Reporting year 2025

Serious incident notifications

Annual statistics for England on serious incidents that involve death or serious harm to a child due to abuse or neglect, and any death of a looked-after child.

Release type
Published

Get help by contacting us

If you have a specific enquiry about Serious incident notifications statistics and data:

Children’s Services Statistics Team

Email: sin.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)


Official statistics

These are Official Statistics and have been produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics (opens in new tab).

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

  • managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
  • meet identified user needs
  • produced according to sound methods
  • well explained and readily accessible

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance (opens in new tab).

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics (opens in new tab) that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website (opens in new tab).


Pre-release access list

Besides Department for Education (DfE) professional and production staff, the following post holders were given pre-release access up to 24 hours before release.

  • Secretary of State for Education
  • Minister for Children and Families
  • Minister for Skills
  • Special Adviser, Policy
  • Special Adviser, Policy, Speeches, and Political Engagements
  • Special Adviser, Communications
  • Special Adviser, Parliamentary, Social Media, and Regional/Trade Press Communications 
  • Special Adviser, Women & Equalities Policy
  • Permanent Secretary
  • Director General, Families
  • Director General, Strategy
  • Director (2), Children's Social Care Strategy and Care System 
  • Director Children's Social Care - Safeguarding and Workforce
  • Chief Social Worker for Children and Families
  • Deputy Director, Child Protection Safeguarding
  • Deputy Director, Adoption, Family Justice and Alternatives to Care
  • Deputy Director, Looked After Children Placements
  • Deputy Director, Regional Cooperatives and Fostering
  • Deputy Director, Outcomes Care Leavers and Capital
  • Deputy Director (2), Children's Social Care Improvement and Intervention for Regions Group
  • Deputy Director (2), Serious Incidents, National Panel and Multi Agency
  • Deputy Director, Multi-Agency Information Sharing
  • Grade 6, Safeguarding Policy
  • Grade 6, Child Protection Policy
  • Grade 7, Care Leaver Policy
  • Grade 7, Intrafamilial Harm
  • Grade 7 (2), Child Protection and Safeguarding
  • Senior Executive Officer, Child Protection and Safeguarding
  • Chief Analyst and Director, SARDIS and Strategic Data Transformation
  • Deputy Head of Profession for Statistics and Section Head, Statistics Services Unit 
  • Grade 7, Children’s Social Care Analysis and Research
  • Deputy Director, News and Social Media 
  • Chief Media Officer
  • Senior Media Officer
  • Media Officer
  • Apprentice Media Officer
  • Deputy Head, Social Media
  • Principal Officer, Safeguarding Social Care Regulation and Inspection, Ofsted
  • Data and Insight, Ofsted
  • Panel Chair, National Safeguarding Practice Review Panel
  • Panel Member, National Safeguarding Practice Review Panel
  • Head of Communications, National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel Secretariat