Collection

Children's social care statistics

Statistics from Ofsted including data for children’s homes and other social care providers, fostering, inspections of local authority children’s services, and serious incident notifications from local authority children’s services.

We release Official Statistics twice a year and inspection data six monthly. Sign up for email alerts when we publish new data on social care inspections.

For the latest individual inspection reports, please visit our reports website.

Latest data

The most recent data releases covering children’s social care inspections and outcomes.

Official Statistics

Official Statistics follow the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics. They include a main findings document that looks at trends in the data. We publish Official Statistics for children’s social care annually.

Research and commentaries

Ofsted research and commentaries on children’s social care.

Transparency datasets

Information that Ofsted publishes for transparency purposes.

COVID-19 data

Data on Ofsted’s visits to children’s social care providers during the interim phase of our return to inspection. Read more about our COVID-19 data and briefings.

Five-Year Ofsted Inspection Data

Five-Year Ofsted Inspection Data shows Ofsted inspection outcomes over 5 years.

Data before September 2019

Publications containing data older than September 2019. Ofsted no longer publishes some of these publications. For example, the ‘Serious incident notifications from local authority children’s services data’ is now published by the Department for Education (DfE).

Published 12 December 2014
Last updated 2 November 2023 + show all updates
  1. Added supported accommodation application datasets. This data includes the figures on completed applications for supported accommodation providers.

  2. Added Fostering in England 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.

  3. Added 'What types of needs do children’s homes offer care for?' research.

  4. Added Children’s social care data in England 2022 national statistics.

  5. Added the 'Local authority and children’s homes in England inspections and outcomes as at 31 August 2021' release.

  6. Added Fostering in England official statistics covering 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

  7. Added 'Children’s homes providing short breaks' research.

  8. Added 'Children's social care data in England 2021' to the collection.

  9. Added 'Children's social care data in england 2020' to the collection.

  10. Added the 'Local authority and children's homes in England inspections and outcomes – autumn 2019' release to the collection.

  11. Added Fostering in England 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 release to the collection.

  12. Added 'Inspection outcomes of children's homes' to the collection.

  13. Added the link to ‘Inspection outcomes of the largest children's social care providers’ to the management information section.

  14. Added new children's social care data in England 2019 statistics.

  15. Added link to a formal consultation on inspections and outcomes for children's homes and local authority children's services statistical reporting.

  16. Added Fostering in England 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 national statistics.

  17. Added 'Children’s social care data for the Ofsted Annual Report 2017/18' to Management Information collection.

  18. Added local authority and children’s homes in England inspections and outcomes. This release includes local authority inspection data and children’s homes inspection data, covering the period up until 30 September 2018.

  19. Added Social care ownership inspection outcome profiles

  20. Added Serious incident notifications from local authority children’s services 2017 to 2018

  21. FOI dataset as at 31 march 2018 uploaded to FOI dataset group

  22. Added children’s social care data in England 2018.

  23. Added children’s social care data for the Ofsted Annual Report 2016/17.

  24. added FOI: Social care dataset as at 31 March 2017.

  25. Added Children's social care data 2017.

  26. Fostering in England statistics 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 have been added.

  27. Added Local authority and children’s homes in England inspection outcomes as at 30 September 2016.

  28. Added 'Ofsted Freedom of Information request datasets 2015 and 2016: social care'.

  29. Children's social care data in England 2016 added.

  30. Updated with 'FOI: Social care dataset as at 31 March 2016' and 'Children looked after placements as at 31 March 2015'.

  31. Added: local authority and children’s homes in England inspection outcomes.

  32. Updated for children looked after placements as at 31 March 2014.

  33. Latest children's social care statistics published, including children's homes.

  34. First published.