An inspection carried out over a two-week period in September found that Durham County Council had taken "swift and decisive action to strengthen services" with "solid improvements" in many services areas, including for children in care.
Inspectors praised the quality of practice for children in care highlighting that "children influence leaders at all levels" and impacted on providing good services for looked-after children and care leavers.
They also found children and young people were benefiting from "access to effective advocacy" and the need for an independent visitor was "well considered" in children's views.
The council, which received an "outstanding" rating for its child protection in 2012, was handed a "requires improvement" rating for its children's services following a visit by the inspectorate in 2016.
Since then, there had been a "deterioration" in the impact of some services and "substantial work to lay the foundations for positive change had not yet delivered the consistent impact required", the inspection report states.
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