The Department for Education has released statistics on the characteristics of children in need 2017/18. The number of children in need increased this year by 4%, and the number of episodes of need starting in the year rose by 1.7%, but the number of episodes ending in the year fell by 1.3%. The number of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2018 continued to follow the upward trend of previous years, increasing by 5.3%.
Characteristics of children in need 2017/18
