Jump in the number of children in care in Northumberland

Council figures show the number of children in care had risen to 442 by the end of December, compared to 390 in 2021.

However, this gives a rate of 76 children in care per 100,000 – the lowest rate in the North East, although still higher than the national average.

Furthermore, the number of children in care at the start of 2021 stood at 440, giving a much smaller increase.

Speaking at the council’s family and children’s services overview and scrutiny committee, children’s improvement and development manager Brian Smeaton said: “There has been a slowdown of children exiting care, particularly being adopted or subject to a special guardianship order.”

In 2022, 11% of the 143 children who left care were adopted – higher than the national average of 10%. A further 19% of children were subject to a special guardianship order, again higher than the national average (13%).

A special guardianship order is usually granted to a family member, who will take on parental responsibility for the child. This allows them to make parenting decisions in the interests of the child, but does not have the separation of family ties that adoption may bring.

The report, on the council’s safeguarding activity trends, stated that re-referrals to children’s social work services remained low, which indicated the “right service at the right time”. It also said cases were responded to appropriately and in a timely manner “where children are at risk of significant harm” and child protection plans were “reviewed regularly”.