'Good' rating for council's children's services
Gloucestershire County Council has historically had poor Ofsted ratings for the service, with the most recent one in 2022 stating that it required improvement.
But a report published earlier said that under the current director of children's services "the pace of improvement has accelerated", adding "services are now judged to be good overall".
Areas where improvement was still needed include the response to homelessness for 16 and 17 year olds and support for care leavers who are not employed or in education.
"I'm pleased for two groups of people, children, young people and families who it assures are getting a good service from the county council, and the second is our staff who have worked so hard over a long period of time to get this," cabinet member for children's safeguarding and care Ben Evans said.
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The report found Gloucestershire's children's services had outstanding ratings in two categories, children's experience in care and the impact of leaders on social work practice.
It said: "Since the last inspection in 2022, when services were judged to require improvement, credible leaders, with strong corporate and political support, have been relentless in their ambition to improve children's lives."
Three other areas received good ratings, which include the experiences of children and care leavers who need help and protection, as well as the overall effectiveness of the service.
In response to the areas that still need addressing, the council said it has started working with those responsible for housing to improve homelessness for young people. It said it is also working with social enterprises to help find young people employment.
The Liberal Democrats took over the administration in May but Mr Evans praised the Conservatives for getting the service into shape.
"We've got a brilliant director of children's services and the previous Conservative administration - who I should be throwing pelters at - did a really good job," he added.
'Doubling efforts'
The report pointed out foster carers are now "well supported and appreciated by the service".
It comes after the BBC spoke to former foster families who had felt they had been let down by the service.
Mr Evans admitted the service was not perfect and he was concerned to read the concerns of foster carers. He added he had been in touch with some as a result.
The number of children in care has gone down but it has doubled in the last decade. The county council said it is coming up with innovative solutions to get the number down further.
Mr Evans said they are "doubling efforts to recruit more foster carers" whilst looking at creating family hubs to prevent issues escalating and children ending up in care in the first place.
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Ex-foster carers accuse council of 'deceiving' them
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