East Yorkshire children's services receive improved Ofsted rating

Ofsted says children now "receive a timely and effective response and intervention when they need it"

Children's services in East Yorkshire are now rated as good after previously being judged as inadequate by a government watchdog.

Ofsted praised the improvements and said children now "receive a timely and effective response and intervention when they need it".

However, inspectors said work still needed to be done on supporting people leaving care.

East Riding Council said it was "very pleased with the judgement".

An inspection in December 2019 found "weaknesses" in the system had left children waiting "too long" and safeguarding risks were "not always identified".

Following the latest visit in March, the education monitor's report said senior leaders had "significantly improved" services to children.

It added: "Most children in care in East Riding are thriving. They are in settled placements in which their social, emotional, health and educational needs are being met.

"They are supported by social workers who know their children well."

Inspectors also said the introduction of a service to help children at risk of exploitation and going missing had "resulted in a significantly improved service for these vulnerable children".

East Riding of Yorkshire Council still has to improve its support for people leaving care, inspectors said

Eoin Rush, executive director of children, families and schools at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said the new report was "a testament to the hard work, dedication and skill of all those involved"

"The poor inspection outcome in 2019, gave us all cause to reflect and think about how we were doing and what we were doing but it also garnered a real determination across the whole of the service area to make sure we do better for our children and young people," he said.

"We are in a great place to continue to build on these successes while working in the areas identified that need development."