Department for Education
Reporting year 2026

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.

Official statistics
Department for Education
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 Advisers
  • Permanent Secretary
  • Director General, Families
  • Director General, Digital and Infrastructure
  • Director, 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, Regional Cooperatives and Fostering
  • Deputy Director, Outcomes Care Leavers and Capital
  • Deputy Director, Looked After Children Placements
  • Deputy Director, Multi-Agency Information Sharing 
  • Deputy Director, Family support
  • Section Head, Children’s Social Care Analysis and Research
  • Team Leader, Children Looked After Data team
  • Deputy Director, Media Office
  • Assistant Director, Media Office
  • Chief Media Officer
  • Senior Media Officer
  • Head of Social Media Content
  • Social Media Officer
  • Principal Officer, Safeguarding Social Care Regulation and Inspection, Ofsted
  • Panel Chair, National Safeguarding Practice Review Panel