All data in this release is based on single notifiable incidents. In some instances, a notification can relate to more than one child; when this happens, the characteristic information is based on one child only (either the first child listed on the notification or the child whom the harm relates to). Therefore, in some instances, the characteristics information doesn’t always relate to all children involved in the serious incident and this should be considered when interpreting the figures. The characteristic information is identified as at the point of notification.
The Department is aware that, in some instances, not all incidents that meet the definition for a serious incident are notified. It is not possible to ascertain whether the fall in 2024 reflects a decrease in serious incidents or whether fewer notifications were reported compared with earlier years. Therefore, this needs to be considered when interpretating the fall.
Comparisons between characteristics data over time and between different characteristics in any given year should be made with caution due to the small sizes of some breakdowns.
The figure on the children in need population (excluding unborn children) is from the latest (at the time of release) 2023 Children in need statistics, produced by the Department for Education. Children in need are those assessed as needing help and protection from children's social care services as a result of risks to their development or health.
Serious incident notifications by age
The annual decrease in 2024 in total notifications (down 51) was mainly driven by a fall in notifications for children aged 5 and under; specifically, under 1s (down 28), and those aged 1 to 5 (down 19).
The decrease between 2019 and 2024 in total notifications (down 93) was also driven by a fall in notifications for under 1s (down 31), as well as a fall in those aged 11 to 15 (down 21). There was also a decrease in notifications for those with unknown age (down 37), although this is attributable, at least in part, to improved reporting of data.
Despite the fall in notifications for under 1s, this remained the most common age group in 2024, accounting for 1 in 3 notifications (33%). In comparison, at 4%, under 1s accounted for a much smaller proportion of the Children in need population.
Serious incident notifications by gender
Among both males and females, total notifications decreased between 2023 and 2024 and between 2019 and 2024. The decreases were larger for males (down 35 and 60 respectively) than for females (down 14 and 32 respectively).
In 2024, males continued to be the most common gender, accounting for 53% of all notifications. Similarly, at 54%, males are also over-represented in the Children in need population. 2% of notifications related to transgender children in 2024.
Serious incident notifications by ethnicity
In 2024, based on notifications recorded with a known ethnicity, 36% related to ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), which is higher than both the most recent Children in need figure (31%) and the figure among children (aged 0 to 17) from the 2021 census (27%).
Serious incident notifications by disability status
Comparisons are made with 2020, not 2019, as there may be an undercount in the number of notifications in 2019 recorded with a disability status of not known (with a corresponding overcount in the number of notifications recorded as involving children with no disability).
Based on notifications with a known disability status, around 1 in 4 (23%) involved a child with a disability in 2024, up from around 1 in 7 in 2020 (15%).