Manchester council has been rated 'Good' by Ofsted for the first time ever, eight years after the local authority was found to be leaving hundreds of vulnerable children at risk of sexual abuse, physical harm and neglect.
It follows a full inspection by the watchdog in March which looked at council services which are supposed to protect children and young people in the city. This is first time that Manchester's children's services have been rated 'Good' since the body started inspecting local authorities in this way a decade ago.
It comes after the council was judged as 'inadequate' in 2014 when Ofsted found a backlog of nearly 500 children waiting to be assigned a social worker. The damning verdict identified 'widespread' failings at the town hall.
