IN 2013, I was asked to chair the “Looked After Children Members Group”. This is probably not at the top of most people’s list of ambitious achievements, but none the less it is one which I personally take very seriously and I unashamedly admit to being the very proud corporate parent of about 480 children.

In April after barely a year in the job, we were thrust into an Ofsted inspection of “services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers and review of the effectiveness of the local safeguarding children board”.

I was desperate not to let the side down in my 45-minute interview with the Ofsted inspector, so I spent many hours with my head in past papers and reports.

It was with great relief that I learnt back in June the inspector had placed North Yorkshire among the top authorities in the country for its care and protection of children, grading it as “good” in every category and giving us confidence that we have clear plans in place to become outstanding.

The report is a credit to our hardworking and extremely dedicated staff and my thanks go out through your paper to the team working in the Ryedale and Scarborough area.

I have followed the media coverage arising from the publication of the Jay report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham with abhorrence. The findings are disturbing, not least because we are told this is a national issue.

The North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children’s Board has recognised the problem and a strategy has been developed on an active partnership basis. The recent Ofsted inspection recognised the work undertaken and the strategy which emphasises the importance of a multi-faceted approach. I do believe that a “multifaceted approach” means we all take responsibility.

Sadly, this also means that we have to be open to the unpalatable thought that the apparently unthinkable is part of our culture. Young people must be listened to and it is our duty to take them seriously however difficult this may be. I am reliably told that the way to tackle child sexual exploitation lies with the four D’s – Detect, Deter, Disrupt, Dismantle and this requires us all to play our part.

Janet Sanderson, North Yorkshire County and Ryedale District council’s Young People’s Champion