WIRRAL children's services department has been rated as "improving" by Ofsted – but inspectors said more still needs to be done.

Two years ago the service was blasted as "inadequate" – the lowest possible rating.

And the probe brought to light a shocking catalogue of serious and widespread failings.

The national watchdog found a "corporate failure" to recruit and retain a permanent head of service severely impaired the ability of the department's director and senior leadership team to address them.

They revealed senior managers and political leaders have not provided effective and stable leadership for the service over the last three years.

And the Department for Education issued the town hall with a formal Improvement Notice.

In their latest visit the inspectors interviewed staff and examined several cases and found "the quality of social work practice in each case was effective and making a difference."

However the report was critical of the partnership between police and social care staff who it said 'do not share information well enough or plan together to ensure that children's needs can be met in a timely way because criminal investigations sometimes take priority over the safeguarding plan for the child.

"This has resulted in delays in children's needs being met."

Earlier this year, cabinet approved an additional £20 million for Children's Services focusing on improved recruitment of social workers.

Inspectors also recognised 'significant' changes made by the council to ensure that resources – staff, technology, management – were where they are needed and most effective.

Director of children's services, Paul Boyce who was appointed almost a year ago to lead the department's transformation said: "This latest letter shows there is a clear and decisive movement towards an improved service to ensure the safety of our most vulnerable young people.

"There is still much work to be done on areas such as working with partner agencies, but in a relatively short space of time we have seen a significant change for the better in Wirral children's services, and it is pleasing to see the Ofsted inspectors have recognised this."

The inspectors recognised the recruitment of more permanent social workers and highlighted 'improved stability' within the department.

Their letter also said feedback gathered from parents and professionals about conferences that they had attended were "overwhelmingly positive" and that parents "felt listened to”.

During their visit on September 4 and 5, inspectors found that areas where the department had faced criticism in the past were also improving.

In her letter, Ofsted inspector Sheena Doyle wrote: "At the time of inspection in 2016, the judgement for the experiences of children who need help and protection was that it was inadequate.

"At this monitoring visit, inspectors found evidence of progress in relation to the local authority's response to children who need protection through a child protection plan.

"The children tracked and sampled on this visit had all their safeguarding needs identified and met.

"All had received timely assessments of need and were in receipt of appropriate services.

"It is encouraging that earlier poor assessments weak practice in a few cases had been recognised, resulting in remedial action and support being provided for children.

"Children's electronic files are up to date and well recorded.

"Case notes, case summaries, descriptions of activity and analyses are generally clear and give a good picture of case progress."

Cabinet member for children and families Cllr Bernie Mooney said: "We said we would make children's services our priority and this latest letter shows we are making good progress, but we are not complacent.

"The appointment of Paul Boyce was a step change in the culture of children's services in Wirral, and that change has been taking place from the ground up, addressing legitimate criticisms the service faced.

"For example we are moving away from using temporary and agency social workers to attracting permanent staff who are able to build relationships with children and families and maintain continuity of care."