YOUNG people in care or at risk of abuse are getting much better support from the agencies responsible for their welfare, a report revealed today.

The findings follow an Ofsted inspection into Stoke-on-Trent's children's services, which looked at social care, education, health and crime.

Despite some key challenges ahead, it highlights "rapid and significant improvements". And the biggest change has been in child protection work, which in 2006 was branded as failing.

Frontline staff have received "plentiful, relevant and high-quality" training, referrals to social care are managed well, arrangements for dealing with child deaths and serious case reviews are "secure", and more children are being assessed on time.

But the quality of assessments and care plans are still "variable" and more needs to be done to develop family support.

There are also gaps in provision for young people with learning difficulties or disabilities both in the secondary school system and when they reach adulthood and need training or jobs.

The inspection, known as a joint area review (JAR), delved into the work of a range of agencies, including Stoke-on-Trent City Council, its private partner Serco, NHS Stoke-on-Trent, and Staffordshire Police.

It covered the 2007-8 academic year.

Overall, children's services are described as "adequate", with service management and capacity for improvement seen as "good".

Ged Rowney, director of children and young people's services at the city council, pictured, said: "The very positive messages coming out are that children in Stoke-on-Trent are safe."

Child protection issues are now overseen by a multi-agency group called the Local Children's Safeguarding Board.

Board chairman Jackie Carnell said: "We knew we had to get the sharp end right first. It was the children at risk of harm or neglect. We are now starting to enlarge our remit."

The report says chronic shortages of social workers are a thing of the past, thanks to 'golden hellos' and other incentive packages.

The number of young people in care has also fallen, from 457 to 401 in just 12 months. And fewer children are having to travel miles from home to find care placements.

One of the big changes in residential care has been switching from large-scale children's homes to small group homes, which have just two or three beds. Some of this provision is "outstanding".

Meanwhile, fostering and adoption services are satisfactory. Young people in care are also given good opportunities to voice their views.

In education, strengths include good monitoring to drive school improvement, high standards in early years work, and good support for vulnerable children through nurture groups in primary schools.

Higher level teaching assistants are also being trained up to help support maths teaching.

But Ofsted says the council is not always providing value for money, especially in funding special needs work in mainstream schools.

In health, strengths include work to reduce obesity among primary schoolchildren.

Ofsted found teenage pregnancy levels are still too high, but praised innovative practices in sexual health, such as texting teenagers to improve the take-up of chlamydia screening.

There is also effective support to reduce the number of young people being sucked into crime or anti-social behaviour.

First-time offenders are offered community resolutions instead of cautions.