A quarter of all children in England receive services from children's social care before turning 18, finds a new study by UCL researchers.
The research, published in the International Journal of Population Data Science, casts a new light on the extent to which children's social care intervenes across the population by exploring how many children are ever classed as being "in need" before the age of 18.
The new figure - one in four - is much higher than previous yearly-snapshot estimates and suggests a much higher number of children needing social care services' support. In March 2023, that snapshot estimate was just 3.4%.
The researchers are calling on the Government to consider re-focusing key policies on income, employment, housing, education and health to better support parents to bring up their children to be healthy, happy and to achieve their potential.
Lead author, Dr Matthew Jay (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) said: "We estimate that a quarter of all children receive some kind of service from social care before the age of 18. This includes children on child-in-need plans, children on child-protection plans, children looked after by local authorities, care leavers and disabled children."
Children in need are a legally defined group of children assessed as needing help and protection as a result of risks to their development or health.
Referrals can come from anywhere (including self-referral). However, most common referral sources are police, schools and healthcare services.
Interventions experienced by these children include parenting support, access to children's centres, the necessary adaptation of homes or being taken into care, depending on each family's circumstances.
Official statistics from March 2023, derived from the yearly Child in Need Census, which collects data from all children's social care departments in England, showed that 3.4% of all children aged 0-17 years old were defined as being "in need" in England on 31 March 2023.
However, for the new research, the team used an anonymised version of the same dataset but combined information over time, rather than just looking at one year.
By doing this, they found that a quarter (25.3%) of all children are described as "in need" at least once before turning 18.
Consequently, the new research shows that this group of children is in fact very large when taking a view across children's lives - and not just a yearly snapshot, as previously reported.
Meanwhile, 7.1% of children and young people will receive a child protection plan (CPP), which are put in place where a child experiences or is at risk of abuse or neglect.
Dr Jay said: "These findings raise questions about the extent to which government policies contribute to the circumstances in which a quarter of all children are so vulnerable that they need intervention from children's social care services.
"Policies on income, employment, housing, education and health could be more focused on enabling the circumstances in which parents can bring up their children to be healthy, happy and to achieve their potential."
Dr Andy Bilson, Emeritus Professor of Social Work at the University of Central Lancashire, and one of the study co-authors, said: "This study shows the high rates of children who become involved with children's social care across England. However, other research shows that these children are concentrated in the most deprived 10th of the country. We therefore expect that the proportion of children ever seen by social care services will be significantly higher in more deprived areas."
The study was led by researchers at UCL, alongside collaborators at the University of Edinburgh, University of Central Lancashire, the Fisher Family Trust and the University of Westminster.
