Services to protect vulnerable children in the Bradford district have been praised following a detailed inspection by watchdog Ofsted.

Bradford Council’s Children’s Services have been judged to be ‘good’ with ‘outstanding’ partnership working, following a two-week investigation carried out in May into how children in care, foster children and those leaving care are being looked after and how safeguarding services are working across the district to protect vulnerable children from abuse and exploitation.

The results, published in detail today, places Bradford Council as the third-best large metropolitan council in the UK for its children’s services.

The report has been welcomed by Kath Tunstall, its strategic director of children’s services, who said the inspection had been the most comprehensive she had experienced.

She paid tribute to the social workers, foster carers and those working in children’s centres and Sure Start centres across the district and partners in the police and health services, whose hard work and commitment is reflected in the outcomes of the inspection.

“Over the course of two weeks the inspectors asked for 240 documents and read them all,” said Mrs Tunstall.

“They interviewed parents, children, staff, elected members, they went to frontline services, followed social workers and sat in offices and read files. They lived and breathed Bradford two whole weeks.

“They were looking at what is it like for a child growing up in Bradford? What are the outcomes as they grow up? Do they feel safe? Do they get a job and make a contribution to the community as they become working adults?

“We can’t eliminate risk, but it’s about the management of that risk. Sadly, awful things do happen to children, but we have to ensure that we have systems in place to stop it happening in the first place and, when we are made aware of something, that we support those children and make them safe and we look after them properly. It is about ensuring we have safe arrangements in place.

“While we will never be complacent about the services that we offer to vulnerable children, it is excellent news that this very detailed and thorough Ofsted inspection reports that we are providing effective, well-coordinated services that meet the needs of children, young people and parents. I want to thank all the staff who deliver these services in what can be very challenging circumstances.”

The Ofsted report is made up of 18 assessments and of these 14 were good, three were adequate and one was outstanding. Overall, the effectiveness of the services for safeguarding and looked after children were judged as good and the capacity to improve in both services was judged to be good.

The inspectors found significant protection of funding by the Council and targeted investment had enabled the expansion of early intervention and preventative services across the district, and that there was a strong political commitment to improving outcomes for the most vulnerable.

Councillor Ralph Berry, executive member for children’s services, said he was a passionate advocate for early intervention and that the investment made in the district’s children’s centres and Sure Start centres had really worked.

He said: “It is a fantastic achievement by everyone involved to get such a good judgment from Ofsted.

“We have a large and complex service in Bradford and this gives us confidence that what we are doing is meeting the needs of children and young people in the district. It means we have a very good base on which we can continue to build. Services for both Safeguarding and Looked After Children require a strong multi-agency approach, and we want to thank our partners who work with us to provide specialist services.”