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Sandwell Council’s social services have been criticised by inspectors for failing to ensure children are adequately protected.

A  joint area review published today by Ofsted said the council needed to properly safeguard children at risk as a “matter of urgency”, and found various aspects of its social services were “inadequate”.

Some children on the at-risk register had no social worker assigned to them, and the department was closing other cases without conducting final interviews with families. 

Health and education services fared slightly better, and were assessed as “adequate”.

Despite the findings, Sandwell hailed the report as a “vote of confidence in the future” because its ability to improve was rated as adequate.

In last year’s annual performance assessment, Sandwell social services received a rating of one out of four for their contribution towards improving outcomes for children.

Ofsted also published reviews today on several other areas across the country, including Northamptonshire Hackney Hounslow and Gateshead