Reporting year 2024

Children in need

Statistics on children in need in England, including child protection plans and referrals to and assessments completed by children’s social care services.

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• Produced by: Department for Education
• Published: 31 October 2024
• Last updated: 1 November 2024

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• Featured tables

  Featured tables are pre-prepared tables created from a statistical release's data sets. They provide statistics that are regularly requested by users and can be adapted to switch between different categories.

• Data sets: download or create tables

  Data sets present comprehensive open data from which users can create their own tables using the EES table tool or download a zipped CSV file.

• Data guidance

  Description of the data sets included in this release, including information on data sources, coverage, quality and any data conventions used.

• Data catalogue

  Alternatively use our data catalogue to search and filter for specific data sets from this release or our entire library, providing full data summaries, data previews and access to API data sets.

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Featured tables

Featured tables are pre-prepared tables created from a statistical release's data sets. They provide statistics that are regularly requested by some users (such as local councils, regional government or government policy teams) and can be adapted to switch between different categories (such as different geographies, time periods or characteristics where available).

12 featured tables

• Headline Children in Need figures

  2013 to 2024

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• Episodes of need starting and ending

  Year ending 31 March 2013 to 2024

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• Episodes of need ending by duration of episode

  Year ending 31 March 2020 to 2024

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• Children in need by ethnicity, age and gender

  31 March 2015 to 2024

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• Referrals and re-referrals (within 12 months of a previous referral)

  Year ending 31 March 2020 to 2024

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• Referrals by source

  Year ending 31 March 2020 to 2024

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• Referrals requiring no further action or subsequently assessed as not in need

  Year ending 31 March 2013 to 2024

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• Assessments and average duration

  Year ending 31 March 2015 to 2024

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• Children in need by primary need at assessment

  31 March 2020 to 2024

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• Factors identified at the end of assessment

  Year ending 31 March 2024

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• Section 47 enquiries and initial child protection conferences

  Year ending 31 March 2020 to 2024

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• Children on protection plans by initial category of abuse

  31 March 2020 to 2024

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Data sets: download or create tables

Data sets present comprehensive open data from which users can create their own tables using the EES table tool or download a zipped CSV file.

30 data sets available for download

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• A1 National time series of children in need, referrals and assessments

  National

  Children in need, episodes of need, and referrals and assessments completed by children's social care services.

  • Number of rows: 180
  • Indicators:
    • Number
    • Rate per 10,000 children aged under 18 years
    • Percentage
  • Filters:
    • Category type
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• A2 National time series of section 47s, initial child protection conferences and child protection plans

  National

  Section 47 enquiries, initial child protection conferences and child protection plans.

  • Number of rows: 156
  • Indicators:
    • Number
    • Rate per 10000 children aged under 18 years
    • Percentage
  • Filters:
    • Category type
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• A3 National times series of children in need by gender, age and primary need

  National

  Children in need by gender, age and primary need.

  • Number of rows: 140
  • Indicators:
    • Children in Need at 31st March
    • N1 - Abuse or neglect
    • N2 - Child's disability or illness
  • Filters:
    • Characteristic
  • Time period: 2018 to 2024

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• A4 National time series of children in need by ethnicity, age and gender

  National

  Children in need by gender, age and ethnicity.

  • Number of rows: 140
  • Indicators:
    • Children in Need at 31st March
    • Known ethnicity
    • White
  • Filters:
    • Characteristic
  • Time period: 2018 to 2024

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• A5 National time series of child protection plans by initial category of abuse by gender, age and ethnicity

  National

  Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March by initial category of abuse by gender, age and ethnicity.

  • Number of rows: 112
  • Indicators:
    • Child Protection Plans at 31st March
    • Neglect
    • Physical Abuse
  • Filters:
    • Characteristic
    • Characteristic type
  • Time period: 2018 to 2024

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• A6 National time series of child protection plans by initial category of abuse

  National

  Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March by initial category of abuse.

  • Number of rows: 12
  • Indicators:
    • Child Protection Plans at 31st March
    • Neglect
    • Physical Abuse
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• A7 National time series of children in need by gender, age and ethnicity

  National

  Children in need by gender, age and ethnicity.

  • Number of rows: 320
  • Indicators:
    • Number
    • Percentage
  • Filters:
    • Characteristic type
  • Time period: 2015 to 2024

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• B1 Children in need and episodes of need by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Children in need episodes at any point during the year, episodes starting and ending in the year and children in need at 31 March.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Children in need at 31 March
    • Children in need at 31 March who are awaiting assessment or do not require an assessment
    • Rate of children in need at 31 March per 10000 children aged under 18 years
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• B2 Children in need at 31 March by recorded disability and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Children in need by disability.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of children in need at 31 March
    • Number of children in need at 31 March with a disability recorded
    • Percentage of children in need at 31 March with a disability recorded
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• B3 Children in need at 31 March by primary need and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Children in need by primary need at assessment.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of children in need at 31 March
    • N1 - Abuse or neglect
    • N2 - Child's disability or illness
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• B4 Children in need by duration of episode and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Children in need by duration of episode of need.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of children in need at 31 March
    • 3 months or less - number
    • More than 3 months but less than or equal to 6 months - number
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• B5 Duration of episodes of need ending during year to 31 March by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Episodes of need ending during the year by duration of episode of need.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of episodes ending during the year to 31 March
    • 3 months or less - number
    • More than 3 months but less than or equal to 6 months - number
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• B6 Episodes of need ending by reason for closure and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Episodes of need ending during the year by reason for case closure.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of episodes of need ending in the year
    • RC1 - Adopted - Number
    • RC2 - Died - Number
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• B7 Child in need plans by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Children in need plans starting and ending during the year, at any point during the year and at 31 March.

  • Number of rows: 493
  • Indicators:
    • Number of children in need plans at 31 March
    • Rate of children in need plans at 31 March per 10000 children aged under 18 years
    • Number of children in need plans at any point in the year
  • Time period: 2022 to 2024

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• C1 Referrals and re-referrals to children's social care services by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Referrals to children's social care services, referrals within 12 months of a previous referral, referrals which resulted in no further action and referrals which were assessed and resulted in no further action.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Referrals in the year
    • Number of children with a referral in the year
    • Rate of referrals in the year per 10000 children aged under 18 years
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• C2 Completed assessments by duration of assessment and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Assessments completed by children's social care services by duration of assessment.

  • Number of rows: 1,803
  • Indicators:
    • Number of assessments in the year
    • Rate per 10000 children aged under 18 years
    • Started and finished the same day
  • Time period: 2014 to 2024

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• C3 Factors identified at the end of assessment by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Factors identified at the end of assessment.

  • Number of rows: 1,147
  • Indicators:
    • Number of episodes with assessment factor information
    • Alcohol misuse: concerns about child
    • Alcohol misuse: concerns about parent
  • Time period: 2018 to 2024

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• C4 Section 47s and Initial Child Protection Conferences by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Section 47 enquiries and initial child protection conferences.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of Section 47s
    • Number of children undergoing a Section 47
    • Rate of Section 47s per 10000 children aged under 18 years
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• C5 Referrals to children's social care services by source of referral and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Referrals to children's social care services by source of referral.

  • Number of rows: 1,803
  • Indicators:
    • Number of referrals
    • Individual
    • Schools
  • Time period: 2014 to 2024

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• C6 Referrals to children's social care services by month and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Referrals to children's social care services by month of the year.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Total number of referrals in the year
    • April
    • May
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• D1 Child Protection Plans by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Child protection plans starting and ending during the year, at any point during the year and at 31 March.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of child protection plans at 31 March
    • Rate of child protection plans at 31 March per 10000 children aged under 18 years
    • Number of child protection plans at any point in the year
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• D2 Child Protection Plans starting in the year by category of abuse and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Child protection plans starting during the year by initial and latest category of abuse.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of child protection plans starting during the year
    • Initial: Neglect
    • Initial: Physical abuse
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• D3 Child Protection Plans starting during year which were a second or subsequent plan, by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Child protection plans starting in the year and child protection plans which are a second or subsequent plan.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of child protection plans starting during the year
    • Number of child protection plans which were a second or subsequent plan
    • Percentage of child protection plans which were a second or subsequent plan (%)
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• D4 Child Protection Plans at 31 March by category of abuse and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March by initial and latest category of abuse.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March
    • Initial: Neglect
    • Initial: Physical abuse
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• D5 Child Protection Plans at 31 March by duration and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March by duration of the plan.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of children who were the subject of a plan at 31 March
    • 3 months or less
    • More than 3 months but less than or equal to 6 months
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• D6 Child Protection Plans reviewed within timescales by local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March that had been on a plan for at least three months and had reviews carried out within the required timescales.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March and who had been the subject of a plan for 3 or more months
    • Number reviewed within the required timescales
    • Percentage reviewed within the required timescales (%)
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• D7 Child Protection Plans ending during the year to 31 March by duration and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Child protection plans ending during the year by duration of the plan.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of child protection plans that ended during the year
    • 3 months or less
    • More than 3 months but less than or equal to 6 months
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• D8 Child protection plans ending during the first six months of the year by duration child remained in need and local authority

  Local authority, National, Regional

  Child protection plans ending during the first six months of the year by duration of the plan.

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Number of child protection plans that ended during the first 6 months of the collection year
    • Less than or equal to 3 months
    • More than 3 months but less than or equal to 6 months
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• Headline figures

  National

  Headline children in need figures.

  • Number of rows: 12
  • Indicators:
    • Children in need (as at 31 March)
    • Children in need per 10,000 children (as at 31 March)
    • Child protection plans (as at 31 March)
  • Time period: 2013 to 2024

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• ONS mid-year population estimates

  Local authority, National, Regional

  ONS population estimates for children aged 0 to 17 (age at mid-year).

  • Number of rows: 1,967
  • Indicators:
    • Age group
    • Population estimate (mid-year)
  • Time period: 2012 to 2023

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Data guidance

Description of the data sets included in this release, including information on data sources, coverage, quality and any data conventions used.

Description

This guidance describes the data included in the underlying data files of the 2024 Accredited Official Statistics release Children in Need. 

This data is released under the terms of the Open Government Licence (opens in new tab) and is intended to meet at least 3 stars for Open Data (opens in new tab). 

The methodology page should be referenced alongside this data.

Coverage

This annual release contains statistics on children in need in England and referrals to and assessments completed by children’s social care services. Each reporting year covers the year ending 31 March.

Data is collected by the Department for Education in the annual Children in need census (opens in new tab) from all local authorities in England.

The underlying data files include national, regional and local authority level information for the years 2013 to 2024.

File formats and conventions

Confidentiality

The following symbols are used in the underlying data files as follows: 

     c     to protect confidentiality - secondary suppression may also be applied to figures to protect confidentiality

     z      data not applicable 

     x      data not available 

     u      low reliability

     k      value rounds to zero but is not zero, for example where a percentage is less than 0.05% 

Where any number is shown as zero, the original figure submitted was zero.  

Rounding

England and regional totals are rounded to the nearest 10, therefore totals may not equal the sum of their component parts.

Percentages are rounded to one decimal place, therefore component parts may not sum to 100.

Rates per 10,000 children aged 0 to 17 years are rounded to one decimal place. 

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Children in need statistics and data:

Children’s Services Statistics Team

Email: cin.stats@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Andy Brook

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Phone: 0370 000 2288

Opening times

Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm (closed on bank holidays)