How many children are on child protection plans in England?
The Department for Education's Children in need statistics, published 30 October 2025, show 49,400 children on child protection plans in England on 31 March 2025, down 1.0% on a year earlier. That is 40.6 per 10,000 children.
The same release counts 402,400 children in need, 632,800 referrals to children's social care and 648,800 completed assessments during 2024-25, with figures for every council. Children in need include those on protection plans and those looked after, as well as disabled children receiving support.
The DfE warns that comparisons with years before 2025 need care because of data quality issues and missing returns for some councils. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish separate child protection statistics on different definitions.
When is the next figure out?
DHSC provider statistics come out quarterly at 9:30am on a Thursday, with the next date in each release. DfE publishes childcare take-up in July, the provider survey in December, children in need in autumn and children looked after in November, at 9:30am. Skills for Care publishes its workforce estimates each June and its state of the sector report each autumn.
Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.
Where the figures come from
- Social care, childcare and children's social care statistics (DHSC, NHS England, Skills for Care, DfE, ONS and devolved bodies)Where to find official figures on care homes, social care staff, delayed discharge, unpaid carers, free childcare, childcare costs and children in care.
Related questions
- How many children are in care in the UK?
- What is a looked-after child?
- How many free childcare hours can parents get in England?
This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about social care and childcare: all Social care and childcare questions.