Every night children's social care teams receive scores of referrals connected to domestic violence. Greater awareness and systematic reporting by police has led to "a significant increase", according to the London Safeguarding Children Board, a trend repeated across the country.
But are children's social workers adequately prepared to identify and assess risks, and ensure vulnerable children and families get the right support?
Nushra Mansuri, joint England manager for the British Association of Social Workers, has her doubts. "University courses vary and some people are not coming away with an informed focus on the child protection issues involved in domestic violence."
Post-qualifying training also varies, she says. "People coming into children's services need really good induction and training and that's not happening. We need much more focus on domestic violence."
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