Fall in number of vulnerable children in care in Norfolk
Multi-million pound programme helping to reduce number of children in care.
Last updated 15th Dec 2020
New statistics show that a five-year programme to transform support for children and young people in enabling more youngsters in Norfolk to remain with their families.
The figures show that up until 31st Marsh 2020 there were 1,106 children under the age of 18 being looked after in Norfolk, which means 64 in every 10,000 children.
That compares to the national figure which is 67 in every 10,000.
That's also down 10 percent from the 1,227 being looked after in Norfolk in January 2019.
Norfolk County Council think it's down to its five-year transformation programme - which it's currently two years into.
The programme aims to provide support to families earlier and assist them to stay together by increasing direct work with them and their wider family network, and providing more services to give the right help when it's needed.
Councillor John Fisher, who's the Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said: "We have seen a steady and measured reduction in the number of Looked After Children in Norfolk since the start of 2019.
“This is a result of stable leadership, purposeful action, and additional investment in strengthening practice and new edge of care services as part of our transformation programme, which means we are more often successfully keeping families together safely and sustainably.
“We know that children are generally happier and achieve more when they can safely live with their families, so this work is really making a difference to their lives.
“It is really encouraging to see our transformation work delivering such important results for children – particularly as demand continues to grow nationally.”