Town's children's services continuing to improve

Ofsted looked at how the council supports children who need help or protection

Blackpool Council's services for children are continuing to improve, an Ofsted report has said.

Last month's visit by inspectors looked at how the authority supported children who needed help or protection.

Inspectors found that leaders had maintained a strong focus on child safety and wellbeing, even as demand for services had increased.

They found assessments of children's needs were now more timely and thorough, with swift action taken when risks were identified, staff built strong relationships with families and social workers felt well supported with high morale.

'We'll keep improving'

However, inspectors also noted that while assessment quality had improved, inconsistency in the quality of some children's plans was leading to drift and delay in their plans being progressed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Councillor Jim Hobson said: "We've rebuilt our service into a much stronger, child-centred system that is shaped by the children and families we work with.

"While we're proud, we aren't complacent - we'll keep improving to support every child in Blackpool."