 not show signs of returning to pre-pandemic levels (Roberts et al., 2021). Survey respondents and DCS interviews alike described increased numbers of infants at risk of, or having experienced, serious harm – in particular neglect and physical injury – related to parental substance misuse and mental health needs. In addition to the issues of housing, poverty and family stress, respondents linked this to new parents lacking in their own experiences of ‘good enough’ parenting coupled with reductions in help and support available. For instance, respondents highlighted under-resourced and understaffed health visiting services, which reduced the line of sight on infants in the earliest weeks of life, including in some areas overstretched health visitor teams relying on virtual contact rather than home visits. 20 Responses to address parental needs shared by respondents included: • The strengthening of assessment tools and practice approaches to recognise the impact for children of adults’ Class A drug use and dependency • Use of online methods to support training offers to education providers and other partners • Introducing the option for children, young people and parents/carers to access therapeutic support virtually using MS Teams where they request this. 2.7 Harms outside the home and online Figure 3: Early help assessments completed in the year with the reason for involvement being missing, CSE, trafficking or gangs Source: SP9 respondents. The England number is extrapolated from 48 local authority responses based on the proportion of the England population. Nearly four-fifths (79%) of survey respondents and many DCS interviewees had seen an increase in safeguarding demand driven by extra-familial harms. …you could link that to class and to disconnection from a communi