A quarter of children (one in four) in England will receive services from children’s social care before the
age of 18, research has uncovered.
The study from used data from the Child in Need Census to determine how many children require intervention before turning 18. A child ‘in need’ is defined as needing help and protection due to risks to their development or health.
Interventions for these children include parenting support, access to children’s centres, necessary adaptation of homes, or being taken into care.
Researchers found that 25.3% of children are ‘in need’ at least once before they turn 18. Additionally, 7.1% of children will receive a child protection plan (CPP), which is put in place when a child is at risk of abuse or neglect.
‘These findings raise questions,’ said lead author Dr Matthew Jay. ‘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.’
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