Praise for Portsmouth organisations for mental health support to children including those suffering from abuse, neglect and exploitation

Schools, the NHS, the police, the council and voluntary organisations in Portsmouth were commended for their strong partnership, learning culture and innovation to ensure children are receiving the emotional well-being and mental health services they need, including those suffering from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The report, by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), HMI Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and HMI Probation (HMI Prob), after an inspection in December last year, also highlighted the need for improvements including children not always getting the right help at the right time and inconsistency in decision making.

Derek Benson, chairman of Portsmouth Children's Safeguarding Partnership, said: ‘Overall we are very pleased. The report praises the support provided to children from a strong partnership across schools, the NHS, the police, the council and the voluntary sector.

‘This is a testament to the way different organisations supporting children and young people in Portsmouth, including our strong local CAMHS service, work together to make a difference every day. The inspection highlighted areas where we need to improve and we know we must never be complacent.

‘We will continue to work closely with children and their families to improve services further to ensure they get the support they need.’

A statement of proposed action will be sent to Ofsted by May this year to outline the response being taken by the partnership and individual agencies following findings from the report.

Supt Steve Burridge, from Hampshire Constabulary, said: ‘Working in collaboration is vital in helping to ensure a better future for vulnerable children in Portsmouth.‘No one organisation can achieve this alone and we hope that this report highlights to our residents that we are all working hard to make sure the city’s most vulnerable children and their families are getting access to the support they need.‘There are of course areas where we still need to improve but as the reports suggests, these were already on our radar and work is ongoing to address these, so we very much welcome their recommendations.’