More children under council care as Yorkshire town battles to reverse '˜two decades of failure'

The number of “looked-after children” in the town has risen from 407 at the end of March 2016 to 500, according to the authority.

But the authority’s director of children’s services, Ian Thomas, says the increase is a result of the council’s drive to transform its protection of vulnerable children, after the department was branded “inadequate” by Ofsted in 2014.

He said: “Our looked-after children population is increasing. That’s in response to our improved processes. We are getting better at identifying the risk and taking remedial action.

“If we sharpen child protection, we really identify the risk much earlier and on some occasions, when it is far too dangerous for the child to stay with their family, we will facilitate the removal of the child through 
courts.

“Child sex exploitation (CSE) happened on an unprecedented scale in Rotherham from 1997 to 2013. But it wasn’t just CSE that needed fixing, we needed to improve all of our services for vulnerable children.

“It is in response to poor social work that goes back 20 years. The Rotherham challenge is about turning around two decades of failure.”

Mr Thomas said the rise also reflected the national picture, which has seen the numbers of children being taken into care are at record levels and rising, leading to fears that the system could soon be at breaking point. The majority enter care due to abuse or neglect and when compared with their peers, they often have poorer outcomes in relation to education and their emotional and psychological wellbeing.

He said: “There’s a national story to tell; however in Rotherham our situation is compounded by the fact we had to change our child protection response. This is highlighted by the increase in numbers and efforts we are making to recruit more social workers to feed that demand.”

Rotherham found itself at the centre of a national scandal after a report by Professor Alexis Jay, published in 2014, revealed the shocking scale of child grooming in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, with 1,400 children abused as local authorities failed to tackle the problem.

The council has already boosted its number of social workers by more than 50 as part of its overhaul of children’s services, and now it wants to hire around 15 more specifically to look after children in care.

Mr Thomas said: “It is a really rewarding vocation to support some of the most vulnerable children in society to make the transition into adulthood successful.”

Rebecca Stocks has worked for the council for many years as a social worker, spending the last three in a looked-after children (LAC) team, before being promoted to an advanced practitioner.

She said: “When I worked in other areas of social work I found it frustrating that I never really got to know the children for longer and to build up proper relationships. That’s why I applied to work in the LAC team.

“Now I really get to know the children I work with and share experiences with them that I never had the opportunity to do before and this is really rewarding. It is essential for social workers in the LAC teams to build relationships with each child as this is central to being able to ensure they are safe, well and getting the best they can out of life.”