Birmingham children's services: Timeline of the problems

Clockwise from top left Keanu Williams, Khyra Ishaq, Keegan Downer and Toni-Ann Byfield died in Birmingham

A series of child deaths in Birmingham saw the city council's children's service branded a "national disgrace" and consistently rated "inadequate" by Ofsted.

The government appointed external commissioners to oversee the department but improvements have "not gone far enough, fast enough", the Department for Education has said.

The council subsequently announced a plan for children's services to be run by a trust.

• September 2003: Toni-Ann Byfield, seven, is shot dead while visiting a man she believed was her father in London

• April 2004: Council admits it let Toni-Ann down

• May 2008: Khyra Ishaq, 7, starves to death in Handsworth

Toni-Ann Byfield was a ward of court when she was shot dead

• February 2009: Council served with improvement notice by government

• February 2010: High Court rules Khyra was "failed by social services"

• July 2010: Serious case review says Birmingham social services is still failing to protect children

Khyra Ishaq starved to death at her home in Handsworth

• October 2012: Ofsted rates the council's child protection services "inadequate"

• October 2013: Serious case review finds opportunities were missed to save Keanu Williams, two, who was beaten to death

• October 2013: Ofsted singles out city's children's services as a "national disgrace"

A serious case review into the death of Keanu Williams in January 2011 heavily criticised all agencies involved in his care

• October 2013: Council admits it has 106 social worker vacancies

• December 2013: Council announces a £10m investment plan for children's services

• March 2014: Council restructures social services and Lord Warner is appointed independent commissioner

Bernadette McNally decided not to be take up the role of executive director of children's services

• May 2014: Council reveals more than a quarter of Birmingham's frontline social worker posts are unfilled

• August 2014: Bernadette McNally appointed as the new executive director of children's services, due to start work in November

• October 2014: Ms McNally announces she is "no longer interested in taking up the role"

• February 2015: Alastair Gibbons appointed executive director of Children's Services

Keegan Downer was murdered by her legal guardian Kandyce Downer

• April 2015: Extra social workers and new IT systems are to be introduced in a bid to improve children's social care in Birmingham

• September 2015: Keegan Downer is beaten to death by the woman appointed as her legal guardian

• December 2015 - Andrew Christie is appointed as the new commissioner for children's services

• May 2016: Kandyce Downer is found guilty of murdering Keegan and a serious case review is expected to be published in coming months.

• May 2016: Birmingham City Council announces children's services will be run by a voluntary trust.