Social workers are to be placed in schools in a bid to reduce the number of referrals for specialist help.

Staffordshire County Council has been awarded nearly £300,000 to introduce the trial scheme to identify need early and provide necessary support.

Mark Sutton, Staffordshire County Council's Cabinet member for Children and Young People, said: "We are committed to keeping families together when it is safe to do so by focusing on prevention, early intervention and keeping more children out of care.

"The social workers will be well placed to build relationships with young people and their families and intervene proactively in ways which may not otherwise be possible.

"Being in school will help identify risks and need at the earliest opportunity and let us provide support to reduce the number of children being referred for Child Protection and Child in Need concerns."

One secondary school will be chosen in each of Staffordshire's eight boroughs and districts and the social worker may also work with the secondary's feeder primary schools.

As well as integrating into a school's daily life, social workers will build up the school's knowledge of what support is available to children and families in the area and further afield, as well as multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.

Staffordshire is one of 21 local authorities selected for the extended national trial, which will run from September until next summer and is a 'scale-up' of a pilot scheme conducted by 'What Works for Children's Social Care', an independent charity promoting evidence-based best practice.

Results at each of the chosen schools will be compared to a nearby school that does not have a dedicated social worker and it's also hoped that underlying trends will be more visible and possible solutions can be shared across the authority.

In the last decade the number of children in Staffordshire who receiving support from children's services has risen from 1,143 to 1,930, while between 2010/11 and 2020/21 the cost to the county council of caring for the most vulnerable children has risen by £50 million to £109.6 million.

Mark Sutton said: "It's pleasing that the Department for Education recognised the quality of the preventative work we're doing here in Staffordshire and chose us as one of a small number of authorities responsible for developing this innovative scheme.

"We already have family support workers based in some Staffordshire schools because we believe that working with them gives us the opportunity to intervene early before problems escalate and reduce risks to young people arising from domestic violence, drug misuse, parental mental ill health and exposure to exploitation.

"All this hopefully adds up to better attendance at school, giving pupils more chance to get a good education and take the opportunities that offers."