Havering Council’s children’s services are set to benefit from a £750,000 funding boost as the borough attempts to boost its overall Ofsted rating.

At last week's cabinet meeting at Havering Town Hall on Wednesday, May 9, the council agreed to invest the extra money for an improvement programme that hopes to see better inspection results over the next two years.

It will tackle the recommendations made by Ofsted in June 2018, following an inspection earlier that year.

Announcing the new pot of education funding Councillor Robert Benham, the borough's cabinet member for education, children and families, said: "We were pleased with the outcome of [2018's] Ofsted report, but recognised that there is room for improvement and a robust plan of action will help us to boost our rating and ensure we deliver the best service to those who most need it."

In the report, Ofsted said the determination of leaders in Havering to strive for improvement and their willingness to learn had been "pivotal in driving service improvements".

Inspectors also found that "social workers were tenacious in the work that they do with children".

The Cocoon, the care leavers hub launched in October 2017 to provide support services such as education, health and housing for young people, was described as "highly impressive".

Last October, the service was visited by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman, who said she was keen to see it after inspectors said how impressed they were with the service.

Overall, Ofsted inspectors determined that the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families was Good, that the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection Requires Improvement and that the experiences and progress of children in care and care leavers was Good.

The improvement plan will focus on seven key areas including the transition from care to adulthood, risk assessments and support for children returning home from care and adolescent safeguarding.