RED BANK Community Home, the Newton secure unit which housed evil child killer Jon Venables, has been praised for its high standard of care in a Government report.

The home, which houses up to 39 children and young people, was home to Venables for eight years after he was convicted, along with his friend Robert Thompson, of the savage murder of toddler James Bulger. Venables and Thompson have been released and have been given new identities.

It also housed notorious child killer Mary Bell, who was convicted of the murder of two young boys in 1968. Earlier this year she and her daughter were granted lifelong anonymity by a High Court judge.

In the report, staff and managers were singled out for praise for their day-to-day care of the young people and commended on their commitment to continuing service improvement.

The statement also focused on significant improvements to social services provision to children across the St Helens borough. Inspectors, who have been assessing a number of social services across the country, found that the life chances of children in the borough have been improved following changed social work services.

The report revealed that 100 per cent of children's referrals were dealt with on time and that 92 per cent of social workers had 10 or more years' experience.

New teams are now prioritising the needs of looked after children and moves are afoot to provide improved support for social workers.

Staff are also working with young people to involve them in planning services and an agreement has been drawn up with Barnardo's to set up an independent visitors scheme in October.