Overview

• There are 83,840 children in the care system in England, an increase of 2% from 2022 and a 23% increase from 2013.¹⁰
• 33,000 children entered the care system in 2023, a 6% increase from 2022 and an increase of 14% from 2013.¹¹
• 31,680 children left the care system in 2023. This is an increase of 5% from 2022 and an increase of 11% from 2013.¹²
• 12% of children who left care in 2023 left under a special guardianship order and 9% left through adoption. There has been a 2% decrease in the number of children adopted compared to 2022.¹³
• Children in care are predominantly older with 38% aged 10-15 years and 26% aged 16 years and over.¹⁴
• During 2022/23, 69% of children in care had one placement in the year, while 10% experienced high instability (3 or more placements).¹⁵
• 21% of children in care are placed over 20 miles from their home area.¹⁶

Fostering

• 68% of children in care live with a foster family (n=57,020) this has decreased 2% since 2022.¹⁷
• There are 43,405 fostering households in England. This is a 1% decrease since 2022 and a 2% decrease since 2019.¹⁸
• At the end of March 2023 there were 3,805 new approved fostering households.¹⁹
• There are now 59,308 approved foster cares in England. This is a 3% decrease since 2022 and an 8% decrease since 2019.²⁰

Adoption

• In 2023, 2,960 children were adopted, a 2% decrease from 2022.²¹
• The average age of a child at adoption is 3 years and 5 months.²²
• In 2023, the average time between a child entering care and being placed for adoption was 1 year and 7 months, up from 1 year 6 months last year. It then takes a further 10 months (on average) for an adoption order to be granted and the adoption to be completed.²³
• As of October 2023, there were 2210 children waiting for adoption this is an decrease of 25% since 2022. 48% of these children have been waiting for 18 months or more, a 4% decrease from last year.²⁴
• In 2023, 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 12,200 young people in England aged out of the care system on their 18th Birthday. This has increased by 2% since 2022, and increased by 7% since 2019.²⁶
• The number of care leavers aged 18-25 facing homelessness in 2022/23 has risen to 3,710, a 9% increase from the previous year (n=3,390).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
• 8% 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
• 38% 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 decreased by 3% since 2022.³³
• Just 14% 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