´óÏó´«Ã½

A project that aims to avoid children being taken into care has been awarded £1m of funding.

The money will allow Dundee City Council to develop a three-year scheme in the Lochee areas of the city.

The aim is to work with primary schools and other partners, identifying issues in families that lead to children going into care.

It is part of a wider £2m partnership in Scotland between Children in Need and The Hunter Foundation.

Described as having a "holistic" approach, the project will engage with families, local communities and schools to establish support networks.

If successful, Dundee City Council will consider how the programme might be rolled out across the city.

Six primary schools - Ancrum Road, Camperdown, St Ninian's, St Mary's, St Clement's and Tayview - will be the first involved with the project.

The council's children and families committee convener Gregor Murray said: "This is an exciting and innovative development that will build on our work around the approach of Getting it Right for Every Child.

"I would like to thank the Hunter Foundation and ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need for their confidence in working with the council and other partners.

"This new project will see an active engagement with the community to help improve the lives of vulnerable children and their families."

Sir Tom Hunter, one of Scotland's richest men who set up a philanthropic foundation 20 years ago said: "We need to switch from treatment of a problem to preventing it in the first place, the human and economic cost of a young person entering the care system is often very poor.

"We spend a lot and it shows we have a heart but the outcome for too many kids is just not good enough.

"So we will work with enlightened local authorities and charities that recognise we need to build the solution up from the young person, the family and the community, understanding top down services are simply inefficient and often don't work; remodelling delivery as we go."