Speaking at the recent conference on the role of the private sector in government initiatives, Naomi Compton, head of early years and childcare at Derbyshire County Council, which is piloting the inspections, expressed alarm that the private and voluntary sectors were not even mentioned in the initial proposals put out for consultation in Every Child Matters: inspecting services for children and young people.
Ms Compton said, 'The documentation says what the local authority, social services and the police are doing, but there is no mention of the private and voluntary sectors.' Emphasising that inspectors will be visiting private providers in the Derbyshire pilot, she warned that other councils could take the view that because they were not in the inspection document, they didn't have to be considered.
She said she had raised her concerns with minister for children Margaret Hodge, who had agreed to look into the matter.
Ofsted is leading the development of integrated inspections of children's services, due to start in September 2005, working with the Adult Learning Inspectorate, the Audit Commission, the Social Care Commission and the Healthcare Commission, among others.
Responses to the first wave of consultation, with senior managers of local services at stakeholder conferences and in written responses from local authorities, also highlighted concern over the issue.
The framework can be seen on www.ofsted. gov.uk under Publications.
Many 'wished to see a clearer role for the voluntary sector (including independent schools) embedded in the process'.
There was also scepticism about whether the various inspectorates could work together in practice.
Consultation with children and young people will take place throughout the autumn, with formal consultation due to begin in November. The framework is on www.ofsted.gov.uk under Publications.
