'Significant progress' made at Dudley children's services

Dudley Council's children's services were rated "inadequate" in 2016

"Significant progress" is being made by a council to improve services for children, inspectors have said.

Ofsted has regularly inspected Dudley Council's children's services since it was rated "inadequate" in 2016.

In a report published on Monday, Ofsted said "some challenges remain" and the authority was given an overall rating of "requires improvement to be good".

The council said the report was "testament" to the work done since the last inspection.

Following the latest inspection, carried out in October and November, the watchdog found "areas of service identified as inadequate in the last inspection have been turned around".

Inspectors said "effective work by senior management and staff" had led to improved services.

There was "good quality" planning for children in care and when young people leave care, they are well supported by personal advisers, the report added.

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Areas that require improvement include high staff turnover, and the timeliness of initial health reviews to support young people's health needs when they come into care.

Councillor Susan Ridney, the authority's cabinet member for children's services, said: "This represents an important first step on our journey towards becoming a 'good' authority and beyond in relation to our children's services."

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