THERE has been a “huge” increase in the number of struggling Wokingham families that require support to ensure their children are safe.

New figures show there were 395 referrals to Wokingham Borough Council’s Early Help team between October and December in 2020 – 144 more than in the same period in 2019.

The team, which looks to resolve family issues before they deteriorate and protect children from harm, has assessed 303 of those cases so far.

Social workers refer families to the team to reduce the risk of harm, neglect, isolation, exploitation, criminal behaviour or a family breakdown.

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According to a council report, the caseload for Early Help workers in Wokingham is “at an unprecedented high”.

At a council meeting on February 2, Cllr Pure Bray said: “My instinct is to say this huge increase may be the first sign of people reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic and to the issues that have arisen.

“Is that actually your feeling in Children’s Services – this is what we might have expected to happen, given everything that’s going on in the country?”

Adam Davis, assistant director of Children’s Services, said the team is trying to work out what has caused this large increase in referrals and whether there are any “themes”.

Mr Davis said no serious concerns have been raised about the high staff workload and the quality of the assessments they are carrying out.

He also pointed out the number of children referred to the council’s Social Care Front Door, due to concerns about their health or wellbeing, has fallen.

Figures show there were 297 referrals in Wokingham between October and December in 2020 – 198 fewer than in the same period in 2019.

Mr Davis said: “I think all our staff working in this situation are very aware of the impact it’s having on people.

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“It’s something we very conscious of, across the board, about the impact of additional pressures working in this way can have.

“We were expecting an increase on the Front Door, but this (Early Help) is where the increase has come. At the moment, we’re managing that capacity but it’s something we have to keep under review.

“It will be interesting to see what the outcome of these Early Help cases, in terms of how many of those will be moving through the system.”