Many councils are seeing an overall increase in safeguarding activity in response to the “multi-faceted challenges” children and families face, according to a new report by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS).
ADCS’s Safeguarding Pressures research draws on evidence from 125 councils, covering 84 per cent of England’s child population, and covers the first two years of the pandemic period. It found that, while most councils experienced a reduction in demand for their services during the first few months of the pandemic, safeguarding activity had now increased.
Among the findings, the report revealed that there were 2.77 million initial contacts received by children’s social care in 2021/22, an increase of 10 per cent in the past two years.
An estimated 282,320 early help assessments were completed in 2021/22, a 16 per cent increase in the past two years, while there were 650,270 referrals made to children’s social care in 2021/22, an increase of 21 per cent since 2007/08, when this research began.
Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “These figures highlight the increasing numbers of vulnerable children in need of vital support and the huge pressures on council services.
“It is absolutely critical that the Government ensures that children’s services are adequately funded, so councils can meet this rising demand and ensure children and their families get the support they need, as soon as they need it.”