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Collection

Statistics: looked-after children

Statistics on children under local authority care at national and local authority level.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Education
Published:
26 September 2013
Last updated:
30 April 2026
Show all updates

  1. Added ‘Stability measures for children looked after in England: 2025’.

  2. Added ‘Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities, in England: 2024 to 2025’.

  3. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2024 to 2025' to 'Looked-after children'.

  4. Added 'Children looked after: a focus on placement location' to 'Placement location for children looked after'.

  5. Added 'Stability measures for children looked after in England: 2024' to the group 'Stability measures for children looked after'.

  6. Added 'Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities, in England: 2023 to 2024'.

  7. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2023 to 2024' to the 'Looked-after children' section.

  8. Added 'Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England: 2022 to 2023' to 'Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after'.

  9. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2022 to 2023'.

  10. Added 'Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities, in England: 2021 to 2022'.

  11. 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2021 to 2022' was added.

  12. Added 'Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities, in England: 2020 to 2021'.

  13. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2020 to 2021'.

  14. Added 'Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England: 2019 to 2020'.

  15. Added Children looked after in England including adoption: 2019 to 2020. From 10 December 2020, the Department for Education will publish the 'Children looked after in England including adoption' on the Explore Education Statistics (EES) website.

  16. Removed details on how to submit feedback on proposed changes to children in need and looked after statistics - the submission deadline has now passed.

  17. Added details about the proposed changes to outcomes statistics and how users can give their feedback.

  18. Added updated Outcomes for children looked after by LAs: 31 March 2019.

  19. Added 'Outcomes for children looked after by local authorities: 31 March 2019'.

  20. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2018 to 2019'.

  21. Added 'Outcomes for children looked after by LAs: 31 March 2018'.

  22. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2017 to 2018'.

  23. Added 'Outcomes for children looked after by LAs: 31 March 2017' and statistics guidance.

  24. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2016 to 2017'.

  25. Added 'Outcomes for children looked after by LAs: 31 March 2016'.

  26. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2015 to 2016'.

  27. Added 'Outcomes for children looked after by LAs: 31 March 2015'.

  28. Added 'Children looked after in England including adoption: 2014 to 2015'.

  29. Added outcomes for children looked after by local authorities statistics.

  30. Added 'Children looked after in England, including adoption' (2013 to 2014) document.

  31. Outcomes for children looked after by LAs in England added to the collection.

  32. First published.

Statistics from May 2010 onwards are available on GOV.UK. You can find our archived statistics on the UK Government Web Archive. The search function is not available on archived content, so you should use the filters.

Statistics guidance

Looked-after children

Data on the placement, legal status and number of looked-after children by reporting year.

Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after

Outcomes for looked-after children

Attainment data about children continuously looked after for at least 12 months.

Stability measures for children looked after

Data on the stability of children looked after in their placement, at school and in their professional support.

Placement location for children looked after

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