West Sussex County Council’s Ofsted Report Mentions High Quality Interpreting Services by Vandu Languages
Ofsted is a non-ministerial Government department. Their role involves the inspection of organisations that deliver services to children across England, ensuring the provision of high-quality interventions and facilities.
Earlier this year, Ofsted inspected the Children’s Services Department of West Sussex County Council, and the results were encouraging. Our language and cultural support services played a significant role in the department's improved rating of 'Good,' and these services received direct recognition in the inspection report.
The last full inspection had been in 2019, and all areas of the department were rated as ‘Inadequate’. This year, inspectors were delighted to find an improved approach to processes and a higher quality of results in children’s well-being.
J. Russell, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People said:
“I am delighted that Ofsted has recognised the huge progress we have made over the past four years. The outcome of this inspection is testament to the determination and hard work of all our staff across Children’s Services and the County Council.”
In their report, Ofsted highlighted that
“Social workers have ready access to high-quality and sensitive interpreters who ably assist them in ensuring that children and young people’s experiences are understood”.
Receiving such positive feedback and recognition for our hard work is a source of immense pride for our team at Vandu Languages. Concerning the Ofsted report, A. Harwood, Children’s Asylum Team Manager, provided us with the following comments:
“These findings are based on what our social workers told the Inspectors and the evidence in our casework. The brilliant service provided by your interpreters makes a massive difference in our work with young people. Often, they add so much more value than straightforward interpreting: they help us understand the young person’s background, culture and experiences, explain complex concepts and processes, and they provide insight and advice using their knowledge and wisdom. They are highly skilled and have excellent relationship skills, enabling young people to trust them despite their traumatic experiences. I just wanted to share this positive feedback with you and thank you again for the beautiful Vandu team in the office and the interpreters who help us daily. We appreciate you all”.
Besides interpreting, West Sussex County Council is one of our most frequent requesters for translation services in a wide range of languages. As a local authority, they understand the significance of offering optimal solutions to their citizens, irrespective of their cultural background or native language.
We are delighted to have the honour of being helpful to local communities, and we will keep being faithful to our vision of becoming the first point of call for quality interpreting and translation for public, private and third-sector organisations in the UK and abroad. We want our customers, interpreters and translators to feel like Vandu Languages is part of their team, rather than just a service provider.
We are an ethnic minority-run business and have firsthand experience with the challenges that migration can bring. We’re proud of our commercial achievements, but ultimately, it’s helping local minority communities that truly resonates with us and drives us forward.
If you would like to know more about the services we provide, we invite you to explore our website or use the following links:
Interpreting services
Translation services
Health and Social Care Bilingual Advocacy
If you are interested in our cross-cultural training opportunities for organisations, please email us at info@vandu.co.uk or call us at 01273 473986.
