'˜Inadequate' county fights back

Ofsted carried out an unannounced inspection of the services last September, rating the overall effectiveness as inadequate.

Since then, and following a meeting in October this year, the authority has taken steps to boost the service.

A report to next week’s cabinet committee on performance improvement said actions included a recruitment drive, an external organisation helping with workload, and the appointment of a new director of children’s services.

The latest monitoring findings from Ofsted, published at the beginning of last month, said the authority was “showing some signs of making positive changes”.

County Coun Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: “This report captures the huge amount of work being done to ensure we make improvements to children’s services.

“We know we still have work to do.

“I know that there is a real determination to keep the pace of change up and ensure that we continue to make the necessary improvements.”