OFSTED inspectors have rated private foster care in North Yorkshire as “good” and say the service has made significant improvements.

The county council has become the first authority in the country to receive this high a rating for the service focusing on vulnerable young people.

Private foster carers look after someone else's child full-time, for more than 28 days and are not the parent or a close relative.

If a child is in a private fostering arrangement, the county council must be told so that it can check it is suitable for the child.

The authority’s children’s services chief and Northallerton councillor Tony Hall said: “Privately fostered children and young people can be amongst the most vulnerable young people in the UK, so we are very pleased the Ofsted inspectors said that our awareness raising activities are effective and that people understand their duty to get in touch with us.”

More North Yorkshire County Council News