The aim of this ad hoc release is to better understand the cohort of children in need (CIN), children looked after (CLA) and care leavers who have a disability recorded in the CIN census.
The release uses a number of different data sources which are explained in further detail in this methodology document.
This release uses data from the Children in Need census, the SSDA903 return (Children looked after census), the Longitudinal Children in Need Dataset and ONS population statistics. Further details on each source are included below.
The children in need (CIN) census is an annual child-level data collection by the Department for Education (DfE) which collects individual assessment information and child characteristics for each child that has been referred to children’s social care services. The census is a statutory requirement under section 83 of the Children Act 1989 and data is collected from each local authority in England.
A comprehensive review of the children in need census can be found in the CIN methodological release.
The Department for Education collects information on looked after children in the SSDA903 return. This is completed annually by local authorities in England. Data is required for two groups of children:
A comprehensive review of the SSDA903 return can be found in the Children looked after methodological release.
The LCD collates data on every child referred to, or in need of, children’s social care (CSC) since 2012-13, as reported in the annual children in need (CIN) and looked after children (CLA) census. The dataset includes the demographics of children and dates of referrals, assessments, section 47 enquiries, initial child protection conferences, child protection plans and periods of being looked after per child as reported in the CIN and CLA census. Some additional data such as referral sources, assessment factors and reasons for case closure are also included.
The dataset was created by linking together all the data from the CIN census using unique identifiers derived from local authority child identifiers. This linking took account of changing identifiers across years and local authority reorganisations. The linking accounted for children who moved across local authorities where the Unique Pupil Number (UPN) was recorded in both authorities. Therefore, cases where a child moved but the UPN was not known will appear as distinct children in the dataset. Data from the CLA census was also matched in.
Some sections of the release compare to the overall child population. The child population statistics are sourced from the Office for National Statistics:
ONS mid-year population estimates (opens in new tab) are used to compare to age breakdowns of the overall child population.
2021 census (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) is used to compare to ethnicity breakdowns of the overall child population.
A referral is defined as ‘a request for services to be provided by children’s social care services’. This is in respect of a case where the child is not previously known to the local authority, or where the case was previously open but is now closed. A referral should not be recorded if there is a case for the child already open. A referral can be made by a professional from one of many different agencies, but the term as used here is a broad one which encompasses referrals from any source, including self-referrals.
A referral may result in:
Local authorities undertake assessments of the needs of individual children to determine what services to provide and action to take. An assessment should be completed within 45 working days of a referral.
An assessment is undertaken for any child who has been referred to children’s social care services with a request that services be provided. Statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ was revised in 2013 (and again in 2018) giving local authorities more flexibility when assessing children. Previously, local authorities carried out an initial assessment within 10 working days and (where needed) a more in-depth core assessment within 35 working days. All local authorities now carry out a single continuous assessment within 45 working days.
A child in need is defined under the Children Act 1989 as a child who is unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their health or development will be significantly impaired without the provision of children's social care services, or the child is disabled.
Children in need include children on child in need plans, children on child protection plans, looked after children, care leavers, and disabled children.
Children in need also include unborn children and young people aged 18 years and over who continue to require support from children’s social care services.
If a local authority identifies there is reasonable cause to suspect the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer significant harm, it will carry out an assessment under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 to determine if it needs to take steps to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child. If concerns are substantiated and the child is judged to be at continuing risk of harm, then an initial child protection conference should be convened within 15 working days. The conference will result in a decision on whether or not the child will become the subject of a child protection plan.
A child becomes the subject of a child protection plan if they are assessed as being at risk of harm at an initial child protection conference. Once a child becomes the subject of a child protection plan, their plan should be reviewed within the first 3 months and then at intervals of not more than 6 months.
A child will cease to be the subject of a plan if:
Factors identified at the end of assessment are additional factors that social workers record as being relevant in a case. The majority of children have more than one unique factor recorded.
The reported assessment factor figures differ to those currently available in the Children in Need statistical release as they are recorded against individual children, whereas the figures in the Children in Need statistical release are recorded against episodes of need.
The latest definition of assessment factors can be found in Children in need census 2025 to 2026: guide - GOV.UK (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab), note that these definitions may have changed slightly over time. More details on assessment factors can be found in Appendix B of the census guide.
Users should be aware of the following when interpreting these statistics:
Within the release we have applied longitudinal analysis to better understand care leavers, children looked after and journeys through children's social care. This analysis uses the Longitudinal CIN dataset (LCD) which means that some data may not exactly match published Children in Need statistics due to matching methods.
There are three time periods considered in this part of the release.
The first uses data from 2018 to 2024. The cohort of children analysed are those who were referred to children’s social care services and assessed by a social worker between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019. The LCD is used to understand their journeys through social care up to 31 March 2024.
The second uses data from 2023 to 2024. The cohort of children analysed consists of those who were referred to children’s social care services and assessed by a social worker between 1 April 2023 and 29 February 2024. March 2024 is excluded in order to give children time within the dataset to progress to further interventions if necessary. The LCD is used to understand their journeys through social care within the same period, plus March 2024.
The third uses data from 2018 to 2024. The cohort of children analysed are those who were referred to children’s social care services and assessed by a social worker between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. The LCD is used to understand how many of these children had a previous referral to children's social services and the subsequent result of that referral.
The following symbols are used in the underlying data files as follows:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| c | to protect confidentiality - secondary suppression may also be applied to figures to protect confidentiality |
| z | data not applicable |
| x | data not available |
| u | low reliability |
| k | values round to zero but is not zero, for example where a percentage is less than 0.05% |
Where any number is shown as zero, the original figure submitted was zero.
England and regional totals are rounded to the nearest 10, therefore totals may not equal the sum of their component parts.
Percentages are mostly rounded to a whole number, therefore component parts may not sum to 100.
Children in need (opens in new tab)
Children looked after in England including adoptions (opens in new tab)
Stability measures for children looked after in England (opens in new tab)
Children looked after: A focus on placement location (opens in new tab)
Children in need: A focus on sexual abuse and exploitation (opens in new tab)
Children in need: a focus on re-referrals (opens in new tab)
If you have a specific enquiry about Children in need: A focus on disability statistics and data:
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