Guidance

Talking to an inspector: parents and carers

Updated 5 April 2024

Applies to England

This is an example of what we send to parents and carer when we inspect the local authority.

Talking to an Ofsted Inspector

From [DATE] to [DATE], Ofsted will inspect children’s social care services in [LA NAME].

Inspectors would like to talk to parents, carers and children about the local authority. You can also contact Ofsted online, by email (enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk) or by phone (0300 123 1231).

This document tells you why they want to talk to you and what they will do with the things you tell them. It will take about five minutes to read.

Why we want to talk to you

There are laws that let inspectors look at how good the workers at your local authority are at protecting children and helping children in care and care leavers.

As part of this inspection, the inspectors want to hear about the experiences of people like you who are being helped by these workers.

An inspector would like to ask you what you think about the help your worker gives you. The inspector will use what you tell them to help the local authority understand what they are good at and what they need to do differently.

The inspector is not checking up on you or your family.

What we will ask you to do

Someone from the local authority will ask if you are happy to speak to an inspector.

If you are, the inspector may:

• talk to you when you visit one of the council offices

• sit in when you have a meeting with your worker or someone else from the local authority

• make an appointment to talk to you (either in person or by phone)

• visit you with your worker or someone else from the local authority.

The inspector will write down what you tell them about the help your worker has given you. They will talk to other families too. This becomes part of our inspection evidence.

You should know that:

• you do not have to talk to the inspector if you do not want to
• you do not have to share personal information with them
• you can stop the conversation at any time you want
• you can ask them about the inspection before you talk to them

What we do with the things you tell us

Inspectors will use what you tell us along with other information to write a report that tells the managers in the local authority what we found. They will write about what your worker and the other workers in the local authority do and how this affects the people they protect and care for. We will publish this report on our website.

Inspectors will not put anything in their report that identifies you.

Inspectors will talk to people at the local authority about what you have told them. They will only do this with your worker and their managers. Inspectors do this so that the people at the local authority can improve the way they help you.

If you tell us about a child or young person being harmed or at risk of being harmed, we will have to tell a worker at the local authority. This is important to help the workers at the local authority and other agencies that work with them decide what to do to keep that child safe.

The inspector will write the things you tell them on paper or on their computer. They will store this information safely. The only people who can access it are the inspectors, their managers and Ofsted staff who are responsible for keeping the information you give us safe.

We keep the things inspectors write for three years. We might also use the information for research purposes to help local authorities improve. If that happens, we keep the information until the end of that research. What we write in our research will not identify you.

Next steps

Inspectors will speak with as many children and families as they can. Since the local authority works with a lot of families, inspectors cannot talk to everyone.

If you are happy to talk to an inspector, you can tell your worker or contact the inspector directly: [INSERT LA/INSPECTOR EMAIL]. Please tell us your name and whether you would like the inspector to contact you by phone or email. This will help us to let you know as soon as we can if it is going to be possible for them to talk to you.

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