Council’s Adult Social Services praised in CIW report
In a recent Performance Evaluation Inspection Report released by the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW), Denbighshire County Council’s Adult Social Services was praised for its “positive culture within the service” with an “excellent focus on staff wellbeing”, recognising that “practitioners are skilled, innovative, and committed to people they support.”
The CIW undertook the inspection between the 8th-12th of September 2025, to review the local authority’s performance in exercising its social services duties and functions in line with legislation.
The summary of inspection findings praised the Council’s Adult Social Services’ leadership approach, stating that “leaders are experienced, provide stability of leadership and know their service very well” and that “practitioners describe them as visible, approachable, and supportive.”
The inspection focused on four main points, People - voice and control, Prevention, Well-being and Partnerships.
The summary of inspection findings also found that “there is a strong learning culture with opportunities to attend training, and to benefit from reflective practice.”
The services’ focus on staff wellbeing was described as “excellent” with the report stating that “practitioners and leaders are supported through regular formal and informal supervision” and that “necessary adaptations are undertaken to promote personal and professional needs.”
Preventative and safeguarding practices were also highlighted within the report, which said that “the local authority offers a strong range of preventative services” and that “safeguarding practices are robust and follow Wales Safeguarding Procedures.”
The safeguarding team was described as “approachable” and “well-supported” and this included the “dedicated expertise at SPoA (Single Point of Access) to aid front-door decision-making.” The safeguarding team was described to have “clear and robust procedures for considering and responding to safeguarding concerns, working in collaboration with different teams in the service as well as with partner agencies and providers.”
The Services’ collaboration with other key services was also highlighted within the report, which stated that “there is strong operational and strategic collaboration across health, social care, and partner agencies, supported by co-located teams such as Community Resource Teams (CRTs) and the complex disabilities team.”
It also said that the “positive joint working with police and homelessness services contributes to improved outcomes” and that “the local authority plays an active role in regional safeguarding and strategic planning”. Further to this, the report said that “there is good partnership working across teams to promote people’s social care and housing needs.”
The local authority was praised for its exploration of “innovative, cost-effective approaches that improve outcomes for people” and the report highlighted the implementation of the 'Turn Only Once' model as an example of this.
Councillor Elen Heaton, Lead Member for Health and Social Care said:
“It is really positive to see CIW recognise what so many of us already know: our ASCH teams lead with compassion, commitment and a genuine people-first approach. Over the past few years our teams have faced huge pressures, yet they continue to show extraordinary dedication to the people they support.
We know there will always be areas where we want to learn, improve and adapt, which is why it means a great deal to see the hard work to transform these services noticed in this report. I would like to thank our staff and our partners for everything they do each day to support people across Denbighshire.”