SIX years after a damning report branded the care of vulnerable children on the Isle of Wight inadequate in every category, the picture has improved dramatically.

Following the latest inspection, the Isle of Wight Council's children's services department has been rated 'good' by Ofsted. It meant so much to staff, they cried when they read the inspectors' comments praising the support given to young people on the Island.

The news followed an intensive three week inspection which examined every aspect of the service and found it to be good in all areas.

Head of strategy and operations, Kathy Marriott, said the improved rating was the result of six years of hard graft by staff members — but they were not stopping at good.

She said: "We want to be outstanding, we want to continue this improvement journey."

Six years ago, Island education was also underperforming — GCSE results were 15 per cent below the national average, and Island schools had the worst attendance record in the country.

High staff turnover coupled with a reduction in government funding pushed the teams to breaking point ahead of the 2012 inspection. Vulnerable children who did not meet the high threshold for help — and were therefore deemed not vulnerable enough — slipped through the cracks. 

After the inadequate rating was announced, the government issued a directive stating Hampshire County Council would take over children's services on the Isle of Wight. The directive was formally lifted last year, but the partnership was deemed so successful it remains in place today.

Then director of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Children's Services, John Coughlan, launched a sweeping restructure of the department — and  Kathy admits it was a 'really difficult year.'

The referrals process was overhauled to ensure children did not slip through the net, and the service now supports 1,200 young people — from birth to aged 18.

Manager for operations, Kim Goode, said: "That first year really was about putting in place those clear policies, the parameters around practice, embedding those standards and expectations.

"Once that was done, we moved on to looking at case loads, staffing and retention."

Some staff chose to leave and for a time the service was heavily reliant on agency workers. However, Kim said the Island now had some of the lowest rates of agency staff in the south east — eight per cent, compared to 20 per cent regionally.

Kim said: "Some staff chose to stay and invest in the authority and they've worked really hard and they're in a really good position for promotion."

Social worker Susie Marinelli joined shortly after the second inspection in 2015, when the service was found to be better, but still required improvement. She has now been promoted to assistant team manager for the disabled children's team.

She said: "Thinking back to how things were, compared to how they are now, there's a lot more stability within the team. There's less agency staff. Those permanent staff massively change things — not only for our families, but how things feel in the workplace."

She said the negative perception of the service had stayed, but social workers on the Isle of Wight were determined to keep children safe.

She said: "You're dealing with a really emotional, difficult situation each day. Like anywhere there's going to be mistakes made and lessons learnt and that by it's nature will continue to happen.

"But the management oversight is so consistent now, we have a massive support and we have good relationships with management."

One of the biggest success stories comes from the care leavers, a team managed by Karen Cheeseman.

The team has one of the highest rates of university attendance, with 16 students currently enrolled across the country — from Southampton to Bath and beyond.

Karen said: "For a young person who has come out of care, to go to university is huge. They still need an awful lot of support from us, and we work as a corporate parent for them."

Karen considered leaving the service after the inadequate judgement. She said: "It was a very hard time, and it was very hard work. We had to prove ourselves to the young people, because they felt let down by the rating.

"But now we achieve great things. I am very proud of our team, and I am very proud of our care leavers."

The next step in the improvement journey would be an outstanding rating — something the cabinet member for children's services, Cllr Paul Brading, is convinced they will secure next time the inspectors visit.

He said: "The improvement over the last six years has been phenomenal. The team were really chuffed by they won't stop there. Why can't we be outstanding? There's nothing stopping us."