Sandwell Council has made a formal complaint about a critical Ofsted report into the way the council looks after children in its care.

The council said some parts of the report were inaccurate and it was unfair a second inspection had been so quickly.

Head of children’s services, Simon Hackett, said: ‘The report itself says we have turned a corner by undertaking wholesale system change rather than the piecemeal approach of the past.

‘It also praises our ambition and says we have built on a firm foundation to drive forward critical and widespread changes.

‘How then can it judge the service as inadequate overall or say senior leadership is failing?’

Since the resignations of director of children's services Helen Smith and Cllr Bob Badham, Sandwell has partnered with private sector firm iMPOWER in an effort to overhaul its children's services.

But the report from Ofsted said the council’s children’s service was ineffective, and also criticised its leadership and management.