Children in need: A focus on disability
Analysis of the characteristics and journeys of children in need with a disability, including children looked after and care leavers
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Headline facts and figures
CIN at 31 March with a recorded disability
58,100
14% of all CIN, broadly stable since 2015
CLA at 31 March with a recorded disability
9,410
11% of all CLA, broadly stable since 2015
17-21 year old care leavers with a recorded disability
6,700
13% of all 17-21 year old care leavers, down from 15% in 2016
22-25 year old care leavers with a recorded disability
5,820
14% of all 22-25 year old care leavers
CIN at 31 March with a recorded disability with an EHC plan
88%
Up from 85% in 2018/19
CIN at 31 March with a recorded disability with autism
46%
Up from 31% in 2015
Unless stated otherwise, Children in Need (CIN) statistics relate to CIN at 31 March 2025, and Children Looked after (CLA) and care leavers statistics relate to CLA and care leavers at 31 March 2024. This is due to disability information for CLA and care leavers being extracted from the longitudinal CIN dataset, an internal dataset that has been updated to 31 March 2024.
- 14% of CIN at 31 March 2025 had a recorded disability and this has remained stable over time (rising from 13% to 14% in the last ten years).
- CIN are slightly more likely to have a recorded disability compared to CLA (11%) and care leavers (13% aged 17 to 21 and 14% aged 22 to 25).
- A large proportion of CIN with a recorded disability had an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan (88%), though CIN without a recorded disability had a higher proportion of children receiving special educational needs (SEN) support (28% compared to 9% of CIN with a recorded disability).
- Autism was the most commonly recorded disability (46% of CIN with a recorded disability), followed by learning disabilities (33%) and behaviour disabilities (20%). Autism has become more commonly recorded among CIN with a recorded disability over time, rising from 31% in 2015.
- A higher proportion of CIN with a recorded disability were male, older and white (compared to CIN without a recorded disability).
- CIN with a recorded disability most commonly had disability or illness identified as their primary need (45%) but there was still a large proportion with a primary need of abuse or neglect (31%).
- A lower proportion of CIN with a recorded disability were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) compared to CIN without a recorded disability (51% vs 66%), suspended (7% vs 16%), permanently excluded (0.3% vs 1%) or persistently absent (40% vs 43%). However, CIN with a recorded disability still had higher rates of FSM eligibility, suspensions, permanent exclusions and persistent absence when compared to the overall pupil population.
- 52% of children who had a learning disability identified by a social worker at the end of assessment, and 47% of children who had a physical disability identified, were not recorded as a disabled child in the CIN census.
- A lower proportion of children with a recorded disability had S47 enquiries - 20% compared to 26% of children without a recorded disability.
- Only 17% of CLA with a recorded disability had disability or illness identified as their primary need. The majority of CLA with a recorded disability had abuse or neglect listed as their primary need (57%).
- A lower proportion of CLA with a recorded disability were in foster placements, compared to CLA without a recorded disability (54% vs 69%). A higher proportion of CLA with a recorded disability were placed in secure homes and children's homes (29% vs 8%).
- A higher proportion of care leavers with a recorded disability were not in education, employment or training (NEET) compared to those without a recorded disability – 43% of 17-21 year old care leavers with a recorded disability were NEET, compared with 36% of care leavers without a recorded disability. This compares to 13% of all 17 to 21 year olds shown in the labour force survey data (opens in new tab)
About these statistics
This ad hoc release contains statistics on children in need (CIN), children looked after (CLA) and care leavers with a recorded disability in England. This includes time series, demographics, journeys through social care, types of disability and additional breakdowns including primary need at assessment, factors identified at the end of assessment, educational outcomes such as absence, suspensions and permanent exclusions, and subnational analysis. Additional breakdowns are explored for CLA and care leavers including placement type and locality, care leaver activity and care leaver accommodation.
The majority of data in this release is drawn from the data collections used in the following statistical releases: Children in need census, Children looked after in England including adoptions (SSDA903) and Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England. It presents breakdowns and analysis not included in these releases. Additional data cleaning focusing on disability-related variables may have resulted in slightly different numbers between publications.
Children in need are a legally defined group of children (under the Children Act 1989 (opens in new tab)), assessed as needing help and protection as a result of risks to their development or health.
Disability information for children in need, children looked after and care leavers is taken from the Children in need census. The Disability Discrimination Act (opens in new tab) defines a disabled person as a person with a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities. The condition must have lasted, or be likely to last, for at least 12 months to be classed as a disability. The Children in need 2025 to 2026 census guide (opens in new tab) outlines how a child is recorded as being disabled and the codes for the possible disability types. All children in need are classified as either having a disability or not having a disability. Where a child is disabled, or becomes disabled at any point during the collection year, all relevant disabilities affecting the child are recorded.
The latest statistics and charts relate to the year ending 31 March 2025. The standard period for data in this release is for the year ending 31 March 2015 to the year ending 31 March 2025, however CLA and Care Leavers statistics are up to year ending 31 March 2024. This is because extracting disability information for these cohorts required linking the CIN and CLA datasets to the Longitudinal CIN Dataset (LCD), an internal dataset that contains data up to 31 March 2024.
Data from March 2020 to March 2022 may have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This potential impact should be taken into consideration when interpreting trends over time.
Children in need
Time series and disability type
Only disabled children who have been assessed as requiring children’s social care services are included in the Children in need collection. All children in need are classified as either having a disability or not having a disability. Where a child is disabled, or becomes disabled at any point during the collection year, all relevant disabilities affecting the child are recorded.
14% (58,100) of children in need (CIN) at 31 March 2025 had a recorded disability. This has remained largely stable since 2015, rising from 13% to 14% in the last two years.
Among CIN with a recorded disability in 2025, autism was the most commonly recorded disability type (46%), followed by learning (33%), behaviour (20%), other disability (19%) and communication (16%).
Autism has become increasingly prevalent among CIN with a recorded disability, rising from 31% in 2015 to 46% in 2025. Over the same period, the percentage of most disability types generally decreased, with learning showing the largest decline from 46% to 33%, although it remained the second most common disability type in 2025. Behaviour and other disability remained comparatively stable throughout this period, with each accounting for around one-fifth of CIN with a recorded disability.
Child characteristics
Sex
Over two thirds (67%) of CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability were male. This is an over-representation when compared to CIN without a recorded disability (53%) and the overall child population (51%, as shown in the latest ONS mid-year population estimates (opens in new tab)).
Compared to all CIN with a recorded disability, males were particularly over-represented among CIN with autism (74%) and behaviour disabilities (73%); females were over-represented in hand function and mobility disabilities (both 41% compared to 33%), as well as ‘other’ disability types (38%).
Age
CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability tended to be older than those without a recorded disability. 76% were aged 10 and over compared to 57% of CIN without a recorded disability and 47% of the overall child population.
Both CIN with and without a recorded disability are getting older over time. In the year ending 31 March 2015, 26% of CIN with a recorded disability were aged 16 and over, compared to 17% of CIN without a recorded disability. In 2025, the equivalent percentages were 32% and 27% respectively.
Ethnicity
A higher proportion of CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability were White (70%) or Asian/Asian British (10%) compared to CIN without a recorded disability (65% White, 8% Asian/Asian British). A lower proportion were from mixed or multiple ethnic groups. Both groups had a similar proportion of Black/African/Caribbean/Black British children (10% of CIN with a recorded disability, 9% of CIN without a recorded disability).
Compared to all CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability, children from a White ethnic background were particularly over-represented among those with a behaviour disability (76%); children from an Asian/Asian British ethnic background were over-represented among those with consciousness, personal care, and mobility disabilities (all 13%), and children from a Black/African/Caribbean/Black British ethnic background were over-represented among those with a hand function disability (15%) or autism (12%).
Primary need at assessment
A social worker determines the child’s primary need at their first assessment. Only one primary need can be reported at this point and is selected from a hierarchical list. In cases where multiple needs are identified, the need highest in the list is reported.
Among CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability, 'Child's disability or illness' was the most commonly recorded primary need (45%), followed by 'Abuse or neglect' (31%). The most common primary need for CIN without a recorded disability was ‘Abuse or neglect’ (63%).
In both groups, the proportion of children with ‘Abuse or neglect’ as their primary need has increased over time. Among CIN at 31 March with a recorded disability, this rose from 18% in 2015 to 31% in 2025. Over the same period, the proportion with ‘Child’s disability or illness’ as their primary need fell from 63% to 45%. This suggests that, compared with previous years, fewer children with a recorded disability are in social care due to disability alone.
In the latest year, 'Child's disability or illness' was the most common primary need among children with all disability types except for behaviour, for which ‘Abuse or neglect’ was the most common.
Factors identified at the end of assessment
Factors identified at the end of assessment are additional factors that social workers record as being relevant in a case.
These figures are based on assessment factors recorded against individual children who were referred to children’s social care services and assessed as being in need of children’s social care services during the year ending 31 March 2025.
The majority of children have more than one factor recorded. It should be noted that not all episodes have factors recorded, but this has improved over time. Nonetheless, there can be differences in the recording and practice between local authorities therefore this data should be treated with caution and shouldn’t be taken to represent the national, regional or local authority level prevalence of particular issues.
For children with a recorded disability, the most common assessment factors in 2025 were:
- Learning disability concerns about child (27% compared to 5% of children without a recorded disability)
- Mental health concerns about parent (14% compared to 21% of children without a recorded disability)
- Physical disability concerns about child (12% compared to 2% of children without a recorded disability)
- Mental health concerns about child (10% for both children with and without a recorded disability).
For children without a recorded disability, the most common assessment factors in 2025 were:
- Mental health concerns about parent (21% compared to 14% of children with a recorded disability)
- Domestic abuse (concerns parent is victim) (21% compared to 7% of children with a recorded disability)
- Emotional abuse (14% compared to 5% of children with a recorded disability)
- Neglect (13% compared to 6% of children with a recorded disability)
Among children with a recorded disability, learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health concerns were the most common assessment factors for each disability type.
52% of children assessed by a social worker as having a learning disability, and 47% of those assessed as having a physical disability, were not flagged as a disabled child in the 2025 CIN census. This highlights potential data quality issues.
Source of referrals
A referral is defined as a request for services to be provided by children’s social care and is regarding a child who is not currently in need.
Referrals to children’s social care services can be made from various sources. Referrals from LA services were the most common source for CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability, accounting for 1 in 5 referrals (20%). Referrals from individuals were more common for CIN with a recorded disability (17%) compared to CIN without a recorded disability (8%), while referrals from the police were less common (10%, compared to 24% of referrals for CIN without a recorded disability). A higher proportion of referrals for CIN with a recorded disability had an unknown source (10% compared to 6% of referrals for CIN without a recorded disability).
Pupil characteristics and educational outcomes
The statistics and charts in this section are produced using the same data as used to produce the annual Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after publication, which is derived from information collected in the children in need (CIN) census, the children looked after (CLA) SSDA903 return and a range of outcome measures from the National Pupil Database (NPD). As a result, the statistics in this section refer to children matched to the NPD, rather than all CIN. This therefore excludes most children that are not of school age (some children who aren’t of school age may be included depending on the type of setting they attend), children that have never attended certain schools (for example, some unaccompanied asylum-seeking children or children that have only ever attended an independent school), children that are educated outside of England, or children that are newly CIN or CLA (from one week before the end of the collection period).
Special educational needs
A child has a special educational need (SEN) if they have a learning difficulty or disability that requires special educational provision to be made for them. This differs from a disability, which is defined as a person with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The condition must have lasted, or be likely to last, for at least 12 months to be classed as a disability. The Children in need 2025 to 2026 census guide (opens in new tab) outlines how a child is recorded as being disabled and the codes for the different disability types. Although there is overlap between the two, a child may be disabled but not have SEN, and vice versa.
The majority of CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability had a special educational need in 2024/25, compared to CIN without a recorded disability and all pupils. A higher proportion of CIN with a recorded disability had EHC plans (88.0%) compared to CIN without a recorded disability (14.5%). However, a lower proportion were receiving SEN support without an EHC plan (8.9% vs 28.2%).
Among CIN with a recorded disability, the disability type with the highest proportion of children with an EHC plan was ‘personal care’ (94.9%). The disability type with the highest proportion receiving SEN support without an EHC plan was ‘behaviour’ (12.9%).
Primary type of special educational need
For CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability, the most common type of need for those with an EHC plan in 2024/25 was autism (36.0%), followed by severe learning difficulty (17.6%). For CIN with an EHC plan but no recorded disability, the most common type of SEN was social, emotional and mental health (45.8%).
A higher proportion of CIN with a disability recorded had autism, severe learning difficulty, or profound and multiple learning difficulty identified as their primary type of SEN compared to CIN without a recorded disability. A lower proportion had social, emotional and mental health needs or moderate learning difficulty recorded.
The percentage of CIN with a recorded disability and an EHC plan who have autism identified as their primary type of SEN has been increasing since 2018/19 (from 29.8% to 36.0%), while the percentage of those with physical disability as their primary SEN type has been decreasing (from 7.9% to 5.5%).
School type
For CIN at 31 March 2025 with an EHC plan, a much higher proportion of those with a recorded disability attended special schools (75.9%) compared to those without a recorded disability (38.6%).
For CIN at 31 March receiving SEN support in 2024/25, school type did not differ much by disability status. For CIN with no identified SEN, a higher proportion of those with a recorded disability attended state-funded alternative provision (2.8%) than those without a disability (0.5%).
Among CIN with a recorded disability, those with a consciousness disability had the highest proportion of children attending special schools (87.0%), while those with a behaviour disability had the lowest (56.3%).
Free school meals
Pupils in state-funded schools in England are entitled to receive free school meals if a parent or carer was in receipt of certain benefits. More information on free school meal eligibility is provided in the department's Schools, pupils and their characteristics statistical release.
Since 1 April 2018, transitional protections have been in place which will continue during the roll out of Universal Credit. This has meant that pupils eligible for free school meals on or after 1 April 2018 retain their free school meal eligibility even if their circumstances change. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, this had been the main driver in the increase in the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals as pupils continue to become eligible but fewer pupils stop being eligible.
Any pupils gaining eligibility for free school meals after 1 April 2018 were protected against losing free school meals until March 2025. After March 2025, any existing claimants that no longer meet the eligibility criteria at that point (because they are earning above the threshold or are no longer a recipient of Universal Credit) has continued to receive free school meals until the end of their current phase of education (i.e. primary or secondary).
A lower proportion of CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability were eligible for free school meals in 2024/25 (51.0%) than CIN without a recorded disability (65.8%). Both groups had higher proportions eligible for free school meals than the overall pupil population (25.7%).
Among CIN with a recorded disability recorded, the most common disability type to have children eligible for free school meals was ‘behaviour’ (54.5%).
Suspensions and exclusions
Suspensions and permanent exclusions data is collected two terms in arrears, which means the latest available data for the full academic year is 2023/24.
The figures presented in this publication include the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years that were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Data for all pupils are produced using a different methodology to that used for the social care groups, so it is not appropriate to make precise comparisons with suspensions and exclusions figures for all pupils.
Suspensions
Pupils with one or more suspensions refers to pupils that had at least one suspension across the full academic year.
A lower proportion of CIN at 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability had one or more suspension (7.45%) in 2023/24 than CIN without a recorded disability (16.36%). In both groups, the rate of suspensions has been increasing over time.
Among CIN with a recorded disability, the disability type with the highest proportion of children with one or more suspension was ‘behaviour’ (16.34%).
Permanent exclusions
A permanent exclusion refers to a pupil who is excluded and will not come back to that school (unless the exclusion is overturned). This data only includes permanent exclusions which have been upheld by the governing body or Independent Review Panel (IRP), and not those which are still ongoing.
The percentage of CIN at 31 March 2024 with a permanent exclusion in 2023/24 was similar for those with or without a recorded disability, though a lower proportion of those with a recorded disability had been permanently excluded (0.34%) compared to those without a recorded disability (0.97%). Rates have been slightly rising for all groups since 2022.
Among CIN with a recorded disability, the disability type with the highest exclusion rate was ‘behaviour’ (0.91%).
Absence
Persistent absentees
A pupil is identified as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of possible sessions.
A lower proportion of CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability were persistently absent in 2024/25 (39.9%) than CIN without a recorded disability (43.2%). Both groups had higher rates of persistent absence than the overall pupil population (18.5%).
Rates of persistent absence have risen substantially for all pupils since the COVID-19 pandemic (from 11.2% in 2018/19 to 18.5% in 2024/25), and this increase is particularly high for both groups of CIN (from 29.9% to 39.9% for CIN with a recorded disability and from 30.5% to 43.2% for CIN without a recorded disability).
Severe absentees
A pupil is identified as severely absent if they miss 50% or more of possible sessions.
A lower proportion of CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability were severely absent in 2024/25 (9.8%) than CIN without a recorded disability (11.4%). Both groups had higher rates of severe absence than the overall pupil population (2.6%).
Among CIN with a recorded disability, the disability type with the highest rates of severe absence was ‘behaviour’ (14.5%).
Key Stage 2 attainment
Pupils take national curriculum assessments in year 6, at the end of Key Stage 2, when most pupils will reach age 11 by the end of the academic year. Pupils take tests in reading, mathematics, and grammar, punctuation, and spelling, and receive a teacher assessment in writing and science. The combined, reading, writing and mathematics measure uses the results of the reading and mathematics tests and the outcome of the writing teacher assessment.
A lower proportion of CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics (7%) in 2024/25 compared to CIN without a recorded disability (37%) and all pupils (62%).
Key Stage 4 attainment and progress
Attainment 8
Attainment 8 measures the average achievement of pupils in up to 8 qualifications. This includes: English language; English literature (if only one GCSE in English is taken then it is double weighted); mathematics (double weighted); three further qualifications that count in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc); and three further qualifications that can be GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or any other non-GCSE qualification on the DFE approved list (opens in new tab).
From 2018, Attainment 8 had a maximum point score of 90, compared to a maximum of 87 in 2017 and 80 in 2016. This is a consequence of the phased introduction of reformed GCSEs graded on the 9-1 scale. These differences should be considered when comparing Attainment 8 scores before 2019.
CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability had a lower mean attainment 8 score in 2024/25 (5.6) compared to CIN without a recorded disability (20.0) and all pupils (46.0).
Progress 8
Progress 8 aims to capture the progress a pupil makes from the end of Key Stage 2 to the end of Key Stage 4. It compares pupils’ achievement – their Attainment 8 score – with the national average Attainment 8 score of all pupils who had a similar starting point (or ‘prior attainment’), calculated using assessment results from the end of primary school. Progress 8 is a relative measure, therefore the national average Progress 8 score for all pupils is very close to zero. It can be used to compare the progress of different pupil characteristics.
A Progress 8 score of 1 means pupils in the group make on average approximately a grade more progress than the national average; a score of -0.5 means they make on average approximately half a grade less progress than average.
The Key Stage 4 progress measures were not published for the 2024/25 academic year as Key Stage 4 pupils in these years did not have Key Stage 2 assessments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CIN at 31 March 2025 with a recorded disability had very similar Progress 8 scores in 2023/24 compared to CIN without a recorded disability. In 2023/24, the mean Progress 8 score for CIN with a recorded disability was -1.29; for CIN without a recorded disability, it was -1.30. Progress 8 scores were similar across all disability types.
Children looked after
The statistics and charts in this section refer to the year ending 31 March 2024 unless stated otherwise. This is due to disability information being extracted from the longitudinal CIN dataset, an internal dataset that has been updated to cover up to 31 March 2024.
Time series and disability type
More than 1 in 10 (11%) of children looked after (CLA) at 31 March 2024 had a recorded disability (9,410). This has remained stable since 2015. When unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are excluded, the proportion rises to 12%.
The most common disability types amongst CLA at 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability were learning and autism (both 35%).
Child characteristics
Sex
Males were over-represented among CLA at 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability: 68% were male compared to 56% of CLA without a recorded disability and 51% of the overall child population (as shown in the latest ONS mid-year population estimates (opens in new tab)).
Age
CLA at 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability tend to be older than those without a recorded disability. 82% were aged 10 and over, compared to 62% of CLA without a recorded disability and 47% of the overall child population.
Ethnicity
A higher proportion of CLA at 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability were White (80%) compared to CLA without a recorded disability (70%), and a lower proportion were from any other ethnic group. When UASC are excluded, the gap reduces to 81% and 77%.
Age at entry to care
CLA at 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability had a slightly higher median age at first entry into care (8 years) compared to CLA without a recorded disability (6 years). Among CLA with a recorded disability, those with autism had the highest median age at entry (10 years).
Reasons for being looked after
When a child is assessed by children’s services their primary need is recorded. For CLA this corresponds to the most relevant need at the time the current period of being looked after began. This list is hierarchical and where more than one need is identified then the need ‘highest’ up the list is reported.
‘Abuse or neglect’ was the most common reason for being looked after for both CLA at 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability (57%) and without a recorded disability (67%). 17% of CLA with a recorded disability had 'Child's disability or illness' as their primary reason for being looked after.
Reasons for ceasing to be looked after
This section looks at children who ceased to be looked after in the year ending 31 March 2024. The most common reasons for CLA with a recorded disability leaving care was being aged 18 or over and staying with current carers (26%, compared to 15% of CLA without a recorded disability), followed by returning home to live with parents or another person with parental responsibility (24%, compared to 26% of CLA without a recorded disability).
Compared to CLA without a recorded disability, CLA with a recorded disability had:
- A lower rate of adoption (2% compared to 9%)
- A lower rate of placement under a special guardianship order (5% compared to 12%)
- A higher proportion transferred to residential care funded by adult social services (10% compared to 1%)
Legal status
Information is collected on the legal status underlying being looked after, which helps to describe why the child is being looked after. These include:
- A care order – a court order placing a child in the care or supervision of a local authority
- A voluntary agreement – this allows the local authority to provide accommodation for a child where there’s parental consent, or when no-one with parental responsibility is in place.
- A placement order – a court order allowing a local authority to place a child for adoption
- Detained for child protection reasons
- Detained under youth justice legal statuses
Legal status did not differ much by disability. In both groups, the most common legal status in the year ending 31 March 2024 was being looked after on a care order (78% of CLA on 31 March with a recorded disability and 75% of CLA on 31 March without a recorded disability). A higher proportion of CLA without a recorded disability were looked after on a placement order (6%) than CLA with a recorded disability (2%).
Placements
Compared to those without a recorded disability, CLA at 31 March with a recorded disability had:
- A lower proportion in foster placements (54% compared to 69% of CLA without a recorded disability)
- A lower proportion in independent/semi-independent living arrangements or supported accommodation (4% compared to 8%)
- A higher proportion in secure homes and children's homes (29% compared to 8%)
In both groups, the percentage of children in foster placements has been decreasing over time (from 63% in 2015 to 54% in 2024 for CLA with a recorded disability, and from 76% to 69% for CLA without a recorded disability).
Locality of placements
Local authorities have a general duty to provide accommodation that is within the local authority area, that meets the needs of the child and allows the child to live near their home.
A lower proportion of CLA at 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability were placed within their LA boundary (51%) compared to CLA without a recorded disability (56%). The percentage of children placed inside the LA boundary has decreased over time in both groups since 2015 (from 54% to 51% for CLA with a recorded disability and from 61% to 56% for CLA without a recorded disability).
CLA with a recorded disability also had a higher median distance of placement from their home (9 miles) compared to CLA without a recorded disability (7 miles).
Care leavers
Data collected on care leavers
Local authorities provide information about young people who were previously looked after, who turned 17 to 21 in the year. These people were CLA for at least 13 weeks after their 14th birthday, including some time after their 16th birthday. The information provided relates to contact around their birthday in the year. In comparison, for 22 to 25 year old care leavers, LAs only report data for young people who have been in touch with the LA and who have requested and received support. The information collected relates to their last contact within the reporting year.
Data was collected for the first time in 2023 on care leavers aged 22 to 25 years old who had been in touch with their local authority and who had requested and received support. We believe the data collected may be an undercount of the full cohort, particularly for the older care leavers, so users should take this into account when using this data.
Time series and disability type
13% of 17 to 21 year old care leavers in the year ending 31 March 2024 had a recorded disability, decreasing from 15% in 2016. Among care leavers aged 22 to 25 years old, the proportion with a recorded disability was 14% in 2024.
If unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are excluded, the proportion of those with a recorded disability rises to 18% for both groups.
Among 17 to 21 year old care leavers in the year ending 31 March 2024 with a recorded disability, learning was the most commonly recorded type (40%), followed by autism (36%) and behaviour (32%).
Learning disabilities were also the most commonly recorded among 22 to 25 year old care leavers with a recorded disability (46%).
Child characteristics
Sex
In the year ending 31 March 2024, over two thirds (67%) of 17 to 21 year old care leavers with a recorded disability were male. This is an over-representation when compared to care leavers without a recorded disability (64%) and the overall child population (51%). This difference was largely driven by 17 year olds, where 82% of care leavers with a recorded disability were male compared to 60% of those without a recorded disability. This gap was much smaller in the older age groups. Males were particularly over-represented among care leavers with behaviour disabilities (75%) and autism (74%).
Ethnicity
A higher proportion of 17 to 21 year old care leavers with a recorded disability were White and a lower proportion were from other ethnic backgrounds compared to those without a recorded disability. However, these differences are substantially narrowed if unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are excluded. When those who have ever been UASC are excluded, 81% of 17 to 21 year old care leavers with a recorded disability were White compared to 73% of those without a recorded disability. A lower proportion of those with a recorded disability were Black, African, Caribbean or Black British (6%, compared to 10% of those without a recorded disability).
‘In touch’
Local authorities are expected to initiate contact and stay in touch with care leavers aged 21 years and younger and provide statutory support to help the care leaver transition to living independently.
Similar proportions of 17 to 21 year old care leavers in the year ending 31 March 2024 were in touch with their local authority regardless of whether they had a recorded disability (92%).
A lower proportion of 22 to 25 year old care leavers with a recorded disability were in touch with their local authority (34%) compared to those without a recorded disability (38%).
Activity
Information is collected on the activity that most accurately reflects the young person's main activity status on or around their birthday.
In the year ending 31 March 2024, the most common activity for 19 to 21 year old care leavers with a recorded disability was to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) (46%). A similar proportion were NEET due to other circumstances (22%) as were NEET due to disability or illness (21%). Compared to those without a recorded disability, a higher proportion were NEET (46% vs 38%) or in education other than higher education (28% vs 19%) and a lower proportion were in training or employment (15% vs 27%) or in higher education (3% vs 7%). When UASC are excluded, the proportion of 19 to 21 year old care leavers without a recorded disability who were NEET rises to 44%, narrowing the difference compared to those with a recorded disability.
The most common activity for 19 to 21 year old care leavers with a behaviour disability was NEET (54%) and this was mostly due to circumstances other than their disability.
Accommodation of former care leavers
In the year ending 31 March 2024, the most common accommodation for care leavers ages 19 to 21 was independent living arrangements (20%). This was also the most common accommodation for those without a recorded disability.
Compared to 19 to 21 year old care leavers without a recorded disability, for those with a recorded disability:
- A higher proportion were living in community homes or other form of residential care (17% vs 1%)
- A higher proportion were living in supported lodgings (7% vs 4%)
- A lower proportion were in independent living arrangements (20% vs 37%)
- A lower proportion were in semi-independent, transitional accommodation (14% vs 20%, though when UASC are excluded, this gap is narrowed to 14% vs 13%)
Accommodation suitability
Information on whether care leaver accommodation is suitable can be used to monitor whether they are receiving the support they need to make a successful transition to adulthood. However, there are no hard and fast rules on whether accommodation is deemed ‘suitable’; the decision made by local authorities when reporting accommodation information will depend on the circumstances of the individual case.
In the year ending 31 March 2024, 88% of 17 to 21 year old care leavers with a recorded disability were living in accommodation deemed suitable. This proportion was similar for those without a recorded disability (89%).
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Email: keira.hunston@education.gov.ukContact name: Keira Hunston
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