Children in Care, Adoption and Care Leavers

Numbers of children in care

At year end 31 March 2020 Derby had 588 children in care. This was an increase from 562 children at seen at the previous year end. This is an additional 26 children and equates to a 4.6% increase.
Nationally there were 80,080 children in care on 31 March 2020. This is an increase of 1,930 children since the previous year end and equates to a 2.5% increase. The East Midlands region saw an increase of 290 children which equates to a 5.0% increase compared to March 2019.

At year end 31 March 2020 Derby had 98 children in care per 10,000 people aged under 18.
Derby’s rate (98) is above the 2019-20 comparator authority average of 81 per 10,000, above the national rate of 67 per 10,000 and above the East Midlands average of 61 per 10,000.
The comparator authority average has remained at 81 per 10,000 for the second year running.
The 2019-20 national average has risen from 65 per 10,000 to 67 per 10,000.

Between 2018-19 and 2019-20 the percentage of children looked after in Derby that were adopted during the year decreased from 14% (2018-19) to 7% (2019-20).
Derby’s 2019-20 figure of 7% is the lowest performance achieved in Derby for several years. Derby has the lowest figure in our comparator group.
With a figure of 7% Derby is lower than the 2019-20 national average of 12%, the comparator authority average (14%), and the East Midlands average (13%).

Derby had 588 children in care at 31 March 2020 and of these 435 were in Foster placements (74.0%). This is slightly higher than the national average of 71.7% but lower than the comparator authority average of 76.0%.
Derby had a slightly lower percentage of children in care who were Placed with Parents (4.6%) compared to the national average of 6.7% and the comparator authority average of 6.0%.
Derby has a slightly higher percentage of children in care who were in Secure Units and Children’s Homes & Hostels (14.5%) compared to the national average of 13.5% and the comparator authority average of 9.9%.
Derby had a significantly higher percentage of placements from Private Provision (60.9%) compared to the national average of 36.5%.
Of the 588 active placements at 31 March 2020 120 were classed as Own Provision (20.4%). This compares to 53.4% in our comparator authorities and 50.1% in the East Midlands region.

Derby had 588 children in care at 31 March 2020 and of these 358 were placed within 20 miles of the child’s home address. This equates to 60.9%. This compares to 73.2% nationally and 80.3% in our comparator authority group.
Derby had the lowest percentage of children in care placed within 20 miles in our comparator group whilst Bolton had the highest percentage with 87.5%.

Derby had 192 qualifying care leavers aged 19, 20 or 21 at 31 March 2020 and of these 167 had accommodation that was deemed suitable. This equates to a percentage of 87.0% which is an increase from the 2018-19 percentage of 86.0%.
Derby had 192 qualifying care leavers aged 19, 20 or 21 at 31 March 2020 and of these 97 were in Education, Employment or Training (EET). This equates to a percentage of 50.5% which is an increase from the 2018-19 percentage of 47%.

Derby's completion rate of dental checks increased for the fourth year running. The 2019-20 percentage of 92.3% puts Derby fifth in our comparator group. The Comparator Authorities average decreased from 92.0% in 2018-19 to 91.2% during 2019-20. The national percentage has increased to 85.6% in 2019-20.

Derby's completion rate of immunisations has decreased, for the fourth year running, from 92.8% in 2018-19 to 92.1% in 2019-20, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points. Even after a slight decrease Derby's 2019-20 performance remains higher than the national comparator and East Midlands averages for the seventh year running.

Derby's completion rate of annual health assessments has decreased from 96.1% in 2018-19 to 93.5% in 2019-20, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points. The 2019-20 percentage is the second highest percentage that has been achieved in Derby over the past seven years. The 2019-20 percentage is higher than the national, comparator authority, and the East Midlands average. Derby ranks fifth highest in our comparator group.
Derby's completion rate of development assessments has remained above 90% for the past two years. The year on year performance has decreased, however, from 91.9% in 2018-19 to 90.2% in 2019-20. This is a decrease of 1.7 percentage points. Derby are now ranked eighth in our comparator group but are above the national and comparator authority average for the third year running.

Derby's SDQ average score per child has decreased from 14.8 in 2018-19 to 14.7 in 2019-20, a decrease of 0.1 points. Derby's average score has decreased for the fourth year running and is now at its lowest level in the past seven years. Derby are ranked fourth highest in our comparator group.

Derby's percentage of children for whom an SDQ score has been submitted has decreased slightly from 92.7% (2018-19) to 92.2% (2019-20), a change of -0.5 percentage points. In 2019-20 Derby performed higher than the national average for the fourth year running, 92.2% compared to 80.7%. Derby are ranked fourth highest performing authority in our comparator group.
In 2019-20, Derby's percentage of children for whom an SDQ score has been submitted with a score of 17 or over is higher than the national average (42.7% compared to 38.0%). Derby's 2019-20 figure of 42.7% is an increase from 2018-19 where 39.6% had a "cause for concern", a rise of 3.1 percentage points.

Derby's Children and Young Peoples Plan (CYP Plan) sets out what we want to achieve as a partnership to address the needs of all children and young people, their families and carers.

Our Children In Care Placements Commissioning and Sufficiency Strategy outlines how we are working to ensure local homes and provision.