WORCESTERSHIRE county council's services for children and young people have been deemed outstanding' in a recent assessment.

The authority is one of seven local authorities to achieve the highest grade in the second round of annual performance assessments, published jointly by Ofsted and the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

The assessments judge authorities on their contribution to improving services for children and young people, the social care services they provide and their capacity to improve.

It is the second year the county council has received the accolade, and this year's assessment rated its contribution towards ensuring children and young people are healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic wellbeing, as excellent'.

The management of services for children and young people and the capacity to improve were also ranked excellent'.

The report also marked the Children's Services Directorate, formed last year, as an area for improvement.

Other areas named for improvement include increasing the supply and range of foster carers, increasing the percentage of children sitting one or more GCSE, and working on promoting employment opportunities for young people.

Councillor Liz Eyre, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "We're delighted to have achieved the top grades for the second year running, which prove we are once again among the best in the country.

"The results are a huge credit to the staff, leadership team, schools, governors, parents and partner agencies. There is always more to do, but we continue to build on solid foundations."

Director of children's services Richard Hubbard agreed it was a great achievement. He added: "Our aim now is to maintain the high quality of services we provide and, with our partner agencies, continue to respond even more effectively to the needs of families, children and young people in Worcestershire."

The chief inspector of schools, Christine Gilbert, said: "We saw many strengths emerging across a number of authorities and I would like to congratulate those authorities who have worked hard to improve the services they provide for children and young people."