Improvements have been made at Cheshire West and Chester Council's children's services according to Government inspectors, but they said further progress was still required.

A previous visit by Ofsted last year found the department 'required improvement' in most areas, and that its performance had deteriorated in the previous five years.

It highlighted a number of areas of concern, including the fostering process and children at risk of homelessness.

The council said at the time an improvement plan was being implemented to tackle the problems highlighted.

Inspectors carried out another visit in July and their findings have recently been published. Classed as a 'focussed visit', it specifically targeted the areas of concern to see if improvements were being made.

Their report found the recently appointed senior leaders had quickly developed an 'accurate understanding' of the quality of services for children in need of help and protection.

It added that 'comprehensive plans' were in place to address areas for improvement, including those identified during the previous inspection.

Inspectors found fundamental issues, such as workloads and the stability of the workforce, had also improved.

But they also found other development work was at an early stage and there continued to be areas of social work practice and management that required further development.

The report said: "For example, children's plans are still not routinely focused on children's outcomes. Agreed interim actions to safeguard children are not always clearly articulated.

"Assessment and support of children in private fostering arrangements, while somewhat improved, is still not robust enough to ensure that sufficient safeguards are in place for children."

It added: "Quality assurance activity is not always accurate or impactful and management oversight and decision-making are not well documented."

It said a recent review of the private fostering service has led to changes in procedures and that there had been some improvements in practice since the inspection in 2024.

The report said: "Although revised procedures are not fully embedded, children who are privately fostered are now visited promptly and with appropriate frequency.

"Assessments are completed in appropriate timescales."

The report said leaders had plans at various stages of implementation to develop the identified areas for improvement, and that they were starting to have an impact on practice in some areas.

It said: "There is strong corporate backing and investment to support these plans, including increased capacity in key areas such as quality assurance activity."

Ofsted said it would consider the latest findings before planning its next inspection.