Statistics
about Children on Child Protection Registers 31st March 2006
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000692/SFR45-2006V1.pdf
REFERRALS,
ASSESSMENTS AND CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON CHILD PROTECTION REGISTERS,
ENGLAND - YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2006 (Final)
INTRODUCTION
This Statistical First Release (SFR) provides the latest figures
on referrals, assessments and young people on child protection registers
in England, for the year ending 31 March 2006. Figures for earlier
years are provided for comparison.
Some of
the figures are used to produce the national level Performance Assessment
Framework (PAF) performance indicators shown in the tables and quoted
below.
KEY
POINTS
Referrals
There
were 569,300 referrals to social services departments in the year
ending 31 March 2006, compared to the previous year’s figure
of 552,000 (in other recent years the figures have been around 570,000).
Of the 2006 referrals, 23% were repeat referrals within 12 months
of a previous referral, compared to 22% in the previous year.
Initial
assessments
Of the 300,200 initial assessments completed in the year, 194,900
(65%) were completed within 7 working days of referral. This compares
with 179,200 (62%) out of a total of 290,300 for the previous year.
Core
assessments
Of the 84,800 core assessments undertaken in the year, 63,000 (74%)
were completed within 35 days (PAF C64). This compares with 49,700
(67%) out of a total of 74,100 for the previous year.
Registrations
and de-registrations
There were 31,500 additions to the registers (registrations) in
2006. Around 14% of children registered during 2006 had previously
been registered (PAF A3) – one percentage point more than
in 2005. During the year ending 31 March 2006, 31,000 children were
de-registered.
Children
on Child Protection Registers
There were 26,400 children on child protection registers at 31 March
2006, compared with 25,900 for 2005. The 2006 figure represents
24 children per 10,000 of the population aged under 18, this compares
with 23 in 2005.
Looked
after children
Of the
children on the register at 31 March 2006, 2,600 (10%) were also
looked after by local authorities. This compares with 3,000 (12%)
for 2005. 80% of looked after children who were on registers were
in foster placements and 12% were placed with their own parents.
Five years ago 75% of looked after children were in foster placements
and 16% were placed with their own parents.
Category
of abuse
Neglect
is the most common category of abuse under which children are registered,
43% and the same percentage as in 2005. The percentage of children
registered due to emotional abuse increased from 19% in 2005 to
21 percent in 2006. Registrations due to physical abuse decreased
between 2005 and 2006, from 18% to 16% respectively.
Length
of time on register
Six per
cent of children removed from the register had been on it for over
2 years (PAF C21) – the same figure as last year, following
a downward trend over a number of years.
