Children's services in Warwickshire no longer 'require improvement' after an Ofsted report, published today, judged them as good in all areas.

The latest inspection found that the council has "improved since the inspection in 2017" and the services "make a real difference" to young families' lives.

Ofsted found that social workers make sure that children's views inform decision-making and were now making trusting relationships with parents.

The overall rating for Warwickshire has improved since the last inspection in May 2017, when Children's Services were rated as requires improvement.

But Warwickshire County Council was still given areas to improve, most notably in: "Achieving a consistently high quality of practice for disabled children."

In another inspection last July the council's special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services were criticised by Ofsted for a lack of training, long waiting times and poor communication with families.

However, the county's children's services have been commended by today's report for ensuring the voices of children and families are heard.

"The corporate parenting panel challenges senior managers and partners, and enables the voices of children to be heard," inspectors said.

Following the damning inspection in 2017 Cllr Jeff Morgan said he was "proud" of the new rating and said it was down to the "tireless work" of staff.

"Since the last inspection in 2017 and throughout the global pandemic, we have continued to focus on long-term improvements to better support some of our most vulnerable children and families, and I'm so pleased that Ofsted has recognised this," the portfolio holder for children's services said.

"I would also like to thank the children and young people who engaged with us throughout our journey to improve services, we remain committed to making Warwickshire the best place it can be for them to live, learn and grow.

"We know the work doesn't stop here though. We are continuing to improve our children's services to achieve excellence and we welcome the recommendations Ofsted have made to further strengthen our ambition of making Warwickshire a child friendly county."

Read the full Ofsted report here.

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