July 2022

Vulnerable children and young people survey

Summary of local authority survey in England to help understand the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on children’s social care.

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• Produced by: Department for Education
• Published: 15 December 2022

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• Featured tables

  Featured tables are pre-prepared tables created from a statistical release's data sets. They provide statistics that are regularly requested by users and can be adapted to switch between different categories.

• Data sets: download or create tables

  Data sets present comprehensive open data from which users can create their own tables using the EES table tool or download a zipped CSV file.

• Data guidance

  Description of the data sets included in this release, including information on data sources, coverage, quality and any data conventions used.

• Data catalogue

  Alternatively use our data catalogue to search and filter for specific data sets from this release or our entire library, providing full data summaries, data previews and access to API data sets.

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Featured tables

Featured tables are pre-prepared tables created from a statistical release's data sets. They provide statistics that are regularly requested by some users (such as local councils, regional government or government policy teams) and can be adapted to switch between different categories (such as different geographies, time periods or characteristics where available).

5 featured tables

• Contact with social workers in the last four weeks

  The proportion of children looked after, children on a protection plan and other children in need who had been in contact with a social worker in the previous four weeks.

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• Difference in the total number of CLA and children on a CPP compared to the same time in 2019-20

  The percentage difference between the number of children looked after and children on a protection plan reported on the VCYP survey, and the number of children looked after and children on a protection plan reported in the same time in 2019-2020.

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• Number of referrals received from each source compared to the same weeks in 2017 to 2020

  The percentage difference between the number of referrals by source reported in the VCYP survey and the 3-year average of the number of referrals by source in the same weeks across 2017 to 2020.

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• Workforce absence

  Proportion of local authorities that reported over 10% of residential care staff and social workers not working due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

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• Total referrals

  Difference in the total number of referrals reported in the VCYP survey compared to the 3-year average of the same week across 2017 to 2020.

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Data sets: download or create tables

Data sets present comprehensive open data from which users can create their own tables using the EES table tool or download a zipped CSV file.

5 data sets available for download

Download all (ZIP)

• Number of children supported by local authority children's social care

  National

  Percentage difference in the number of children on a Child Protection Plan and Children Looked After recorded on the 'vulnerable children and young people’ survey, compared with the same time in 2019-20.

  • Number of rows: 78
  • Indicators:
    • Percentage difference compared to the same time in 2019-20
  • Filters:
    • Social care group
    • Wave
  • Time period: 2020 to 2022

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• Contact with children supported by local authority children’s social care

  National

  The proportion of children on a Child Protection Plan, Children Looked After and all other Children in Need who had been in contact with a social worker in the previous 4 weeks.

  • Number of rows: 111
  • Indicators:
    • Percentage of children in contact with a social worker in the previous 4 weeks
  • Filters:
    • Social care group
    • Wave
  • Time period: 2020 to 2022

  Data set information page
  Create table

• Children’s social care workforce

  National

  The proportion of local authorities that reported over 10% of social workers and residential care staff unavailable to work due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

  • Number of rows: 78
  • Indicators:
    • Percentage of local authorities with over 10% of workforce absent due to COVID-19 (coronavirus)
  • Filters:
    • Staff group
    • Wave
  • Time period: 2020 to 2022

  Data set information page
  Create table

• Referrals to children’s social care services

  National

  Percentage difference of the number of referrals reported in the ‘vulnerable children and young people’ survey compared with a 3-year average of the same weeks across 2017 to 2020. Includes breakdown by referral source.

  • Number of rows: 224
  • Indicators:
    • Percentage difference compared to the same week in 2017-20
  • Filters:
    • Referral source
    • Wave
  • Time period: 2020 to 2022

  Data set information page
  Create table

• Children starting to be looked after

  National

  Number of children starting to be looked after as reported in the ‘vulnerable children and young people’ survey and a 3-year average of children starting to be looked after in the same week across 2017 to 2020.

  • Number of rows: 39
  • Indicators:
    • Number of children that started to be looked after at the same time in 2017-20
    • Number of children that started to be looked after in survey wave
  • Filters:
    • Wave
  • Time period: 2020 to 2022

  Data set information page
  Create table

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Data guidance

Description of the data sets included in this release, including information on data sources, coverage, quality and any data conventions used.

Description

This page describes the data included in the ‘Vulnerable Children and Young People’ release’s underlying data files. 

The publication methodology, available on the publication report, should be referenced alongside this data. It provides information on the data source, it's coverage and quality.

Coverage

This release provides information collected from Local Authorities between May 2020 and July 2022 on: 

• Contact with children supported by the local authority Children’s Social Care
• Children’s Social Care workforce
• System pressures

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Vulnerable children and young people survey statistics and data:

Children in Need and Children Looked-After Analysis

Email: Khloe.TABOR@EDUCATION.GOV.UK
Contact name: Khloe Tabor
Telephone: 0

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If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

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If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Phone: 0370 000 2288

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