Luton Borough Council's children's services require further improvement

Luton Borough Council's children's services have been rated as "requires improvement" by Ofsted

A council's children's services has made "significant progress" but still "requires improvement", an inspection report said.

Ofsted said children and their families now "receive a much better service in general" from Luton Borough Council.

But inspectors said more work was needed as improvement was not yet "consistent for all children".

An inspection in 2020 had deemed the service provided as "inadequate", the report said.

Three areas in particular require improvement:

• The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection

• The overall effectiveness

• Experiences of children in care and care leavers.

While the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families was rated "good", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Although the leaders and staff had made "tangible and significant progress", there was still work to be done on social work assessments and "longer-term support of children and their families", the report said.

"Leaders know this and plan to deliver greater consistency and improved workforce stability," the report said.

"Some children continue to experience the impact of changes of social worker."

'Clear priority'

Ofsted said: "Improving the quality of support for those who need help, protection or care is a clear priority for elected councillors, senior leaders and partners.

"Leaders maintain close oversight, regularly engaging with children and staff to understand the quality of the service being provided and to assess progress."

A council spokesman said: "Ofsted was positive about our performance in several key areas.

"Social workers understand and are aware of risks that children may be exposed to and provide good support to help them manage the impact of negative experiences.

"The council has risen to the challenge of providing accommodation and meeting the needs of significant numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children."