Children in Slough left in 'harmful situations' - Ofsted

The government removed children's services from council control in 2015

Vulnerable children in Slough are still at risk of being harmed two years after a report criticised the way the council looked after them, Ofsted has said.

The watchdog said improvements had been made, but rated children's services inadequate for a third time.

Last October the government removed children's services from council control and gave them to an independent trust in a bid to turn things around.

A trust executive said staff were working hard to improve the situation.

'Sexually exploited'

The department was inspected by Ofsted in November, seven weeks after it took over the running of children's services from the council.

Ofsted said adoption services "required improvement" as they was too reliant on agency staff.

Inspectors added: "In some cases, agencies have delayed referring children, leaving them in potentially harmful situations for too long."

The report also said that children at risk of being sexually exploited were not being properly protected.

Nicola Clemo, chief executive of Slough Children's Services Trust, said: "There is still much work to do and we cannot expect all changes to happen overnight.

"We welcome Ofsted's findings and recommendations and know they will encourage colleagues to make Slough the place that delivers life-changing social work."

Slough was the second children's services department in England to be moved out of council control following a critical Ofsted report in 2014.