A REPORT by Ofsted into children’s services in Cumbria has been praised.

Inspectors ran the rule over the county council-run service during a two-day visit in August and highlighted a number of positive findings.

The outcome has been praised by Anne Burns, the cabinet member for the service and the Labour councillor for Hindpool, Barrow.

Cllr Burns said: “What is clear from the report is that children’s services in Cumbria have made sustained improvement and are now working well. This report is overwhelmingly positive.”

“The achievements are down to the work, commitment and skills of our workforce and teams around the county.”

The inspectors noted positive engagements with parents and families and ‘effective’ oversight of the service in each of Cumbria’s six districts, she said.

The report highlighted some ‘areas for improvement,’ she added including a shortage of social workers in some areas like West Cumbria and Barrow, she said.

There are around 700 children in Cumbria under the care of the council with Barrow having one of the highest proportions with around 150.

In South Lakeland, the figure is 67 but in Eden, it falls to just 20.

Cllr Phil Dew, a children in care champion for Eden, welcomed the report but said the voice of carers and children needed to be heard.

“One of the most common concerns expressed by both carers and children are staff changes and in particular children’s social workers. These are often caused by long-term staff absence,” said Cllr Dew, the Conservative councillor for Kirkby Stephen.

“The children are telling us to stop changing to new social workers and that as soon as they got used to one, they got a new one.”

Cllr Burns said: “There isn’t just a problem of a shortage of social workers in Cumbria, we have a national problem. We know we can’t get social workers in some parts of Cumbria which is why we set up the social work academy.”

“That’s why we have been growing our own and that’s why we’ve had four new social workers join the service from Barrow to West Cumbria.”