Vulnerable children in Doncaster abusing drugs and alcohol

Authorities in the area have flagged nearly 1,000 concerns about children abusing alcohol or drugs over the last four years, according to Department for Education data.

Charity Barnardo's says more should be done to tackle the "alarming" issue of drug and alcohol use among children referred to social care services across England.

Figures show in Doncaster 208 concerns about child-related alcohol misuse and 710 cases relating to drug abuse were identified during assessments of children in need between 2017-18 and 2020-21.

In the latest year, assessors flagged 261 concerns about childhood substance misuse – 205 cases involving a youngster's drug use, and 56 their misuse of alcohol.

That figure was up from 198 the year before and higher than the 190 cases recorded in 2018-19, before the coronavirus pandemic.

The total number of concerns does not necessarily equate to the number of children involved, as a child could be recorded as needing support for both drug and alcohol use at the same assessment.

Concerns about young people aged over 18, who are still receiving post-care support from children's social care services, are included in the figures.

Across England, concerns around a child's drug or alcohol use were identified 39,000 times at assessments in 2020-21 – down seven per cent from the year before, but up nine per cent compared to 2018-19.

Barnardo's interim co-CEO Michelle Lee-Izu said the figures were alarming and that the impact of the pandemic on young people's mental health could have contributed to their use of drugs and alcohol.

Calling for increased funding for mental health support in schools, she said: “To counter this, and help children and young people cope with the trauma, loss and adversity they have experienced, we need a radically different approach to ensure they get the support they need."

National figures could be higher, as the pandemic contributed to a seven per cent drop in referrals about children in need in 2020-21, mainly driven by a fall in referrals from schools, according to the DfE.

In Doncaster social services received 4,870 referrals about children in need last year – 16 per cent more than 4,193 in 2019-20.

There were 2,482 children in need in the area as of the end of March, the figures show.

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