Ofsted has reported an increasing number of councils providing excellent children's services, but there are still large variations in quality sector-wide.
The watchdog's annual report on children's services rated 28 authorities as excellent, including Camden LBC and Lincolnshire CC. Ofsted also found 71 councils that have performing well, and 33 as providing adequate services.
Fifteen authorities were rated as performing poorly, including Birmingham City Council and West Sussex CC.
A total of 25 councils improved their overall performance, while seven saw their rating drop.
'However, the pattern of improvement is still too variable,' Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Miriam Rosen said. 'The challenge now is for all authorities to aspire to provide the highest level of services for all children and young people in their community.'
