying:
The publication of Professor Alexis Jay's report in August provoked turmoil in the local authority, leading to a raft of council resignations.
South Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright, the Rotherham councillor overseeing children's services between 2005 and 2010, was also forced to resign in the wake of the scandal.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission yesterday said it was investigating 10 officers over allegations that they failed to deal properly with child sexual exploitation issues in Rotherham.
Ofsted itself was yesterday criticised by the Communities and Local Government Committee over past failures in relation to child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.
The committee said the watchdog carried out a number of inspections of the council over the period covered by the Jay Report but failed to protect children in the town.
Ofsted, who found Rotherham Council's children's services "inadequate" in 2009, said it "welcomes the opportunity to give evidence to the committee".