During the lastest national lockdown, from January 25 to 31, the total number of referrals was 23 per cent lower than the usual number for the time of year, Department for Education figures, camparing the same week this year against a three-year average, show.
While the average number of referrals measured during this week between 2017 and 2020 was 12,300, this fell to 9,510 this year in the last week of January.
School closures is among factors responsible for the dip, according to DfE.
Referrals from schools were down 57 per cent. In addition, referrals from the police were down, by 10 per cent and those from individuals were 22 per cent down, the figures show.
They also highlight that the number of residential children’s care workers who have been unable to work due to the Covid-19 has fallen.
This dipped from 21 per cent to 17 per cent during the latter part of January. DfE notes though that as some councils employ small residential care workforces any small change in staff availability will result in a large change in the proportion who can work.
The proportion of children’s social workers not working due to Covid-19 has stablised, the figures also reveal.
Four per cent of councils report that more than one in ten of their social workers were unavailable from February 8 to 10. This compares with a low of one per cent in December 2020 and a peak of 13 per cent in May last year.
Meanwhile, the figures show that the number of looked-after children increased by two per cent between February 8 to 10, compared to the same period last year.
However, throughout the pandemic the total number of children who started to be looked-after is down by 28 per cent compared with the previous three years. The number of children who came into care during the pandemic was 7,820.
The total number of children on a child protection plan has remained the same as last year’s level, the figures also found.
The figures have been compiled to help the DfE better understand the impact of the pandemic on children’s social care. Councils are being asked to report to the government every two weeks on issues such as their contact with looked after children, details around their workforce as well as pressures in the care system.
Tulip Siddiq, Labour’s shadow minister for Children and Early Years, said: “Vulnerable children face greater risks during lockdown, so it is extremely concerning to see this decline in referrals to children’s support services.
“The government has clearly not learnt lessons from the first lockdown when many vulnerable children were left without support."
