Care Inspectorate Wales concludes assurance check of Neath Port Talbot Council children's services

We have recently completed an assurance check of Neath Port Talbot Council's children's services.

The assurance check, which took place between 2 and 4 December 2025, assessed the local authority's performance in exercising its duties and functions in line with legislation.

Overall, we found Neath Port Talbot Children's Services to be a mature, stable and confident service, supported by a strong culture of working positively with children and families. Practitioners are overwhelmingly positive about working for the local authority, and the experienced, stable workforce underpins the positive outcomes and strengths-based culture evident throughout this assurance check.

Key strengths identified

The local authority places children, families and carers at the centre of its work. Leaders set a clear, strengths-based vision, stay visible and approachable, and model relational, trauma-informed practice. Practitioners feel empowered and supported, and the culture fosters trust, learning and professional autonomy.

The workforce is stable and experienced, with a breadth of expertise across roles. This continuity enables high-quality practice and fosters sustained, trusting relationships with children and families. Consultant Social Workers are embedded across teams, providing mentoring, coaching and practice consultancy, and taking the lead on complex casework. Their visible role supports consistent decision-making and confident application of legal and policy frameworks.

Early help and preventative approaches are embedded across children's services and are valued by practitioners, partners and families. Team Around the Family (TAF) and early help panels are used routinely to coordinate support, with a clear ethos of "working with, not on" families.

Safeguarding culture is strong, visible and well embedded. Leaders maintain clear line of sight and set consistent expectations. Multi-agency arrangements, including effective police co-location at the front door, provide regular scrutiny of risk. Partners describe the local authority as child focused, professional and accountable.

Partnership working is a clear strength.  The local authority and partners coordinate support, so children and families receive timely, sustained help. One partner told us: "I have worked closely with Neath for many years, and I can confidently say they are one of the most effective local authorities to work alongside."

Children and young people have clear opportunities to participate and influence services. The co-produced "Language we use" resource, shaped by care-experienced children, replaces technical terms with respectful, child-friendly wording. Creative, child-led initiatives include a Snakes and Ladders game to share their journey through care and 'first-night bags' for children entering foster care.

Areas for improvement

A small number of areas for improvement were identified. These relate to strengthening the consistency of recording, including advocacy offers and uptake, safeguarding decision rationales, and case notes more broadly. 

The local authority should also ensure existing thresholds for the Children's Disability Team are applied consistently. Some early help services within the Education Department face periodic waiting lists, and the local authority should continue to work collaboratively across departments to address this. 

Following the recent restructure, new arrangements for the Independent Reviewing Officer service should be subject to ongoing monitoring to ensure they continue to safeguard independence.

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.

The assurance check follows the statutory responsibilities outlined in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and helps determine how effectively local authorities support and sustain improvements for people and services.