Dorset is to investigate the reasons behind children in the county coming into care – and may take lessons from other authorities on how to reduced the figures.

Senior managers will travel to Leeds in the coming days to look at how the council there has managed to keep more children with their families.

Dorset is currently in the bottom ten local authorities for placing children in care more than 20 miles away from their homes. More than 100 are now being looked after in neighbouring counties.

Overall Dorset Council has almost 430 children in its care with the rate having increased from 44.4 per 10,000 in 2013 to 62.7 per 10,000 in April 2019. The rate is above the south west average, although remains just below the national average.

Throughout 2018 a total of 650 children were looked after during the year – with 170 coming into care and 202 leaving care, although many of these were care leavers reaching the age of 18.

Dorset also has a lower percentage of children returned to their parents, 24.3 per cent, compared to 32.7 per cent nationally. Of the 2018 cohort which ceased to be looked after 34.8 per cent were adopted or became the subject of a special guardianship order, or residence order.

For the majority of those in care 70 per cent had remained in the same placement for two years or more – but 7 per cent of children had three placements or more.

A report to Tuesday’s corporate parenting board noted: “The proportion of children subject to a care order has increased from 37% in 2014 to 65% in 2018. The population of children in care has both increased, and has become more static.”

It also notes that nearly a third of all those coming into care are 10-15 years old, which rises to 44 per cent when the over 16s are added: “This is an age group where early help, edge of care, and diversionary services could have an effect in avoiding care,” said the report.

Report author Stuart Riddle said that the council needs to question whether more could be done to support parents in keeping their children with them and says that there is some evidence, from academic studies, that a change in policy or culture within local authorities has altered the figures, rather than a rise in complexity and need, with social workers reacting to national concerns, especially following high profile cases which has led to changes in their own perceptions of risk.

He says there is also a strong link between areas of deprivation and adverse life chances – although the rates of intervention in these areas differ around the country. He concludes that whatever happens Dorset needs to do more to bring itself back in line with the figures of neighbouring counties, or to better them.

“Dorset is currently in the bottom ten local authorities in England for the number of children placed more than twenty miles from home. While it is sometimes necessary to place children some distance from their home, either for their own protection or to access specialist services, in most cases, placement closer to home will enable a child to maintain contact with family and friends, continue at their existing school, and continue access to any specialist support services.”

Mr Riddle, one of the council’s senior managers, said that while reducing the number of children coming into care could result in financial savings but that was not the driving factor : ”It’s about the right to a family life as embedded in the Children’s Act…saying that we should not interfere unless there is a compelling argument that we can make life better.”

Dorchester councillor Richard Biggs said the county had committed some ‘own goals’ in the past with the closure of youth centres and its residential homes for children.

“We hear a lot about early intervention, but it’s not really joined up, it’s dis-jointed and needs a co-ordinated approach,” he said.

Director of children’s services Sarah Parker said that although she and colleagues will visit Leeds to look at what they had achieved she did not necessarily believe that their approach could be transferred to Dorset and said that there was no ‘golden bullet’ to solve what were complex issues.

“But what we will look at is funding and the relationship with partner organisations which will be one of our key issues over the next six months,” she said.

Among the ideas which may be investigated further is the involvement of wider family members where children are at risk of coming into care and the role of schools with the launch of a new ‘school voice’ initiative in the autumn.

Cllr Ryan Holloway (Wareham) said he believed more work needed to be done with schools, including pre-schools and nurseries, which he said we on the front line of spotting the early signs of problems.

Committee chair Toni Coombs said much of what she had heard highlighted the importance of appropriate intervention at the earliest possible stage.