Changes to children's social care in Hounslow were already underway before a report demanding improvement was published, council chiefs said today.

Services for young people in care across the borough are failing to meet the necessary standards, according to Ofsted inspectors.

A report published on Friday last week said Hounslow Council's overall performance 'requires improvement', the second lowest of four ratings available under a new, tougher inspection regime.

Council bosses today told getwestlondon they were taking on board Ofsted's recommendations but insisted many of the required changes had been made before the report was even published.

Chris Hogan, the council's director of children's services said: "We had already made many of the changes requested by inspectors before they visited but they hadn't been in place for long enough to see the results.

"We are putting together an action plan to address the remaining issues raised in the report, which we are confident we will be able to do."

Below are the negatives and positives identified by inspectors, together with a response from Ms Hogan and Councillor Lily Bath, cabinet member for children's services.

WHAT INSPECTORS SAID

"...too many older children come into care because early help services do not provide the help they need."

WHAT HOUNSLOW COUNCIL SAID

Chris Hogan: "The inspectors liked what we're doing. We just hadn't been doing it for long enough when they visited. In the last two to three months we've intensified our outreach service to older young people with problems at home. When families are struggling, really assertive work with them and their children can help them continue to care."

WHAT INSPECTORS SAID

"Although children and young people are safe, they do not always get the support they need quickly enough. When agencies are involved in protecting children the written plans they follow are not focused enough on key actions. They do not always help children and families understand what needs to change to make them safe and are not always clear and measurable."

WHAT HOUNSLOW COUNCIL SAID

Chris Hogan: "We are putting together an action plan based around doing things more quickly and getting more detail in some of the assessment reports but these are not huge changes because they (inspectors) haven't said children are unsafe or don't see their social workers enough."

WHAT INSPECTORS SAID

"Too many looked after children do not get the qualifications they could achieve and too many young people leaving care do not go into further education or get jobs."

WHAT HOUNSLOW COUNCIL SAID

Chris Hogan: "We're ramping up the apprenticeship scheme, on which we're working with colleges across the borough. Children who have been in care are ambitious and are encouraged to succeed but some of these young people are coming into care quite close to adulthood. Young people in care have coaching and after-school classes. Their results are on a par with those of children in care nationally. There is still a gap between the results of children in and out of care but that's because the latter do so well in Hounslow."

WHAT INSPECTORS SAID

"Children and young people are not always adopted quickly enough. Sometimes it takes too long for the local authority to match children to adopters."

WHAT HOUNSLOW COUNCIL SAID

Lily Bath: "Some of the children have quite serious disabilities and it can take a little bit longer to find the right family. We have had no adoption break-downs in the last four years, which is something we're very proud of. We do need more families willing to adopt and we are spreading the net far and wide (to find them)."

WHAT INSPECTORS SAID

"Children, young people and their families... have good relationships with their social workers and others who support and care for them. Importantly, these relationships last over the time the help and support is needed."

WHAT HOUNSLOW COUNCIL SAID

Lily Bath: "In spite of the budget reductions we've had to make, we have invested in front line teams here and reduced the caseload of our social workers. It's not just about getting the numbers in, either; it's about getting social workers of the right quality. The relationships social workers have with people are excellent."