INSPECTORS say Surrey County Council is not yet making ‘significant progress’ in improving children’s services, but have highlighted social workers are feeling positive about improvement plans in place.

That was the finding from the first monitoring visit from Ofsted inspectors since the council’s services were rated inadequate earlier this year.

Two inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education visited the failing department on September 11 and 12 to review the progress for children subject to protection plans and those considered “in need”, as well as check up on recommendations put in place after the inspection in March.

In a report of their findings iisued on October 4, they said: “The local authority is not yet making sufficient progress in improving services for its children and young people in the areas addressed during the visit.”

Inspectors Nick Stacey and Steve Lowe found that “too many children continue to be removed from child protection plans before there is substantial evidence that the risks they are facing have reduced or their circumstances have improved.”

But they did praise the ‘highly experienced’ senior management team brought in by newly appointed director of children’s services Dave Hill and found they understood the ‘scale of poor practice and outcomes’ of vulnerable children in Surrey.

They found social workers’ morale was positive, adding they were, “enthused by the proposed practice improvements.”

The inspectors said social workers welcomed a new way of working that would reduce changes of case workers for the families involved, give them smaller workloads and allow for more direct work with children and adult carers in smaller teams.

They did, however, find little evidence of ‘dynamic, purposeful inter-agency work’ and noted strategy meetings were rarely attended by anyone other than the police and social care – and that a school or health visitor, who is the source of the child protection concern, did not attend.

The letter of findings from the first report has been sent to the Department for Education. Further monitoring visits will be held over the course of the year to check up on progress.

A Surrey County Council spokesman said: “We know there is much to do to ensure our services for children are the very best they can be and we fully accept these findings.

“Ofsted recognised we’ve put in place a new, highly experienced senior team to lead improvements and we’re focused on building on the work that’s already been started to ensure everything possible is done to support and care for children in Surrey.”

*Surrey’s chief executive Joanna Killian brought in Dave Hill as director of children services after the Ofsted inspector’s visit in April and just days before the report with an inadequate rating was published.

Jacquie Burke arrived in Surrey as the interim director of change for safeguarding and help, in May.

Mr Hill said: “Headteachers have got every right to feel hacked off with the county council because we haven’t been achieving what they needed.

“We have got to fundamentally fix the Children and Adolescent Mental Services (CAMS).

“It needs to be turned on its head.”