This dashboard was created to complement the previously published Education, children’s social care and offending (opens in a 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.
This release has primarily been made to share the Education, children’s social care and offending local authority area dashboard (opens in a 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.
The dashboard differs from the previously published figures (opens in a new tab) as it provides descriptive analysis for an additional 3 cohorts of children due to the update of the DfE-MoJ data share. This release covers offending data up to the end of 2020 and education data up to the end of the 2019/20 academic year. Additionally, this is the first time that the matched dataset has been used to provide local authority level breakdowns, for each local authority in England, where possible.
To view the underlying data used to build the dashboard please see “Explore data and files” section of this page.