Following an inspection last month, Ofsted has rated Torbay Council’s Children’s Service as ‘Good’ overall.

This maintains the Good rating that Torbay was previously awarded by Ofsted in 2022.

The Good rating, following the inspection which took place 12-16 January 2026, applies across all of these 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 children care leavers
• Overall effectiveness

The report published by Ofsted and His Majesty’s Inspector, Steve Lowe, who headed up the inspection team, states that “Senior leaders and politicians have a clear strategic intent to achieve what is best for the children of Torbay, addressing the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection.

“Importantly, the change to a more localised, multi-discipline approach has led to improvements in several key areas of practice, with families receiving support to make changes early rather than allowing problems to escalate.”

David Thomas, Leader of Torbay Council said: “This is fantastic news for Torbay and recognises the commitment of everyone here at the Council towards children and young people.”

Councillor Nick Bye, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services for Torbay said: “I am absolutely delighted we have been judged good in all categories by Ofsted following their inspection in January. We can all take pride in the tremendous hard work underway in Torbay to ensure children are safe & can have the best possible start in life. I was especially pleased to hear the positive comments from the Ofsted team who highlighted our work with families, children in care & those who are care-experienced. They were particularly pleased to learn of our new housing for care experienced youngsters.

“I would like to say a personal “thank you” to everyone in the Bay who has contributed to this accolade: professional & political colleagues, our Children’s Services Team, foster carers, partners and a whole host of voluntary & community organisations. 

“We are all working together to make Torbay a child friendly place.

“There’s always more to be done but this report acknowledges the progress we have made over the last four years.”

Nancy Meehan, Director of Children’s Services for Torbay Council said: “Our ongoing transformation of our Children’s Services to be the best it can be, through our Families First Partnership working.

“The report also praises our cross-party and corporate support for children’s services as being ‘child-centred’ – highlighting our commitment to corporate parenting and making care leavers a protected characteristic, as well as bringing online new, high-quality accommodation for care leavers and a strong local offer.”

Also mentioned in the Ofsted report is the way clear, visible leadership at the council have communicated the vision and purpose of the transformation of children’s services based on years of planning. The report states that there is a “positive impact of increased early help and family support”, and that “newly formed child in need teams are preventing escalation into statutory processes for an increasing number of families.”

Areas highlighted for improvement include:

• The response to children who have suffered long-term neglect
• The range and supply of homes for children in care
• The frequency and quality of supervision

Though even on these areas the Ofsted report noted that work is already taking place to address the issues: “Senior leaders have begun to harness the creativity and urgency shown elsewhere to address these complex areas of practice.”

You can read the full Ofsted report on our website here.