Overview

• There are 83,630 children in the care system in England, a decrease of 0.5% from 2023, but a 23% increase from 2014.¹⁰
• 33,050 children entered the care system in 2024, very similar to last year, but an increase of 8% from 2014.¹¹
• 33,620 children left the care system in 2024. This is an increase of 6% from 2023 and an increase of 10% from 2014.¹²
• 11% of children who left care in 2024 left under a special guardianship order and 9% left through adoption. There has been a 1% decrease in the number of children adopted compared to 2023.¹³
• Children in care are predominantly older with 38% aged 10-15 years and 27% aged 16 years and over.¹⁴
• During 2024, 69% of children in care had one placement in the year, while 10% experienced high instability (3 or more placements).¹⁵
• 22% of children in care are placed over 20 miles from their home area.¹⁶

Fostering

• 67% of children in care live with a foster family (n=56,390) this has decreased 3% since 2022.¹⁷
• There are 42,615 fostering households in England. This is a 2% decrease since 2022 and a 4% decrease since 2020.¹⁸
• At the end of March 2024 there were 3,785 new approved fostering households.¹⁹
• There are now 57,065 approved foster cares in England. This is a 4% decrease since 2022 and a 15% decrease since 2020.²⁰

Adoption

• In 2024, 2,980 children were adopted, similar to the previous year.²¹
• The average age of a child at adoption is 3 years and 4 months, which is down slightly by one month compared to last year but is up from 3 years in 2020. ²²
• In 2024, the average time between a child entering care and being placed for adoption was 1 year and 7 months, the same as last year. It then takes a further 9 months (on average) for an adoption order to be granted and the adoption to be completed.²³
• As of October 2024, there were 2600 children waiting for adoption this is an decrease of 25% since 2022. 47% of these children have been waiting for 18 months or more, a 1% decrease from last year.²⁴
• In 2024, Children aged over 5, male, from an Ethnic Minority (excludes White minorities) background, with a disability and in a sibling group were more likely to be waiting with a PO and less likely to be adopted.²⁵

Care leavers and care-experienced young people

• In 2023, 13,112 young people in England aged out of the care system on their 18th Birthday. This has increased by 4% since 2020.²⁶
• The number of care leavers aged 18-20 experiencing homelessness has increased by 54% over the past five years.²⁷
• Care leavers make up 25% of the adult homeless population.²⁸
• Almost 25% of the adult prison population have previously been in care,²⁹ and nearly 50% of under 21-year-olds in contact with the criminal justice system have spent time in care.³⁰
• Looked-after children are more at risk of interacting with the criminal justice system in early adulthood than their peers. Among looked-after children 52% were convicted of a criminal offence by the academic year they turned the age of 24, compared to 13% of children who had not experienced care.³¹
• 7% of care leavers aged 17 years; 3% of care leavers aged 18 years and 6% of care leavers aged 19-21 are in accommodation considered to be unsuitable.³²
• 39% of care leavers aged 19-21 years are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), compared to 13% of all 19- to 21-year-olds. The number of care leavers aged 19-21 who are not in education, employment, or training has increased by 1% since 2023.³³
• Just 9% of care leavers enter HE by their 19th birthday, compared to 47% of the wider population.³⁴
• Care-experienced applicants are 179% more likely to apply for health and social care degrees than non-care-experienced students, and 50% more likely to apply for nursing and midwifery.³⁵