Care Inspectorate Wales concludes assurance check of Isle of Anglesey County Council children services

We have recently completed an assurance check of Isle of Anglesey County Council's children's services. 

The assurance check, which took place between 12 and 16 January 2026, assessed the local authority's performance in exercising its duties and functions in line with legislation. 

Overall, we found a service with clear strengths in safeguarding, preventative practice, and partnership working, led by experienced and visible leaders and supported by a skilled, committed workforce.  However, the service faces real and growing pressures from rising demand, and a number of areas for improvement were identified.

Key strengths identified

Children's voices are strong in most records, with practitioners using person-centred and strengths-based approaches to promote children's voice and independence. In the best examples, practitioners write records directly for children in the first-person narrative - positive practice that keeps children's experiences, wishes and feelings central.

Leaders place a strong emphasis on early help and prevention. The Early Help Hub, convening twice weekly with wide multi-agency representation, promotes timely, co-ordinated responses that prioritise de-escalation and early intervention. Trauma-informed practice is well embedded across the local authority, including in education settings, and is being shared regionally and nationally. The pre-birth pathway is a particular example of positive practice, with positive judicial feedback confirming its impact in keeping babies safely at home through robust early planning.

Safeguarding practices are robust and mostly consistent with the Wales Safeguarding Procedures, with most decisions and actions undertaken in a timely manner. Regular structured meetings, including the Early Help Hub, One Front Door and MARAC, ensure all agencies are sighted on risk and can collaborate effectively.

The local authority has developed Cartrefi Clyd, its own care provision for children who are looked after, enabling children to be cared for locally where their social, health, educational and linguistic needs are met. 

The Grow Your Own initiative, which supports practitioners to progress into qualified social work roles, is positive practice that strengthens succession planning, retention and service stability.

Areas for improvement

A number of areas for improvement were identified. The local authority must consistently ensure children's voices are clearly recorded in all relevant records, and that formal advocacy is actively offered, re-offered and provided in a timely manner. The local authority must also strengthen its offer of formal carers' assessments for unpaid carers. Recording standards are variable and outcomes in plans are not always SMART, limiting effective oversight of progress.

Rising demand is placing pressure on workforce capacity, and only 45% of survey respondents said they find it easy to contact children's services. Positively, the local authority has commissioned an external review of early preventative services and should drive forward any recommendations to ensure sufficiency in early help .  The local authority should also continue its efforts to secure a sufficient range of suitable placements for children with complex needs, including those with additional health needs. 

The quality assurance framework has not yet been fully embedded following a recent restructure, and the local authority must ensure this is robustly embedded in practice. Strategy discussions must consistently include all relevant practitioners from other agencies, and decisions and actions must be consistently timely and in line with relevant procedures. The local authority should also continue its work with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to address challenges in health integration.

Next steps

We expect the local authority to consider the areas identified for improvement and take appropriate action to address and improve these areas. We will monitor progress through our ongoing performance review activity with the local authority. Where relevant, we expect the local authority to share the positive practice identified with other local authorities, to disseminate learning and help drive continuous improvement in statutory services throughout Wales.