Unacceptable delays in seeing Brighton and Hove children in need placed them at risk, according to an official watchdog.
His findings are due to be discussed by councillors today.
Another criticism was that a significant number of initial assessments by social workers locally were being signed off by managers as complete before the child had been seen.
And some assessments of children in need were carried out by unqualified staff from Brighton and Hove City Council contrary to the rules.
These were three “areas for development”, according to Ofsted, which highlighted six others, including the need for a consistently better standard for child protection plans.
The Ofsted inspection was unannounced – part of a new regime brought in after the death of Baby P, aka Baby Peter or Peter Connelly.
The lead inspector Paul d’Inverno has since written to the council spelling out his concerns.
He noted, however, that the council had been successful at recruiting permanent social workers to the referral and assessment team.
This helped it to reduce the reliance on agency staff and increased the stability of the workforce.
Mr d’Inverno’s letter is on the agenda for the Children and Young People’s Trust meeting at Hove Town Hall today.
