The number of child protection enquiries reached record levels in 2021-22, as referrals to children’s social care surged in the wake of the removal of Covid restrictions.Social workers carried out 10% more enquiries (217,800) under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 than in 2020-21, the first rise after three years of falling numbers and the highest total ever recorded.
The Department for Education’s annual children in need statistics also showed year-on-year increases in the number of children in need at the end of the year (up 4.1%) and assessments during 2021-22 (up 3.1%), on the back of a surge in referrals, which rose by 8.8% on 2020-21, to 650,270.Referrals had fallen by 7% from 2019-20 to 2020-21 on the back of a drop of a third in concerns submitted by schools, in apparent consequence of coronavirus-linked closures. However, notifications from schools rose by 59%, from 81,180 to 129,090, in 2021-22, in the wake of the removal of restrictions.
