Peterborough City Council's children's services are making "positive progress" following an Ofsted monitoring visit.

The services, previously rated as "inadequate" in November 2023, were praised for their improvements by His Majesty’s inspectors during a visit on July 30 and 31.

The inspectors focused on the experiences and progress of care leavers aged 18-25, particularly those facing challenges such as unstable housing or involvement in the criminal justice system.

They observed "early signs of improvement" and noted that the council's efforts are already making a "positive difference."

The report also praised the council's commitment to improving outcomes for young people, despite financial and political challenges.

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The council has increased management capacity and hired more personal advisers (PAs) to support young people.

The local offer for care leavers has been enhanced with input from care leavers and staff, and projects like the House project are being developed to provide a base for accessing services and helping care leavers gain new skills.

Inspectors noted that PAs are consistently reaching out to harder-to-engage young people.

However, the report highlighted that support is not consistent for all young people and identified areas needing rapid improvement, including pathway planning and staff supervision.

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Councillor Katy Cole, Peterborough City Council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "We have and continue to focus our efforts on delivering meaningful change and improvements to Children's Services.

"This visit focused on our efforts to ensure our care leavers have better outcomes, and we are pleased that Ofsted has recognised our improvements.

"More importantly, we are confident this will offer the support our care leavers need to thrive."

The council is dedicated to improving the service and believes that their ongoing efforts will lead to even better outcomes for the young people.

They remain committed to ensuring that every care leaver receives the support they need.