DOZENS of West Berkshire children who are in care missed out on face-to-face visits from their social workers during the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

West Berkshire Council aims to ensure that at least 95 per cent of children in care are visited by a social worker every six weeks.

But figures published by West Berkshire Council show that between April and June in 2020 less than half (63) of the 150 children in care received a face-to-face visit.

And between July and August, around 85 per cent (132) if the 156 children in care were visited in person.

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The council says social workers were unable to meet with all the children during that six-month period due to Covid-19 restrictions, but they checked up on them with phone and video calls.

Catalin Bogos, the council’s performance and risk manager, said: “Some of the visits were conducted virtually.

“I know they have put in place extensive arrangements to deal with the restrictions and mitigate the challenges.

“It’s not the same if you cannot go to where the children live and conduct reviews.”

He said risk assessments are carried out to determine which children should be prioritised for a visit.

He added: “There have been quite a substantial number of face-to-face visits, that are based on risk assessments.”

His comments came at a meeting of the council's Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission on February 9.