Children's social work statistics Scotland 2015-2016
The latest data on children and young people looked after, on the child protection register and in secure care.
Background notes
1. Context and related publications
1.1 This publication includes data on children and young people who were looked after, on the child protection register or in secure care accommodation between 1 August 2015 and 31 July 2016. Children most commonly become looked after or placed on the child protection register following a referral to the Children's Reporter. The majority of referrals to the Children's Reporter are on care and protection grounds, although a small proportion are on offence grounds. Young people are placed in secure care either as an outcome of the criminal justice system or through a referral to the Children's Reporter. Figures on referrals to the Children's Reporter are published by the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration ( SCRA): http://www.scra.gov.uk/resources_articles_category/official-statistics/
1.2 This publication collates demographic data on children who were looked after during 2015-16. In June 2017, Education Outcomes for Looked After Children statistics 2015-16 will be published on a subset of these children - focussing mainly on those looked after continuously for a year from August 2015 to July 2016. However, there is value in looking at the wider population too, and this data will also be available in some form. The education outcomes publication will be available here: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/EducOutcomesLAC
1.3 The annual Civil Law Statistics published by the Scottish Government includes a table which gives the number of petitions for adoption made through the courts. These figures include looked after children who are adopted from care as well as children who are outwith the care system. The Civil Law Statistics in Scotland 2014-15 are available here: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/civil-judicial-statistics/
Cross- UK comparability
1.4 It is possible to draw comparisons between the looked after children, child protection and secure care accommodation statistics of the four UK countries. However it should be borne in mind that there are differences in legislation, the children's social work systems and the definitions of categories that will affect these figures.
1.5 Work has been undertaken between the Scottish Government and administrations from England, Wales and Northern Ireland to document clearly the differences between each administration's looked after children statistics and to scope out the feasibility and need for a comparable dataset. Further developments from this work have been published on the Scottish Government children's statistics web site at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/socialservicestats
1.6 Work was commissioned by the Department for Education to document clearly the differences between each administration's child protection statistics. Further developments from this work have been published on the Scottish Government Children's Statistics web site at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/socialservicestats
Equivalent data across the UK
1.7 Looked after statistics:
1.8 Child protection statistics:
1.9 Official/national statistics are not produced on secure accommodation in Northern Ireland. However, there is one secure unit which when at full capacity can house sixteen 11 to 18 year olds. The latest national statistics on children accommodated in secure children's homes in England and Wales were released on 29 June 2016 and can be found at:- https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-secure-children-s-homes
2. Data sources and coverage
2.1 The looked after children data in this publication were collected at an individual level from local authorities. Data were collected on all children/young people who were looked after between 1 August 2015 and 31 July 2016, on every episode of being looked after which occurred at some point in the reporting period, every placement that took place during these episodes, and every legal reason for which a child was looked after. Statistics were also collected at an individual-level for those eligible for aftercare. We have now ceased the collection of information regarding planned series of short-term placements. Therefore, since 2013-14, this information has not been collected. Please refer to the previous 'Children's Social Work Statistics' publications for statistics on planned series of short-term placements.
2.2 All child protection information in this publication were collected at an individual level from local authorities for the fifth consecutive year. Information is submitted for each investigation and case conference held as well as demographic information for each child. In 2011-12 individual-level information was collected on children on the child protection register at 31 July 2012 only and prior to this data was collected in full or in part as aggregate summarised data.
2.3 The child protection statistics survey covered the period 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016. If a member of the public or professional report concern about a child, a referral will be made to an agency such as the local authority social work team. If they decide that the child is at risk of significant harm, an investigation will be undertaken. In 2010-11 and previous years, aggregate information was collected on the referrals that were initiated during the period (so numbers starting). From 2011-12 information has been collected on child protection investigations which ended during the collection period. Information on child protection referrals has not been collected since 2010-11.
2.4 The secure care statistics in this publication were collected from five secure care units which were open at 1 August 2015.
2.5 The secure care accommodation census covered 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016. The data collected at the unit level covers the number of places and average cost per week per bed. Individual-level information was collected on the characteristics of the young person, medical care, admissions and discharges in secure care accommodation. Information on dedicated close support is no longer collected. Please refer to Background Notes 2.6 and 2.7 for further information.
2.6 During 2014, the questions/sections that were asked in the secure care and close support accommodation census were reviewed. This was to reduce the burden for the data providers, given that some data was either available from other sources or there was no identifiable need. The following information has subsequently been dropped:
Unit level:-
- Number of close support places (see Background Note 2.7).
- Emergency bed usage (as this information could be calculated from the individual level section).
- Staffing (as this information is available from the Scottish Social Services Council). See Background Note 2.8 for further information.
Individual level:-
- Close support (see Background Note 2.7).
2.7 Information on close support was collected from 2010 to 2013. Close support previously included in this publication were those that were in the same building as the secure unit i.e. that were related directly to the secure unit. The reason for only including close support in the same physical location as the secure unit was because capital and overhead costs were thought to be inherently linked. However, for 2012-13, data was revised to remove Edinburgh's information, as they did not meet the criteria for inclusion. This meant that for the remaining two units that had a dedicated close support unit (Good Shepherd and Rossie) there were limitations to what information could be published on close support due to small numbers. These two units confirmed that they were also able to separate out secure care and close support costs. Therefore, from 2013-14, this information has not been collected. Please refer to the previous 'Children's Social Work Statistics' publications for statistics on close support information.
2.8 The Scottish Social Services Council ( SSSC) can provide information on staffing and vacancies of secure accommodation services, where a secure unit has provided that information to the Care Inspectorate, although this is not necessarily published. Please note that vacancy information would be at an aggregate level, not at post level. This means staff type would not be available, nor would it be possible to tell if the post was full time or part time. The data is an annual snapshot of the workforce on 31 December each year and includes a range of variables in addition to vacancy information. If you require further information on staffing and vacancies on the other data held for secure accommodation services, please contact James Arnold ( james.arnold@sssc.uk.com) at the SSSC. Alternatively, you can visit the SSSC's workforce data site at: http://data.sssc.uk.com.
3. Definitions and notation
3.1 The survey forms, data specifications and guidance notes for the statistics presented in this publication (and previous years publications) are all available online. The data specifications include the standard validation checks undertaken to quality assure these data.
| Online documentation | |
|---|---|
| Looked after | http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/SurveyChildrenLookedAfter |
| Child protection | http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/SurveyChildProtection |
| Secure care accommodation | http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/SurveySecureAccommodation |
Children Looked After
3.2 Looked after child - The definition of a looked after child is in section 17(6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, as amended by Schedule 2, para 9(4) of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007. Information on this definition is available here: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2011/03/10110037/2
3.3 Supervision Requirement/Compulsory Supervision Order - A children's hearing is a lay tribunal which considers and makes decisions on the welfare of the child or young person before them, taking into account the circumstances including any offending behaviour. The hearing decides on the measures of supervision which are in the best interests of the child or young person. If the hearing concludes compulsory measures of supervision are needed, it will make a Supervision Requirement or a Compulsory Supervision Order which will determine the type of placement for the child. In most cases the child will continue to live at home but will be under the supervision of a social worker. In some cases the hearing will decide that the child should live away from home with relatives or other carers.
3.5 Permanence order - This is an order that the sheriff court can make for the protection and supervision of children. By default, parents have a right for their child to live with them and control where the child lives. A Permanence order, which can only be applied for by the local authority, transfers this right to the local authority. Other parental rights and responsibilities can be shared between the local authority, birth parents and carers of the child (e.g. foster or kinship carers).
3.6 Types of placement
- At home with parent(s): at home with parent(s) or 'relevant person(s)' as defined in Section 200 of the Children's Hearings Act 2011
- With friends/relatives: placed with friends or relatives who are not approved foster carers. Also referred to as 'kinship care'.
- With foster carers provided by the local authority
- With foster carers purchased by the local authority
- With prospective adopters
- Other community: such as supported accommodation, hospital (e.g. at birth)
- Local authority home: in local authority children's home/hostel, local authority home/hostel for children with learning disabilities, local authority home/hostel for physically disabled children
- Voluntary home: in voluntary children's home/hostel which may be specifically for children with learning disabilities or for physically disabled children
- Residential school: in local authority or voluntary residential school (home/hostel), private school or independent school
- Secure accommodation
- Crisis care: in women's refuge, local authority/voluntary hostel for offenders or for drug/alcohol abusers
- Other residential: a known residential setting but does not fit with one of the above
3.7 There is information on the process by which children come to be looked after and legislation governing this on the Scottish Government website: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Young-People/protecting/lac
Child Protection
3.8 Child Protection Case Conference ( CPCC) - a meeting where the risk of harm or neglect of a child is addressed. There are four types of CPCC:
| Type | Who it is for | Potential outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Initial | a child not currently on the child protection register | - Child is registered or |
| Pre-birth | an unborn child | - Child is registered or |
| Review | a child already on the child protection register or where there are significant changes in the child or family situation | - Child remains on register or |
| Transfer | a child already on the child protection register moving between local authorities | - Child is de-registered or |
3.9 Registrations - The children who were the subject of a child protection case conference and were subsequently added to the child protection register between 1 August 2015 and 31 July 2016.
3.10 Deregistrations - Children who were subject to a transfer or review conference and subsequently removed from the child protection register between 1 August 2015 and 31 July 2016.
3.11 The National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland, published in 2010 and refreshed in 2014, is available here: http://www.gov.scot/publications/national-guidance-child-protection-scotland/
Secure care accommodation
3.12 Secure accommodation legal framework - The children's hearings system has responsibility for dealing with most children and young people under 16 who commit offences or who are in need of care and protection. In some cases children's hearings have responsibility for young people under 18 where the young person is under the supervision of the hearing when he or she reaches 16 and the supervision requirement is extended.
3.13 For children who commit very grave crimes (the circumstances are set out in the relevant Lord Advocate's guidelines), the option remains for them to be jointly reported to the children's reporter and the procurator fiscal and together, they will decide whether prosecution through the court is appropriate. The court may then sentence, or return the young person to the hearing to be dealt with.
3.14 A young person who appears in court accused of an offence, where bail is not considered appropriate, can be remanded to the care of the local authority responsible for them under section 51 of the Criminal Procedures (Scotland) Act 1995. Local authorities are then responsible for placing that young person in secure care.
3.15 A young person convicted of an offence in court can be sentenced to detention in secure accommodation under section 205 or 208 of the Criminal Procedures (Scotland) Act 1995. In these cases, it is the responsibility of Scottish Ministers to place the sentenced young person in suitable accommodation.
3.16 Before a child or young person can be placed in secure accommodation through the children's hearings system, the children's panel must consider that the young person meets the legal criteria set out in The Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011. The conditions are -
(a) that the child has previously absconded and is likely to abscond again and, if the child were to abscond, it is likely that the child's physical, mental, or moral welfare would be at risk;
(b) the child is likely to engage in self harming conduct;
(c) the child is likely to cause injury to another person.
3.17 Average number - The average number of young people in secure care accommodation over the year is calculated using the dates of admission and discharge for every child. Ages on admission, discharge during 2015-16 and age at 31 July 2016 are the actual ages for all young people.
3.18 Ethnicity and Religion - Data was collected on ethnicity and religion of young people in secure care and close support accommodation, but we are unable to publish this due to small numbers and data confidentiality issues.
3.19 Emergency beds - these can be used at short notice, for example, when a young person is admitted during the night as it is less disruptive for the other young people. The young person is usually admitted to the main facility the following day. Three units operated such a place.
3.20 Mothballed - The term mothballed was used when recommendation 6 from the Securing our Future Initiative report recommended the targeted closure of 12 beds to bring the capacity of each of the independent secure units down to 18 beds. Beds were mothballed for the first year with on-going review meaning provision was reduced although a group of key core staff were retained to provide emergency cover if there was ever a short term need to increase capacity.
Disability and additional support needs
3.22 Prior to 2011, data was presented as 'Disability', and, because the categories in use did not match with definitions in the Equalities Act, from 2011-12 until 2014-15, data was presented as 'additional support needs'. The statistics themselves did not change in any way - the content of the data and categories remained the same, so were still comparable over time. For 2015-16, a new disability question was introduced for the child protection, children looked after and secure care accommodation data collections, and this reduced the question to a simple yes/no, but with a more stringent qualification - "does the young person have a mental or physical impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities?". This is not comparable to the previous data. Work is underway to find a unified set of disability criteria to provide more detail and which meet user needs.
Further information is available at:-
- Children looked after - data specifications and guidance notes
- Child protection - data specification and guidance notes
- Secure care accommodation - data specification and guidance notes
Notation and rounding
3.23 The following notation is used in this publication
- Data not available
* In cases where information is presented on a small number of children and is potentially disclosive, indicates that data have been suppressed.
3.24 The sum of the breakdowns in the tables may not sum to the total displayed due to rounding.
4. Data Quality and revisions
4.1 The data for all three parts of this publication - looked after children, child protection and secure care - come from administrative data held by local authorities and secure units. As this information is used to monitor and manage these sectors it should be robust and accurate.
4.2 Automated validation checks are undertaken at the point the data are submitted. These validations are outlined in the relevant data specifications (see Background note 3.1 for links).
4.3 The Children and Families statistics team undertake a range of validation checks on administrative data as part of the quality assurance process of preparing this national statistics publication. These procedures include; trend analysis, comparing against other available sources, and checking outliers with data providers. The data providers are then asked to confirm their data - for looked after children and child protection data this confirmation comes from local authorities, for secure care accommodation this confirmation comes from secure units. In cases where concerns about data quality outweigh the value of having an estimated figure publically available, we would not publish that particular information (e.g. legal reason data from the looked after children collection).
4.4 There is more information on the data quality of the administrative sources underlying this publication here: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/sourcesandsuitability/StatementAdminSources
Looked after - comparability over time
4.5 Looked after children statistics for years prior to 2008-09 used data supplied by local authorities aggregated at a local authority level. Since 2008‑09, there have been significant improvements in the quality of data reporting as a result of the new individualised collection methodology. This should be borne in mind when performing cross-year comparisons.
4.6 Data collected on children in a current planned series of short-term placements were not collected from 2013/14 onwards - in consultation with local authorities and data users, it was seen to be little-used, and could therefore be dropped from the collection. Historical figures are still available from previous years' publications.
4.7 This publication presents revised 2014-15 data for looked after children, although the changes were minimal (the total is now 0.03% lower).
Looked after - data quality of specific variables
4.8 From 2011-12, local authorities were requested to supply information on all legal reasons for a child being looked after (i.e. a child may have more than one legal reason at any time). While the quality of this information is improving, it is still not being consistently recorded across local authorities. Only information on the legal reasons in place at the 31 st July has been published (Table 2.5 in the additional tables).
4.9 The only looked after field for which data is collected but not published is religion. This is due to data quality concerns as each year around two-thirds of children are recorded with religion as 'unknown'.
Child protection
4.10 For the first time in 2012-13 the child protection data were collected entirely at individual level. As there was much more detail and complexity to the 2012-13 data than in previous years there was much more scope for small errors. During the 2015-16 collection process, it was possible for local authorities to revise their 2014-15 data. This, coupled with the possibility of comparing data across two different years, had helped improve on the quality of individual data and the confidence in the accuracy of this.
4.11 Prior to 2011-12, some local authorities did not place 'unborn' children on the child protection register until the child was actually born. The revised National Guidance now states that 'unborn' children should be placed on the child protection register if this is required and not wait until the child is born.
4.12 This publication presents revised 2014-15 data for child protection which has resulted in a 0.5 per cent decrease in the national figure.
Secure care accommodation
4.13 As the number of young people using secure care is very small, relative changes over time will show greater percentage changes than for data relating to children looked after or child protection.
4.14 Information was collected in 2011-12 to help monitor outcomes for the National Contract for Secure Care on whether a full medical assessment was received, an individualised Care/sentenced/remand plan completed, an individualised learning plan based on educational assessment completed and a transition/pathway plan in place. As the contract for secure care continues to develop, this information has become less relevant to the annual collection. To reduce burden on units, we have not collected the information listed above or on information on secure authorisations turned down from 2012-13.
5. Enquiries
Please send any media enquiries to:
- Jenny Scott, 0131 244 2939
These data in this publication and additional tables on looked after children, child protection and secure care and close support accommodation are available at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/PubChildrenSocialWork
Email any requests for further analysis to childrens.statistics@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Children and Families Statistics
28 March 2017
Contact
Email: Ian Volante
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