Responding to new research from Action for Children which shows that young people referred to social care during childhood were twice as likely to miss out on a grade 4 or higher in either GCSE English or maths, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“This is an important piece of research that policy makers need to take notice of. A referral to social care is nearly always a sign that a child needs urgent and specialist support.

“Sadly, too often that help isn’t forthcoming due to a lack of resources and capacity. We also hear from school leaders that in many places the thresholds for intervention are higher than they have ever been, making it harder for young people and their families to access to the support they need.

“The number of children not meeting thresholds for services creates an increasing challenge for schools, leaving them attempting to support children who really need specialist help from other professionals. It is imperative that the capacity of children’s services grows to support those children who need it.”