Wales Children Receiving Care and Support Census: as at 31 March 2020

Data in this annual update covers the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The number of children receiving care and support includes only those children (aged under 18) who had a care and support plan in place for three months or more at the census date of 31 March, i.e. the care and support plan was in place on or before 1 January 2020 and remained in place at 31 March 2020.

Main points

• There were 16,581 children receiving care and support included in the Children Receiving Care and Support (CRCS) Census at 31 March 2020, an increase of 161 (1%) compared with 31 March 2019. The overall number of children captured in the CRCS Census has increased each year since data began being collected in 2016-17.
• The rate of children receiving care and support in the CRCS Census at 31 March 2020 equated to 263 per 10,000 children aged under 18 years, compared to 261 per 10,000 children at 31 March 2019.
• 6,935 children (42%) were looked after by a local authority and 2,311 children (14%) were on the Child Protection Register. There were 165 children who were looked after and on the Child Protection Register (included in the children looked after total). The remaining 7,335 children (44%) were not looked after and not on the Child Protection Register.
• The proportion of children receiving care and support who were looked after has increased each year since 2016-17, whilst the proportion of children who were not looked after and not on the Child Protection Register has decreased each year.
• Over half of all children receiving care and support (53%) had a need for care and support due primarily to the risk of, or actual, abuse or neglect.

Notes

Further information, including local authority level breakdowns, can be found on StatsWales.

Information on education has not been updated as, due to the pandemic, the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) data collection for 2021 has not yet taken place. The PLASC data collection will be undertaken during the summer term and the education data will be updated on StatsWales in the autumn. Some information in relation to health and parenting capacity is missing for some children as noted on StatsWales.

Some figures for previous years have been revised.

No full statistical release has been published for 2019-20 due to analytical resources prioritising the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Information on quality can be found in the 2018-19 statistical release.