Vulnerable children were not checked on until Ofsted inspectors raised the alarm.

Medway Council is at risk of losing control of its children's services after it was rated 'inadequate' following an Ofsted inspection in July.

It was rated as 'inadequate' in three of Ofsted's four listed categories and deputy director of children's services, Ann Domeney, resigned immediately after the report was published.

It outlined how vulnerable children were left at risk of harm and senior leaders were unaware of the extent of the failures, despite an almost £1 million overspent on their services.

The Department of Education appointed an experienced commissioner, Eleanor Brazil, to scrutinise the local authority.

At the a meeting of the council's Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee last night, councillors were been briefed about the timescale of checks being carried out by the DofE.

Director of children's service Ian Sutherland informed councillors Mrs Brazil will be spending two days a week in Gun Wharf until the end of November.

The council has to submit an action plan to Ofsted by November 28, and Mrs Brazil will then submit her findings to the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Children and Families by December 1, the result of which will be published two weeks later.

After this, Ofsted will carry out an action planning visit and the council will be subject to quarterly visits, and a re-inspection after around two years.

The report also found that there had been "unreliable audit findings and an over-optimistic self-assessment".

Many of the councillors at the meetings expressed their dismay at the findings and not being aware of the department's failings.

Cllr Pat Cooper (Lab) said: "It seems that from the recommendations from the lead inspector that we did not know.

"To read lines like, 'Overoptimistic self-assessment', it seems not.

"Also reading that senior leaders did not know about the extent of the failures to help and protect children is a damning statement."

Mr Sutherland committed to share reports with the committee, saying: "Certainly we know that the moderation process has meant that we have a more robust audit process, I think we are already seeing that improving."

Six inspectors visited Medway between July 15 and 26 during which they found significant issues around excessive workloads for staff, with some looking after as many as 55 children.

The report also highlighted that 74 children from 43 families, were either at risk of significant harm or were experiencing unacceptable delays in progressing work.

Ofsted formally raised concern about 21 children, and in two cases, social workers were sent out to check on those children, after those concerns were raised.

Cllr Elizabeth Turpin (Con) asked how the recruitment of social workers was being addressed, and Mr Sutherland said that his department was committed to a long-term recruitment strategy which included carrying out a survey to try and find out how best they can retain social workers.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway