The assessment, based on an inspection which took place in September, rated the overall effectiveness of safeguarding in Surrey as adequate.
Workforce planning at the council has improved, meaning there are fewer social work vacancies, more reasonable caseloads, better management oversight and higher staff retention levels.
But the watchdog did find several areas which are still lacking.
Surrey’s local safeguarding children board is not yet efficient or effective and work is needed to help the board carry out its scrutiny functions.
Not all partner agencies fully understand thresholds for access to children’s social care, joint working needs to be strengthened and professionals need to do more to collect and respond to the views of young service users.
To help drive improvements in these areas, Ofsted is recommending that the council immediately review the membership, structure and functions of the local safeguarding children board.
The watchdog also wants the safeguarding board to do more to involve police officers in meetings and the council has been instructed to promote its complaints and representation process to looked after children as a matter of urgency.
Within the next three months, the inspectorate has asked the council to work with local partners to clarify the thresholds for access to children’s services, while also reviewing the number of children subject to a child protection plan to make sure thresholds are consistently applied.
Council leader Dr Andrew Povey said: "We are committed to openness and transparency and I feel it is right that local taxpayers should be able to read this report. It is pleasing that the inspectors have recognised the steady, sustained progress made since 2008 in ensuring the safety of vulnerable and looked after children in Surrey. Their care is of paramount importance to the council and to our partner agencies and only the highest standards in all areas will be acceptable to us.
"More can be done and will be done to improve services to children, particularly by making sure we all work better together. We won’t rest until all children in Surrey are receiving outstanding services."
Meanwhile, Ofsted has also published the results of an inspection into safeguarding and services for looked-after children on the Isle of Wight.
It rated the island’s safeguarding provision as adequate overall, stating that the needs of children and young people are prioritised adequately.
Despite this, the watchdog found that senior leadership changes in children’s social care and frontline social work vacancies mean that progress in areas such as child and adolescent mental health services has been slow.
