Official Statistics

Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate: Update to September 2025

Published 29 January 2026

Applies to England and Wales

Main Points

521 assault incidents Jul to Sep 2025, of which 30 were serious 327 different children and young people involved as assailants or fighters

The annualised rate of assault incidents per 100 children and young people per year was 437.8 in the 3 months July to September 2025, which is an increase of 26% compared to the same period last year. The number of unique children and young people involved in incidents as assailants or fighters decreased by 6% in the 3 months July to September 2025 compared to the same period last year, from 347 to 327.

289 assault incidents on staff Jul to Sep 2025, of which 14 were serious

The annualised rate of assault incidents on staff per 100 children and young people per year was 242.9 in the 3 months July to September 2025, an increase of 44% compared to the same period last year.

537 self-harm incidents Jul to Sep 2025 79 different children and young people self-harmed Jul to Sep 2025

The annualised rate of self-harm incidents per 100 children and young people per year was 451.2 in the 3 months July to September 2025, an increase of 57% compared to the same period last year. The number of unique children and young people self-harming decreased by 13% in the 3 months July to September 2025 compared to the same period last year, from 91 to 79.

No deaths reported in the year to Sep 2025

The last death in the Children and Young People Secure Estate was in June 2019.

This Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate (CYPSE) Bulletin publishes statistics across all CYPSE sectors, excluding the Secure School, for assaults, self-harm and deaths from April 2014 to September 2025.

Assaults, self-harm incidents and deaths are refreshed quarterly, with use of force incidents and separations in all sectors being refreshed annually in July.

Where the presented statistics cover the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, it must be considered and accounted for when comparing time periods.

1. Statistician’s Comment

These statistics present data up until September 2025 across each sector of the CYPSE excluding the Secure School. Throughout these statistics, the latest reporting quarter is annualised and compared to the same annualised period from the previous year.

The CYPSE comprises the distinct sectors of Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), a Secure Training Centre (STC), Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs) and a Secure School. Each sector is operated under a different model which is governed by different rules. Caution should be taken when comparing sectors to each other. More information can be found in the accompanying guide to the bulletin.

Given the CYPSE’s small population size, individual children and young people (CYP) can significantly impact statistics. This is particularly apparent within SCHs where site populations are lowest, however it can also be seen across the larger sites.

Girls can be placed in all sectors other than YOIs. The impact of these placements can often be seen clearly within these statistics. There have been no girls in the YOI sector since November 2024. The decision to no longer place girls in the YOI sector was made permanent in March 2025.

In this document it is shown that there has been an increase in the rate per 100 CYP per year in assault incidents when comparing the 3 months July to September 2025 to the same period from last year although the rate of serious assault incidents per 100 CYP per year are shown to have decreased by 35%. Serious assaults on staff are also showing a decrease of 47% when comparing the 3 months July to September 2025 to the same period from last year. Assault incidents where a staff member is assaulted have seen the largest rise in the SCHs, with the rate of Assaults on staff for the 3 months July to September 2025 increasing by 632% when compared to the same period last year, 115 assaults up from 16.

The rate of self-harm incidents has increased by 57% when comparing the 3 months July to September 2025 to the same period from last year. Similar to assaults on staff incidents, the largest rise has also been seen in the SCHs, with the rate of self-harm for the 3 months July to September 2025 increasing by 313% when compared to the same period last year, 138 incidents up from 34.

Deaths of children and young people are fortunately rare and there have been no deaths since 2019 in the CYPSE.

Due to the small number of CYP in the Secure School sector, it has been excluded from the accompanying tables in this publication and all the quoted statistics in this document unless explicitly stated otherwise. The Secure School fully decanted by the end of August 2025 which is within this reporting period.

In addition to the statistics in this document, in the period July to August 2025 (when it was fully decanted), Oasis Restore Secure School (ORSS) had an average population of 7.8 CYP. There were 14 assault incidents of which between 1 and 5 were an assault on another CYP and 9 assault incidents in which a staff member was assaulted. There were between 1 and 5 self-harm incidents of which none required medical treatment. Small numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure in accordance with data protection principles. See the section on Disclosure in the accompanying guide for more information. Comparisons to the same period last year for ORSS cannot be made as the school did not open until August 2024.

2. Assaults: April 2014 to September 2025

Assault incident rate increased compared to same period last year

In the 3 months July to September 2025, there were 521 assault incidents in the CYPSE involving 327 different Children and Young People (CYP) as assailants or fighters. The annualised rate of assault incidents was 437.8 per 100 CYP per year, an increase of 26% when compared to the same period in 2024 when the rate was 347.1 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

Assault incidents on staff rate increased compared to same period last year

In the 3 months July to September 2025, there were 289 incidents in the CYPSE where staff were assaulted. The annualised rate of assault incidents on staff was 242.9 per 100 CYP per year, an increase of 44% compared to the same period in 2024 when the rate was 168.4 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

Figure 1: Rate of assaults and fights by quarter from April 2014 to March 2018 and assault incidents from April 2019 to September 2025

The definition and counting rules of assaults changed from April 2019 (April 2018 for YOIs) and hence no long-term trends are available and there was no estate-wide figure in 2018/19. Figure 1 illustrates the trends before and after the break.

The rate of assault incidents fell substantially at the outset the Covid-19 pandemic. In the last full quarter prior to the pandemic, the 3 months October to December 2019, the assault rate per 100 CYP per year was 466.4.

For the most recent quarter, the 3 months July to September 2025, the rate of assaults was 437.8 incidents per 100 CYP per year which is an increase of 26% when compared to the same period last year, the 3 months July to September 2024.

In the latest 3 months July to September 2025 there were 289 assault incidents on staff at a rate of 242.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a 44% increase compared to the same 3 months last year where the rate was 168.4 incidents per 100 CYP per year with 229 assault incidents on staff.

The rate of serious assaults in the 3 months July to September 2025 was 25.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year, which is a decrease of 35% in comparison to the same period last year where the rate was 39.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

During the 3 months July to September 2025 there were 327 unique assailants / fighters compared to 347 over the same period in 2024.

During the 3 months July to September 2025 there were 100 unique CYP victims compared to 122 over the same period in 2024.

Figure 2: Rate of assault incidents per 100 CYP per year from July 2024 to September 2024 and from July 2025 to September 2025

Figure 2 illustrates the CYPSE-wide rate of assault incidents increased during the 3 months July to September 2025, increasing in all sectors when compared to the same period last year. The lowest assault rates in the 3 months July to September 2025 were recorded in YOIs.

In the 3 months July to September 2025, the comparative rate of assaults across the sectors were 367.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year in YOIs, an increase of 5%; 574.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year in the STC, an increase of 12%; and 609.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year in SCHs, an increase of 192%.

The rate of assaults on staff in the 3 months July to September 2025 was highest within the SCH sector at 530.8 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a 632% increase compared to the same period last year. For the STC the rate was 340.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year, an increase of 6% when compared to the same period last year. In YOIs the rate for the 3 months July to September 2025 was 149.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year, a decrease of 9% on the same period last year.

When looking at protected characteristics, the rates of involvement as an assailant or fighter over the 12 months to September 2025 were higher than other age groups for CYP aged 15 at 795.1 incidents per 100 CYP per year, for CYP from a Black background at 858.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year, for Muslims at 819.9 incidents per CYP per year and for girls at 1,264.5 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

The groups with the highest rate of involvement as a victim were CYP aged 16 years, at 128.7 incidents per 100 CYP per year, for Muslims at 120.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year and for boys at 110.3 incidents per 100 CYP per year.

3. Self-Harm: April 2014 to September 2025

Self-harm incident rate increased compared to same period last year

In the 3 months July to September 2025 there were 537 incidents of self-harm involving 79 different CYP. The annualised rate was 451.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year, an increase of 57% compared to the same period last year.

Figure 3: Rate of self-harm incidents per 100 CYP per year from April 2014 to September 2025

The self-harm rate for the 3 months July to September 2025 was 451.2 incidents per 100 CYP per year, an increase of 57% compared to the same period last year.

The number of unique children and young people self-harming in the 3 months July to September 2025 was 79, compared to 91 unique children and young people who self-harmed in the 3 months July to September 2024.

Figure 4: Rate of self-harm incidents per 100 CYP per year from July 2024 to September 2024 and from July 2025 to September 2025

Figure 4 illustrates that the rate of self-harm incidents during the 3 months July to September 2025 increased across all sectors when compared to the same period last year. The lowest self-harm rates in the 3 months July to September 2025 were recorded in the YOI sector.

In the 3 months July to September 2025, the comparative rates of self-harm across the sectors were 374.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year in YOIs, an increase of 15%; 607.6 incidents per 100 CYP per year in the STC, an increase of 143%; and 636.9 incidents per 100 CYP per year in SCHs, an increase of 313% when compared to the same period last year.

The rate of self-harm incidents is influenced by small numbers of individuals self-harming multiple times, so it is important to consider the number of different individuals self-harming as well as the overall count of incidents. The highest rate of unique CYP self-harming over the 3 months July to September 2025 was in the STC (13 different self-harmers from an average population of 59.5), followed by the SCH sector (16 different self-harmers from an average population of 86.0) and then the YOI sector (54 different self-harmers from an average population of 327.0).

The number of self-harm incidents that resulted in an injury requiring treatment in the 3 months July to September 2025 was 229, representing 42.6% of self-harm incidents. The number of self-harm incidents that required hospital attendance in the 3 months July to September 2025 was 16, representing 3.0% of self-harm incidents.

Despite making up around 2.5% of the total average population over the 12 months ending September 2025 (an average of 12.3 girls out of a total average population of 489.9), girls were responsible for over 20% of all self-harm incidents (284 incidents out of a total 1,391).

Within protected characteristic groupings, self-harming was most common over the 12 months to September 2025 among 10 to 14-year-olds (584.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year), White CYP (419.6 incidents per 100 CYP per year) and girls (2,317.0 incidents per 100 CYP per year) in comparison to others in the group.

4. Deaths: April 2014 to September 2025

No deaths were reported in the CYPSE in the 12 months ending September 2025

Deaths of children and young people are rare and there were no deaths in the 12 months ending September 2025. Since April 2014 there have been three deaths of children and young people within the CYPSE.

• Two at Cookham Wood YOI, in July 2015 and June 2019

• One at Hillside SCH, in February 2017

• All deaths were due to natural causes

Further Information

Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• A guide providing further information on how the data are collected and processed, as well as an assessment of data quality. The revisions policy, other statistical issues and a glossary of terms used are also covered in the guide.

• A set of summary tables covering both the latest quarter and annual summaries of the data back to 2014/15.

Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:

Tel: 020 3334 3536

Email: newsdesk@justice.gov.uk

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:

Louisa Hutton-Adams

Youth Custody Service
HM Prison and Probation Service
1 Ruskin Square
Ruskin Road
Croydon
CR0 2WF

Email: YCSInformationAndPerformance@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 30th April 2026 (assaults, self-harm, deaths)

Next update: 30th July 2026 (assaults, self-harm, separations, use of force, deaths)

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-statistics#youth-secure-estate-statistics-

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Produced by the Ministry of Justice.

Alternative formats are available on request from YCSInformationAndPerformance@justice.gov.uk