Information on Children's Social Care and Early Help Services
We are interested in exploring the pathways between early help and statutory children's social care services, particularly for children whose cases are closed following an assessment under the Social Services and Well-being Act 2014, where they were identified as children in need of care and support. For questions 2 - 7 please provide data for the following time periods: * 1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021 * 1 April 2021 - 31 March 2022 * 1 April 2022 - 31 March 2023 * 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 * 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025 And for the following age groups: a. All children b. 5-9 years c. 10-15 years d. 16 years and over If no breakdown by age is available, please provide an overarching figure for all children. If no complete data is available for any questions, please provide incomplete data. 1. Does your local authority have a clear process to refer children to early help services when their case is closed after an assessment? (Yes or No) 2. For each of the periods and age groups as stated above, how many children received a needs assessment from your local authority? 3. From those children who underwent an assessment, how many children subsequently had a care and support plan? 4. For each of the periods and age groups as stated above, how many children's cases were closed following their needs assessment. 5. How many of the children whose case was closed after assessment were referred to early help services? 6. How many of the children whose case was closed after assessment were subsequently re-referred for a S47 or further needs assessment within 12 months of their initial referral? 7. How many of the children that had been referred to early help services following the closure of their initial Care and Support Plan were re-referred for another assessment within 12 months? I'd like to clarify that questions 2-6 should refer to simple assessments only, excluding comprehensive assessments and re-assessments. This is to maintain a focus on early help and ensure consistency across local authorities.