DORSET has seen the second steepest percentage fall in the UK of children’s social workers between 2014 and 2015.

Only Havering in east London exceeded Dorset’s 26 per cent reduction in full-time equivalent staff, which saw numbers fall from 244 on September 30, 2014, to 181 on September 30, 2015.

The drop included 29 leavers in the year up to September 2015, compared to just 12 the year before, according to data released by the Department for Education.

That resulted in a total of 44 vacancies in September 2015, up from 9 a year earlier.

On September 30, 2015, agency workers were being relied upon to fill 17 of these vacancies.

However, regionally, the number of children’s social workers rose in the South West of England, from 2,330 in September 2014 to 2,430 a year later.

Despite this, the number of vacancies also went up in the South West, from 290 to 530.

An NSPCC spokesman in South West England said: “Social workers play a vital role in protecting children in communities up and down the country and whilst high profile cases may be adding to the pressure felt by some in the profession, they also emphasise the essential role that social workers can play in preventing tragedies occurring.

“At a time when the number of referrals to external agencies is on the rise, Local Authorities need to ensure that any professional vacancies don’t enable children who are in need of protection to slip through the net.

“In 2014/15, ChildLine made 3,714 referrals on behalf of 3,379 children to external agencies – a staggering 72 per cent increase on the previous year.

“In addition, the high turnover of social workers in some councils is a worrying trend. Vulnerable children can understandably have a range of complex problems as a result of abuse or neglect and often rely on consistent and familiar contact with child protection professionals.”

The NSPCC runs support services for parents, children and professionals across the country.

As well as on-hand support, which includes a helpline, the charity carries our research to measure outcomes for children and families and advise on ethics.

They also work with schools to advise and raise awareness of safeguarding.

The Childline helpline has been running for 30 years. Call 0800 1111 or, for parents, 0808 800 5000.