Children's services at Surrey County Council were rated "inadequate" in June 2015, after inspectors flagged up serious concerns about how it deals with child sexual exploitation.
Inspectors, conducting the ninth quarterly monitoring visit since then, said the local authority has made some progress to implement the necessary improvements, but the pace of practice improvements for children in need of help and protection is "too slow".
"The local authority is taking too long to address critical weaknesses," a letter outlining the findings of the visit says.
"Where changes have occurred, they are very recent and remain fragile. Too much social work practice remains of a poor standard."
Inspectors said that weaknesses in managerial oversight at all levels, including by child protection chairs, mean that deficits in practice go unchallenged.
"Consequently, children's needs for help and protection are not consistently met," the letter states.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
