Stability measures for children looked after in England
Statistics on the stability of Children Looked After (CLA) in their placement, at school and in their professional support, for CLA on 31 March each year.
- Published
- Last updated
Headline facts and figures
High placement instability
10%
Down from 11% last year
High placement instability
The percentage of CLA on 31 March with 3 or more placements during the year
High school instability
8%
Unchanged from last year
High school instability
The percentage of CLA on 31 March with at least one mid-year school move (a move at any point in the year excluding the period 1 August to 30 September) during the year
High social worker instability
24%
Down from 27% last year
High social worker instability
The percentage of CLA on 31 March with 3 or more social workers during the year
High combined instability
1%
Unchanged from last year
High combined instability
The percentage of CLA on 31 March with high instability in all three measures (placement, school and social worker stability)
1 in 10 children looked after (10%) in 2025 experienced high placement instability (3 or more placements during the year) - broadly stable with previous years. Children looked after who were initially detained for child protection reasons had the highest proportion experiencing high placement instability (26%).
The proportion of children looked after experiencing high school instability (at least one mid-year school move during the year) in 2025 was 8% - unchanged from 2022 and broadly stable over the past five years (7% in 2021). Children looked after with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan were less likely to experience high school instability in 2025 (5%) - compared with those who had some SEN support or with no identified SEN – both 9%.
The proportion of children looked after experiencing high social worker instability (3 or more social workers during the year) in 2025 was 24%. Children looked after aged under 1 year experienced the highest social worker instability (31%). The proportion of children looked after experiencing high social worker instability decreases as age increases - 22% of children looked after aged 16 or over experienced high social worker instability.
1 in 100 children looked after (1%) experienced high instability in all three stability measures (placement, school and social worker) in 2025. There is little variation between different characteristics groups.
About these statistics
This is the second release in this series which brings together information on the stability of children looked after (CLA) in England, including stability in their placements, at school and in their social worker support into one place.
Data is taken from the annual SSDA903 data collection which is collected from local authorities in England, and from the termly school census data collection. Each year local authorities can revise previous years' CLA data. The latest statistics relate to CLA on 31 March 2025 and comparisons are made to CLA on 31 March 2024 unless otherwise stated.
Placement stability and school stability data are five-year time series covering 2021 to 2025. Social worker stability data is only available for 2024 and 2025 as the data was collected by DfE for the first time in 2024.
This release is published as official statistics in development, which means that these statistics are undergoing evaluation for quality and user need. As the social worker data collection is new, we expect the quality of the data returns to improve over time as the collection becomes established. We welcome feedback on these statistics from users by 31 August 2026 via the details in the “contact us” section below.
Proposed changes to this publication
The Department for Education regularly reviews its statistical publications to ensure the statistics meet user needs.
We plan to improve the timeliness of stability statistics going forward, by publishing both placement stability and social worker stability data in November/December each year in this release. This will bring forward the publication of social worker stability data by 4 months compared to the current publication schedule. To enable this, we are proposing to publish data on school stability biennially instead of annually. Information would be published in the Spring following the relevant Autumn Children looked after in England including adoptions publication and include data for both the latest year and the previous year. All stability data will be combined in one place in the Stability measures for children looked after in England series. Following these plans, the next publication of placement stability and social worker stability statistics would be in November/December 2026, and the next publication of school stability would be in Spring 2028, including data for both the latest year and the previous year. We welcome feedback on this proposal from users by 31 August 2026 to cla.statistics@education.gov.uk.
Placement stability
The number of placements experienced by children looked after (CLA) in a one-year period has remained broadly stable over the past 5 years, with a slight increase in stability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
High placement instability
High placement instability is defined as a looked after child experiencing 3 or more placements during the year ending 31 March.
1 in 10 CLA (10%) experienced high placement instability (3 or more placements) - broadly stable from 11% in 2024 and 9% in 2021 (figures based on unrounded numbers).
A lower proportion of CLA experience high placement instability when focusing on those who have been in care for 12 months or more (9%) compared to those who have been in care for less than 12 months (14%).
Characteristics of CLA with high placement instability
Legal status and placement type for CLA with high placement instability
CLA who were initially detained for child protection reasons had the highest proportion experiencing high placement instability (26%). This was followed by CLA who were detained under youth justice legal statuses (19%). CLA whose first legal status in the year was a placement order (placed for adoption) were the least likely to experience high placement instability (6%). Proportions are similar to those seen last year.
CLA whose first placement in the year was ‘Other residential settings’ (including care homes or custody) experienced the highest placement instability (24%) - unchanged from last year. This was followed by those with a first placement of ‘Other placements’.
Placements which don't fall into the main placement categories are grouped within 'Other placements'. These tend to be placements by the courts (s38(6)) with a relative or non-assessed person, placements with other unregistered carers or unregulated placements (for example whilst awaiting availability of an alternative placement, if it's in the child's best interests or the child's choice).
High placement instability was experienced by 9% of CLA whose first placement in the year was a foster placement - unchanged from last year.
Long-term placement stability
The number of placements experienced by CLA over a two-year period has been broadly stable over the past 5 years - in 2025, 23% of CLA experienced high placement instability (3 or more placements during the previous 2 years), unchanged from 2024 but up from 21% in 2021 (figures based on unrounded numbers).
Of those CLA aged under 16 on 31 March who had been looked after continuously for at least 2.5 years, 69% had lived in the same placement for at least 2 years.
Further information on placement stability can be found in the ‘P’ highlight tables accompanying this release.
School stability
We are proposing to publish school stability biennially rather than annually. We welcome feedback from users on this proposal by 31 August 2026 to cla.statistics@education.gov.uk.
The proportion of CLA experiencing at least one school move in a one-year period (between 1 April and 31 March) has been stable since 2021 at 11% each year (figures based on unrounded numbers).
High school instability
High school instability is defined as a looked after child experiencing at least one mid-year school move during the year ending 31 March - a move at any point in the year excluding the period 1 August to 30 September.
The proportion of CLA experiencing high instability in 2025 was 8% - unchanged from 2022 and broadly stable since 2021 (7%).
Characteristics of CLA with high school instability
Looking at sex and the major ethnic groups, there is little change over time or across different characteristics.
CLA aged 4 to 9 years experience the highest school instability each year, 12% in 2025, compared to 8% of CLA aged 10 to 15 years.
CLA in special schools are less likely to experience high school instability, 2% in 2025, compared to 10% of CLA in state-funded primary schools and 7% in state-funded secondary schools.
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are less likely to have a mid-year school move, 3% in 2025 - than CLA who were not unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Legal status and placement type for CLA with high school instability
CLA with a first legal status of ‘placement order granted’ (a court order allowing a local authority to place a child for adoption) during the year were more likely to experience a mid-year school move in 2025 (21%), up from 20% in 2024 and 16% in 2021.
CLA placed for adoption (a looked after child who goes to live with their prospective adopters) for their first placement during the year were more likely to experience at least one mid-year school move during the year in 2025 (28%) - up from 22% in 2024 and up from 15% in 2021. However these percentages are liable to change year on year due to the size of the underlying numbers of children. This higher level of instability is perhaps not surprising as looked after children who are adopted are more likely to be placed outside the local authority boundary than other looked after children.
CLA with high school instability by Special Educational Need (SEN)
CLA with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan were less likely to have a mid-year school move in 2025 (5%) - compared with those who had some SEN support or with no identified SEN - both 9%, likely to be because a particular school can be requested in the child’s EHC plan.
Long-term school stability
The proportion of CLA experiencing a school move over a two-year period (between 1 April of the previous year ending 31 March and 31 March of the relevant year) has been broadly stable over the past 5 years – in 2025, 20% of CLA had at least one school move during the previous 2 years, unchanged from 2024 and decreasing slightly from 21% in 2021 (figures based on unrounded numbers).
The proportion of CLA experiencing high instability over a two-year period (at least one mid-year school move - a move at any point in the year excluding the periods 1 August to 30 September in each year) has also been broadly stable over the past 5 years – in 2025, 15% of CLA had at least one mid-year school move during the previous 2 years, unchanged from 2024 and a slight increase from 14% in 2021.
Further information on school stability can be found in the ‘S’ highlight tables accompanying this release.
Combined measures of stability
The percentage of CLA experiencing high instability in all three measures of stability (placement, school and social worker stability) was 1% in 2025, unchanged from 2024. There is little variation between different characteristics groups. CLA are only included in this measure if they were in all three of the placement, school and social stability cohorts.
The percentage of CLA experiencing high instability in all three measures of stability over a two-year period was 4% in 2025.
Further information on combined stability can be found in the ‘C’ highlight tables accompanying this release.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Stability measures for children looked after in England statistics and data:
Children Looked After data team
Email: cla.stats@education.gov.ukContact name: Karen Attew
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)