There were 903 local authority care applications last month, the highest figure recorded since Cafcass began collecting comparable data in 2001.
This is the first time the number of care applications has topped the 900 mark in one month.
The average number of monthly care applications for this financial year now stands at 840, up from an average of 747 per month in 2010/11, and 723 in 2009/10. In 2008, the average number of monthly care applications stood at 508.
Overall this year, care applications are 12 per cent higher than last year’s figures.
Anthony Douglas, chief executive of Cafcass, said agencies "are showing a lower tolerance for poor parenting" and are working more quickly to make sure that children are removed from deeply damaging households.
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