Middlesbrough Borough Council
Unitary authority England Council website
Community ratings
What people reported
Mostly negative experiences reported
Based on 3 ratings about experiences from 2025 to 2026. Updated October 2026. With only a few ratings, the score is steadied towards the middle, so one rating can't decide it.
About these ratings: accounts have confirmed an email address and declared direct involvement. Involvement has not been independently verified. Scores describe what people reported. They are not findings about the service or any worker. How ratings work
Official inspection
Ofsted
Overall effectiveness, as published
Requires improvement to be good
Standard inspection in March 2023. Report published 25 May 2023.
Ofsted has published a newer inspection report
Ofsted published a report on 28 July 2026. Its grades will appear here when Ofsted next updates its yearly statistics. Read the newer report (PDF)
Grades for each area
- Impact of leaders
- Requires improvement to be good
- Children who need help and protection
- Requires improvement to be good
- Children in care
- Requires improvement to be good
- Care leavers
- Requires improvement to be good
How Ofsted grades children's services
Ofsted inspects every English council's children's services. Each inspection gives an overall effectiveness grade, and a grade for leadership, for children who need help and protection, for children in care and, since 2023, for care leavers. There are four grades:
- Outstanding. The highest grade.
- Good. The standard Ofsted expects every council to meet.
- Requires improvement to be good. Not yet good, although Ofsted found no widespread or serious failures leaving children harmed or at risk of harm.
- Inadequate. Widespread or serious failures leave children harmed or at risk of harm. Ofsted then makes regular monitoring visits.
Councils graded good or outstanding usually have a shorter inspection next time. Between inspections, Ofsted makes focused visits to look at one area of practice. Visits don't give grades: Ofsted publishes a letter setting out what it found.
We copy grades exactly as Ofsted publishes them. They're separate from community ratings, and we never combine the two. How we use inspections
Community ratings
Results by question
Honesty, records and decisions
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Honesty and truthfulness 1.0 / 5
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Accurate records 1.0 / 5
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Separating facts from opinions 1.0 / 5
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Responding to disputed records 1.0 / 5
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Evidence behind decisions 1.0 / 5
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Reasons and options explained 1.0 / 5
Power, fairness and your circumstances
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Responsible use of authority 1.0 / 5
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Fair treatment 1.0 / 5
-
Accessible communication and support
-
Understanding financial hardship
-
Understanding domestic abuse 1.0 / 5
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Handling private information 1.0 / 5
The child and family having a say
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The child's voice 1.0 / 5
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Knowing the child 1.0 / 5
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Involving you in decisions 1.0 / 5
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Preparing for meetings 1.0 / 5
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Access to independent support 1.0 / 5
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Considering family and friends 1.0 / 5
Getting help and reliable support
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Timely assessments and help 1.0 / 5
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Delivering agreed support 1.0 / 5
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Help matched to your needs 1.0 / 5
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Reaching someone who could help 1.0 / 5
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Continuity when workers changed 1.0 / 5
-
Services working together 1.0 / 5
Safety, complaints and putting things right
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Responding to safety concerns 1.0 / 5
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Being able to complain 1.0 / 5
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Taking concerns seriously 1.0 / 5
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Progressing complaints 1.7 / 5
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Fair treatment after complaining 1.0 / 5
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Putting mistakes right 1.3 / 5
Care and moving into adulthood
-
Care suited to the child
-
Stability and planned moves 1.0 / 5
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Maintaining important relationships 1.0 / 5
-
Supporting the people caring for the child
-
Reviewing and following through on care plans 1.0 / 5
-
Preparing for adulthood
Official inspection
Latest Ofsted reports
Had direct experience of this service?
Rate your experience of children's services using specific questions about its practice. It takes about 10 minutes, and any worker you name stays private.
Know families who've dealt with Middlesbrough Borough Council?
Other councils in North East
- Darlington Borough Council
- Durham County Council
- Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
- Hartlepool Borough Council
- Newcastle City Council
- North Tyneside Council
- Northumberland County Council
- Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
- South Tyneside Council
- Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
- Sunderland City Council
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