Meta Data Document Release of underlying data “Private Fostering Arrangements in England: Year Ending 31 March 2013” SFR25-2013 Background The Private Fostering Statistical First Release (SFR) provides figures on children cared for and accommodated in private fostering arrangements in England. A private fostering arrangement is one that is made privately for the care of a child under the age of 16 (or under 18 if disabled) by someone other than a parent or close relative with the intention that it should last for 28 days or more. A copy of the guidance notes for the Private Fostering data collection and a copy of the data collection form completed by each Local Authority (LA) in England can be found at: http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/childrenandyoungpeople/a0063874/private-fostering-pf1-return The Underlying Data File Title: SFR25_2013_UD.csv File Headers: See Annex A for a list of codes and headers Coverage: Total for England provided for each variable Total for each Government Office Region (GOR) Total for each LA in England Variable names – A list of the headings used in the CSV file and the corresponding variable names are shown at Annex A. Methodology Data are returned from 152 LAs in England. National totals are derived by summing data provided by each LA and then rounding to the nearest 10. GOR totals are derived by summing data for each LA within that region and then applying rounding and suppression. Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. The sum of GOR totals will not necessarily match the National total as a result. LA level data are data as returned by each LA suppressed. The sum of each LA will not necessarily match the GOR total or the National total as a result. Total columns (A1All_2013 - A6All_2013 and A6All_2013 - J6Other_2013) have been rounded to the nearest ten to avoid unneccessary destruction of data through secondary suppression. Rounding and Suppression: Numbers from 1-5 inclusive have been suppressed and are shown as crosses. Where any number is shown as zero (0), the original figure submitted was zero. It has been necessary to suppress other figures whenever it would be possible to calculate the value of a suppressed number by means of simple arithmetic. The rule applied in these circumstances has been to suppress the next smallest data item. Data Usage Issue The Private Fostering data are used to monitor the impact of the legislative changes in 2005 under which Local Authorities have a duty to promote and encourage notification of private fostering arrangements. The figures reported in the SFR are believed to be an underestimate of the total number of children in private fostering arrangements. This is because there is doubt over whether all parents, carers and other relevant third parties currently report the existence of these arrangements to their Local Authority (LA). We are not clear whether the change in the number of arrangements seen is due to a change in activity in private fostering or a change in the reporting of such arrangements. Further information on the issue of under-reporting can be found in the Quality and Uses document, which accompanies this SFR. Annex A geog_l: Geography level geog_c: Geography code geog_c2: Geography code with new LA ONS codes (introduced Jan 2011) geog_n: Geography name Notsnew_2013: Number of new notifications of new Private Fostering Arrangements received in the year RegsAction_2013: Number of cases where action was taken in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 4 (1) of the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 for carrying out visits RegsWeek_2013: Of these, the number of cases where this action was taken within 7 working days of receipt of the private fostering arrangement) NewPF_2013: Number of new arrangements that began during the year PFVisits6_2013: The number of private fostering arrangements that began on or after 1 April 2012 where visits were made at intervals of not more than six weeks ContPF_2013: The number of private fostering arrangements that began before 1 April 2012 that were continuing on 1 April 2012 PFVisits12_2013: The number of private fostering arrangements that began before 1 April 2012 that were continuing on 1 April 2012 where scheduled visits in the survey year were completed in the required timescale EndPF_2013: Number of private fostering arrangements that ended during the year AgreePF_2013: Number of children under private fostering agreements at 31 March 2013 A1All_2013: New arrangements All children aged under 1 B1UKs_2013: New arrangements UK born children aged under 1 C1Eur_2013: New arrangements Europe born children aged under 1 D1Afr_2013: New arrangements African born children aged under 1 E1Asi_2013: New arrangements Asian born children aged under 1 F1MiE_2013: New arrangements Middle Eastern born children aged under 1 G1Oce_2013: New arrangements Oceania born children aged under 1 H1CanUS_2013: New arrangements Canada and USA born children aged under 1 I1CenSA_2013: New arrangements Caribbean, Central and South American born children aged under 1 J1Other_2013: New arrangements Other place of birth children aged under 1 A2All_2013: New arrangements All children aged 1 to 4 years B2UKs_2013: New arrangements UK born children aged 1 to 4 years C2Eur_2013: New arrangements Europe born children aged 1 to 4 years D2Afr_2013: New arrangements African born children aged 1 to 4 years E2Asi_2013: New arrangements Asian born children aged 1 to 4 years F2MiE_2013: New arrangements Middle Eastern born children aged 1 to 4 years G2Oce_2013: New arrangements Oceania born children aged 1 to 4 years H2CanUS_2013: New arrangements Canada and USA born children aged 1 to 4 years I2CenSA_2013: New arrangements Caribbean, Central and South American born children aged 1 to 4 years J2Other_2013: New arrangements Other place of birth children aged 1 to 4 years A3All_2013: New arrangements All children aged 5 to 9 years B3UKs_2013: New arrangements UK born children aged 5 to 9 years C3Eur_2013: New arrangements Europe born children aged 5 to 9 years D3Afr_2013: New arrangements African born children aged 5 to 9 years E3Asi_2013: New arrangements Asian born children aged 5 to 9 years F3MiE_2013: New arrangements Middle Eastern born children aged 5 to 9 years G3Oce_2013: New arrangements Oceania born children aged 5 to 9 years H3CanUS_2013: New arrangements Canada and USA born children aged 5 to 9 years I3CenSA_2013: New arrangements Caribbean, Central and South American born children aged 5 to 9 years J3Other_2013: New arrangements Other place of birth children aged 5 to 9 years A4All_2013: New arrangements All children aged 10 to 15 years B4UKs_2013: New arrangements UK born children aged 10 to 15 years C4Eur_2013: New arrangements Europe born children aged 10 to 15 years D4Afr_2013: New arrangements African born children aged 10 to 15 years E4Asi_2013: New arrangements Asian born children aged 10 to 15 years F4MiE_2013: New arrangements Middle Eastern born children aged 10 to 15 years G4Oce_2013: New arrangements Oceania born children aged 10 to 15 years H4CanUS_2013: New arrangements Canada and USA born children aged 10 to 15 years I4CenSA_2013: New arrangements Caribbean, Central and South American born children aged 10 to 15 years J4Other_2013: New arrangements Other place of birth children aged 10 to 15 years A5All_2013: New arrangements All children aged 16 years and over B5UKs_2013: New arrangements UK born children aged 16 years and over C5Eur_2013: New arrangements Europe born children aged 16 years and over D5Afr_2013: New arrangements African born children aged 16 years and over E5Asi_2013: New arrangements Asian born children aged 16 years and over F5MiE_2013: New arrangements Middle Eastern born children aged 16 years and over G5Oce_2013: New arrangements Oceania born children aged 16 years and over H5CanUS_2013: New arrangements Canada and USA born children aged 16 years and over I5CenSA_2013: New arrangements Caribbean, Central and South American born children aged 16 years and over J5Other_2013: New arrangements Other place of birth children aged 16 years and over A6All_2013: New arrangements All children B6UKs_2013: New arrangements UK born children all ages C6Eur_2013: New arrangements Europe born children all ages D6Afr_2013: New arrangements African born children all ages E6Asi_2013: New arrangements Asian born children all ages F6MiE_2013: New arrangements Middle Eastern born children all ages G6Oce_2013: New arrangements Oceania born children all ages H6CanUS_2013: New arrangements Canada and USA born children all ages I6CenSA_2013: New arrangements Caribbean, Central and South American born children all ages J6Other_2013: New arrangements Other place of birth children all ages