Schools refer nearly 5,000 more pupils to social services
Latest Government data has revealed that schools are referring more vulnerable children to social care services, with more than 119,000 cases last year.
In 2017-18, schools were responsible for referring 119,030 children in need to social care services, an increase of nearly 4,500 compared with the previous year.
This was 18.2% of of the total referrals to children’s social services in England in 2017-18, a 0.5 percentage point increase on 2016-17, when schools made 114,530 referrals.
Pupils are said to be “in need” if they are assessed as needing social care services to achieve a “reasonable standard of health or development”, or to prevent significant or further harm happening to them. This includes children with disabilities.
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