Education, children’s social care and offending: local authority level dashboard
An examination of the education, children's social care background of children cautioned or sentenced for offences at national and local authority level.
- Release type
- Produced by
- Department for Education
- Published
Background information
This dashboard was created to complement the previously published Education, children’s social care and offending (opens in new tab) descriptive statistics with the aim of providing local authority area specific breakdowns, for each local authority in England, where possible.
The dashboard allows local areas to understand the key characteristics of those cautioned or sentenced for offences in their area, compared with other areas, their statistical neighbours or England as a whole.
The dashboard contains descriptive statistics relating to all pupils, children who had been cautioned or sentenced for an offence and children who had been cautioned or sentenced for a serious violence offence. It includes findings on demographics, children’s experience whilst at school and children’s social care experience.
The dashboard can be accessed via this link (opens in new tab).
Headline facts and figures
This release has primarily been made to share the Education, children’s social care and offending local authority area dashboard (opens in new tab). The dashboard provides local authority area specific breakdowns, for each local authority in England, where possible.
Given the large variation in findings between local authority areas, key findings for England only have been summarised below.
Children cautioned or sentenced for an offence and/or a serious violence offence in England
Demographics
- Gender: Males were overrepresented among children cautioned or sentenced for any offence (78%) and a serious violence offence (86%). However, of all males, 6% were cautioned/sentenced for any offence and 2% for a serious violence offence.
- Free School Meals (FSM): Only a small minority of disadvantaged children were cautioned or sentenced for offences. For example, 2% of those ever eligible for FSM were cautioned or sentenced for a serious violence offence.
- Age at first offence: The peak age at first offence in England was in the mid-teens, at 15 for any first offence and 16 for first serious violence offence.
School experience
- Persistent absence: High proportions of the offending group had ever been persistently absent. However, most children who had ever been persistently absent were not in the offending groups.
The proportion of children that had been cautioned or sentenced for any offence that had ever been persistently absent was 81% and for serious violence offence was 85%. Of all children in England that had ever been persistently absent, 7% were also cautioned/sentenced for any offence and 2% were also cautioned/sentenced for a serious violence offence.
- Suspensions: The proportion of children that had been cautioned or sentenced for any offence that had ever been suspended in England was 72% and for a serious violence offence was 82%. Of all children that had ever been suspended, 20% had ever been cautioned or sentenced for any offence and 6% for a serious violence offence.
89% of children that had been cautioned or sentenced for a serious violence offence received their first suspension prior to their first serious violence offence, with 78% of first suspensions occurring over 1 year before the first serious violence offence.
- Permanent exclusions: The proportion of children that had been cautioned or sentenced for any offence that had ever been permanently excluded in England was 11% and for a serious violence offence was 16%. Of all children that had ever been permanently excluded, 53% had ever been cautioned or sentenced for any offence and 21% for a serious violence offence.
31% of children that had been cautioned or sentenced for a serious violence offence received their first permanent exclusion after their first serious violence offence.
- Alternative Provision: The proportion of children in England that had been cautioned or sentenced for any offence that had ever attended alternative provision (AP) was 29% and for a serious violence offence it was 40%. Of all children that had ever attended AP, 38% had ever been cautioned or sentenced for any offence and 14% for a serious violence offence.
38% of children that had been cautioned or sentenced for a serious violence offence attended AP after their first serious violence offence.
- Special Educational Needs: The proportion of children in England that had been cautioned or sentenced for any offence that had ever been recorded as having SEN was 80% and for a serious violence offence was 86%. Of all children that had ever been recorded as having SEN, 19% had ever been cautioned or sentenced for any offence and 6% for a serious violence offence.
Children's social care experience
- Children in need: The proportion of children in England that had been cautioned or sentenced for any offence that had ever been a child in need was 45% and for a serious violence offence was 54%. Of all children that had ever been a child in need, 16% had ever been cautioned or sentenced for any offence and 5% for a serious violence offence.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Education, children’s social care and offending: local authority level dashboard statistics and data:
Serious Violence Research and Analysis
Email: SV.RESEARCH@EDUCATION.GOV.UKContact name: Serious Violence Research and Analysis
Telephone: 02076546001
Press office
If you have a media enquiry:
Telephone: 020 7783 8300
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If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:
Phone: 0370 000 2288
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