DUDLEY Council still needs to improve it’s children’s social care services, according to today’s newly published Ofsted report, although it acknowledges significant progress has been made over the last two years.

The report, published this morning (Monday), follows an 11-day inspection in October and November.

The authority has been given an overall rating of ‘requires improvement to be good’ but the report praises work that has taken place since the last inspection and says: “As a result, outcomes for children and their families are better.”

Council bosses say it is a massive step up from the ‘inadequate’ rating it received in April 2016 and that areas of service which previously were labelled as ‘inadequate’ have been turned around.

In the new report Ofsted rates the experiences and process of children who need help and protection as ‘requiring improvement to be good’, But the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families was judged to be ‘good’, as were the experiences and progress of children in care and care leavers.

Martin Samuels, Dudley Council’s strategic director for people, said it was “unprecedented” that Ofsted had given two out of three ratings as ‘good’ and still dished out a ‘requires improvement to be good’ rating overall but he said: “It’s recognition of the distance we’ve travelled but that there’s still a degree of fragility in the system. We absolutely have to not sit on our laurels.

“It’s appropriate to say we are not quite at the point of being good overall but we’re clearly very close to that.”

He said three years ago that the authority “couldn’t be sure that children were safe” and that “Dudley really was at the bottom end of the ‘inadequate’ rating” but he added: “We’ve done a huge amount of work since then.”

Councillor Sue Ridney, the council’s recently appointed cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We’re obviously pleased about the grading - we have questioned it and we recognise what they’ve said but that does not detract from the work that’s being done. I’d like to thank the leadership team in children’s services for their efforts.”

Mr Samuels said a three-year improvement plan would be developed and presented to cabinet in the new year.

To read the Ofsted report in full click here.