Ofsted has published its inspection of Lancashire County Council’s children’s services, and it is an improvement on last time.

Inspectors visited from 11 to 22 May 2026. They graded two of the four areas Outstanding and the other two Good:

  • The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families: Outstanding
  • The experiences and progress of care leavers: Outstanding
  • The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection: Good
  • The experiences and progress of children in care: Good

At the last inspection, in 2022, every area was graded Good.

What the inspectors said

The report opens by saying that since 2022 the council’s children’s services have “continued to strengthen the quality of services to children in most areas, and the experiences and progress for care leavers are outstanding” (Ofsted, page 1).

It also says that “Council leaders and elected members demonstrate strong corporate parenting responsibilities” (page 10), and that “Council leaders are child focused and demonstrate a strong understanding of issues affecting children and young people” (page 11).

On the workforce, the inspectors recorded something rarely seen in an inspection report: “Without exception, staff said they genuinely love working for Lancashire County Council” (page 12).

Credit where it is due

This result belongs first to the social workers, personal advisers, foster carers and managers who do this work every day, and much of it was built over several years. Reform’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Cllr Simon Evans, said as much when the report came out: “This is a proud moment for Lancashire and, most importantly, a strong endorsement of the difference our children’s services are making for children, young people, care leavers and families.”

The Reform cabinet’s job now is to back the service and act on what the inspectors found.

What comes next

Ofsted named three things to improve: recognising the needs of young carers in assessments and plans, the consistency of plans that deal with immediate risk of harm, and management oversight of children in unregistered children’s homes or under Deprivation of Liberty orders.

The council will respond with a plan to tackle all three.

Update, 3 September 2026: the cabinet approved an Achieving Excellence Plan to tackle all three. The cabinet’s resolution records that the inspection “confirmed that Lancashire’s Children’s Services were performing at a consistently high standard, with leadership and care leaver services recognised as Outstanding.”

Children’s services cover every family in Burnley and Padiham. This is a result worth knowing about.