From 2016-17, looked after children data is now collected during the year through the Looked after children Census. This has replaced the existing datasets Looked After Children (SSDA903), Adoptions of looked after children (AD1), Educational qualifications of care leavers (OC1) and Care leavers on their 19th birthday (OC3). This table presents figures about children looked after by Welsh local authorities. Children looked after include those on care orders and other children provided with accommodation by their local authority. Some children are also looked after because the local authority provides accommodation for respite purposes - the figures in this table exclude these children.

Data on children looked after by local authorities in England is collected via annual returns known as the SSDA903 return from English local authorities by the Department for Education - see linked DfE dataset below. This dataset is in relation on children looked after by the London Borough of Barnet, from 2010 to 2022. Data are collected at individual child level on those who are in care at 31 March each year, those who start or cease to be looked after including those adopted from care during the year ending 31 March, and for those who have recently left care. Characteristics of these children are collected including gender category of need care reason code under SSDA903 return placement location care episode start date Legal code under SSDA903 return Child Looked After (CLA) start date Placement Type Current Age band 2 Digit Need Code Need Legal Status Descriptor Looked after Child Type

Data on children looked after by local authorities in England is collected via annual returns known as the SSDA903 return from English local authorities. Data are collected at individual child level on those who are in care at 31 March each year, those who start or cease to be looked after including those adopted from care during the year ending 31 March, and for those who have recently left care, information as to their activity and accommodation on their 19th birthday is also collected. Characteristics of these children are collected including date of birth, gender, ethnicity, category of need, type of placement and legal status. The child level records are linked together across years to form a longitudinal database and each year, local authorities are able to amend data they have returned for previous years to reflect any changes or new information. The SSDA903 data collection has existed in its current form since 2004. Prior to this it was made up of a series of separate returns, and from 1998-2003 there was a one-third sample collection as well as an aggregate return.

National time series - 1994 to 2020. Covering:Children looked after at 31 MarchChildren who started to be looked after in the yearChildren who ceased to be looked after in the yearChildren looked after who were adoptedChildren looked after at 31 March who were unaccompanied asylum seeking childrenData was formerly in table H1.Footnotes:1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages rounded to the nearest whole number. See the methodology document for further information. Figures exclude children looked after under a series of short-term placements. Only the first occasion on which a child started to be looked after or the last occasion a child ceased to be looked after has been counted. Historical data may differ from older publications which is mainly due to amendments made by local authorities after the previous publication. Figures for 1998 to 2003 are based on a one-third sample.

National time series - 1994 to 2024. Covering: 1. Children looked after on 31 March; 2. Children who started to be looked after in the year; 3. Children who ceased to be looked after in the year; 4. Children looked after who were adopted; 5. Children looked after on 31 March who were unaccompanied asylum seeking children. Data formerly in table H1.

From 2016-17, looked after children data is now collected during the year through the Looked after children Census. This has replaced the existing datasets Looked After Children (SSDA903), Adoptions of looked after children (AD1), Educational qualifications of care leavers (OC1) and Care leavers on their 19th birthday (OC3). This table presents figures about children looked after by Welsh local authorities. Children looked after include those on care orders and other children provided with accommodation by their local authority. Some children are also looked after because the local authority provides accommodation for respite purposes - the figures in this table exclude these children.

Note: These statistics are published as Official Statistics. Users should be cautious making comparisons between local authorities, or across years due to changing reporting practices - see the methodology document for further information. Children looked after who were missing or away from placement without authorisation. Data formerly in table LAG1. For some local authorities, the figures may be impacted by significant numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children

From 2016-17, looked after children data is now collected during the year through the Looked after children Census. This has replaced the existing datasets Looked After Children (SSDA903), Adoptions of looked after children (AD1), Educational qualifications of care leavers (OC1) and Care leavers on their 19th birthday (OC3). This table presents figures about children looked after by Welsh local authorities. Children looked after include those on care orders and other children provided with accommodation by their local authority.

National time series - 1994 to 2024. Covering CLA on 31 March; CLA starting during in the year; CLA ceasing during in the year; CLA who were adopted; CLA on 31 March who were UASC; CLA on 31 March (excluding UASC).

Children who are 'looked after' by the State are considered one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Being in State care is associated with poor social, educational and health outcomes. Exploring how to improve the system and better support children in care is key to improving these outcomes. When children and young people come to the attention of children's social services a significant amount of information about their care experience is routinely collected by local authorities. In Wales, routine data are captured in the 'Children Looked After' Census which is submitted annually to the Welsh Government. This dataset includes details of all adoptions of looked after children in Wales.

This dataset is a subset of the primary Looked After Children in Wales (LACW) dataset. Other subsets include: Looked After Children Care Leavers aged 16 and over (LACC); Looked After Children Birthday 19 (LACB: 1999 - 2016); and Looked after Children - Education Qualifications (LACE). LACE was discontinued in 2016 (1999 - 2016) and included within LACW.

Due to the small number of looked after children with an Anonymised Linkage Field (ALF, 37%), a two-stage algorithm was developed. This algorithm utilises other datasets within SAIL to allocate children within the LACW ALF, increasing the overall ALF match rate to 61%. The improved ALF matches are available in the LAC ALF DERIVED table, part of the LACW dataset, and can be obtained by combined the SYSTEM_ID and LOCAL_AUTHORITY_CODE.

From 2016-17, looked after children data is now collected during the year through the Looked after children Census. This has replaced the existing datasets Looked After Children (SSDA903), Adoptions of looked after children (AD1), Educational qualifications of care leavers (OC1) and Care leavers on their 19th birthday (OC3). From 2016-17 onwards, outcomes for care leavers on their 19th birthday are no longer captured. This table presents figures about local authority care leavers. Children looked after include those on care orders and other children provided with accommodation by their local authority.

Local authority level data for children who started to be looked after during the year by:age group category of need gender legal status numbers taken into careFootnotes:1. National and regional numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages rounded to the nearest whole number. See the methodology document for further information. Figures exclude children looked after under a series of short-term placements. Historical data may differ from older publications which is mainly due to amendments made by local authorities after the previous publication.2. No new applications for freeing orders may be made on or after 30 December 2005, they were replaced by placement orders.3. Only the first occasion on which a child started to be looked after in the year has been counted.4. For some local authorities, such as Kent, the figures may be impacted by significant numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Provides information about looked after children in England. The figures are based on data from the SSDA903 return collected from all 150 English local authorities.
Source agency: Education Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England

Children who are 'looked after' by the State are considered one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Being in State care is associated with poor social, educational and health outcomes. Exploring how to improve the system and better support children in care is key to improving these outcomes. When children and young people come to the attention of children's social services a significant amount of information about their care experience is routinely collected by local authorities. In Wales, routine data are captured in the 'Children Looked After' Census which is submitted annually to the Welsh Government.

This dataset is a subset of the primary Looked After Children in Wales (LACW) dataset, and contains information relating to all children who ceased to be looked after if they were aged 16 years or older at the time of care ending. Other subsets include: Looked After Children Adoption (LACA); Looked After Children Birthday 19 (LACB: 1999 - 2016); and Looked after Children - Education Qualifications (LACE). LACE was discontinued in 2016 (1999 - 2016) and included within LACW.

Due to the small number of looked after children with an Anonymised Linkage Field (ALF, 37%), a two-stage algorithm was developed. This algorithm utilises other datasets within SAIL to allocate children within the LACW ALF, increasing the overall ALF match rate to 61%. The improved ALF matches are available in the LAC ALF DERIVED table, part of the LACW dataset, and can be obtained by combined the SYSTEM_ID and LOCAL_AUTHORITY_CODE.

From 2016-17, looked after children data is now collected during the year through the Looked after children Census. This has replaced the existing datasets Looked After Children (SSDA903), Adoptions of looked after children (AD1), Educational qualifications of care leavers (OC1) and Care leavers on their 19th birthday (OC3). This table presents figures about educational qualifications of local authority care leavers. Children looked after include those on care orders and other children provided with accommodation by their local authority.

Local Authority ‘Children Looked After’ (CLA) data is linked with health data that is held in the NWL’s Whole Systems Integrated Care (WSIC) platform, to help better understand the needs of children within a Local Authority. Bi-borough and Harrow are piloting this data sharing, with IG already in place and approved to enable the data to be shared directly to WSIC. Combining this data will help improve developmental, safeguarding, and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people, by providing analysis which gives a more informed understanding of children and young people. Analysis of the impacts of the wider determinants of health would also be possible, helping NHS Practitioners, DCSs, and their teams to identify and prioritise opportunities for development and improvement of the service offer, to best support the most vulnerable children and young people and their families. Specific use cases could include: •Understanding the health needs of children in contact with children’s services, by analysing specific health events experienced across cohorts, such as, long-term conditions e.g., Mental Health, and A&E visits. •Geographically mapping the level of need within a Local Authority, using the combined data to inform the level of need, using data points such as the proportion of children: in contact with children’s services, with mental health conditions, visiting A&E, with care plans.