Children’s Services in Norfolk judged outstanding across the board
Children’s Services in Norfolk has been rated outstanding in all areas in its latest Ofsted inspection.
18th May, 2026
Inspectors praised the council’s “child-centred” approach, the relationships between social workers and children and young people and the “inspirational strategic and operational leadership.”
They said: “Children in Norfolk receive consistently strong services that impact positively on their and their families’ lives. Since the previous inspection in November 2022, leaders have relentlessly continued to strengthen and enhance practice for children, young people and their families.”
The inspection, which took place in February, looked at five areas: the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families; the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection; the experiences and progress of children in care; the experiences and progress of care leavers, and our overall effectiveness. The judgement in each area was outstanding.
Sara Tough, Executive Director of Children’s Services at Norfolk County Council, said: “This report is the culmination of many years of incredible hard work from everyone across children’s services and I want to thank staff from across the service for all they are doing to help Norfolk’s children to flourish.
“I am particularly pleased that inspectors highlighted the strong relationships practitioners have with children and young people and the ambition we have for both children in our care and for the service as a whole. Staff across the department change children’s lives every day and they deserve this recognition.”
The report builds on the “good” Ofsted judgement the council received in 2022 and follows years of sustained improvement. Back in 2013 and 2015 the council received successive inadequate judgements, before a “requires improvement” judgement in November 2017, soon after just as Sara Tough joined as director.
It is now one of the top performing Children’s Services departments in the country.
Sara added: “This has been a huge transformation, and it has taken commitment from across the council. We’ve been able to invest in services that really do change children’s lives, supporting families earlier and wrapping support around young people so that they can thrive.
“We never stand still in Children’s Services and there is lots of change on the horizon. Our priority is to ensure that children and young people continue to receive outstanding services, working alongside our partners across Norfolk.”
Read the Norfolk short publication report here.
