Freedom of information (FOI) disclosure log

Date Sent: August 07, 2026

Conclusion: Partial Release

Description: Dear Freedom of Information Officer, I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your authority's looked-after children who have a recorded disability, hold an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), or have neurodevelopmental or attachment-related diagnoses. This request concerns recorded information relating to policy, performance, commissioning, procurement and service delivery within children's social care. It does not seek personal data. This information is sought in the public interest to support transparent national benchmarking of the SEND profile of looked-after children across English local authorities and to identify areas of unmet need for specialist provision. Where data is held against a financial year, please provide figures for the most recent three complete financial years (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25) and the current year to date. Where monthly snapshots are held, please provide the most recent 12-month period. Where the requested information is already published (for example via the Department for Education's Children Looked After statistics), a reference or link to the published source is sufficient. Where a specific figure would identify fewer than five individuals, please suppress under the standard <5 convention and note that suppression has been applied, so that the aggregate cohort picture remains reportable. 1. Cohort Numbers 1.1 As at the most recent available snapshot date, please confirm the total number of children currently looked after by the authority, and the snapshot date used. 1.2 As at the same snapshot date, please provide the number of looked-after children (aged 0-17) in each of the following categories. Where a child sits in more than one category, please count them in each — I am seeking the size of each cohort, not a mutually exclusive breakdown. - With a recorded disability (as reported on the SSDA903 statistical return) - With an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in force - With a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) - With a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - With a Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) primary need on their EHCP or equivalent assessment - With a Learning Disability (mild, moderate, severe or profound) - With a physical disability - With a sensory impairment (visual or hearing) - With Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) - With a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile, where recorded - With a recorded diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) or Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED), where recorded - Where developmental trauma is recorded as a presenting need in the child's care assessment or formulation 1.3 Please provide the equivalent figures for each of the following years, where held: - 2022/23 - 2023/24 - 2024/25 - 2025/26 (year to date) 1.4 Overlapping diagnoses — of the looked-after children identified in Question 1.2, please confirm, where routinely recorded: - (a) The number of children with an EHCP who also have a recorded diagnosis of ASC - (b) The number of children with an EHCP who also have a recorded diagnosis of ADHD - (c) The number of children who have both ASC and ADHD recorded 1.5 Educational placement of the EHCP cohort — of the looked-after children with an EHCP in force at the snapshot date used in Q1.1, please provide the number attending each of the following, where routinely recorded: - Mainstream school - Specialist maintained school - Independent special school (non-maintained or independent) - Alternative Provision (AP) - Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) or education otherwise arranged - No education currently in place (where recorded) 2. Placement Type by SEND Profile For looked-after children with an EHCP in force at the snapshot date used in Q1.1, please provide the number placed in each of the following settings: 2.1 Ofsted-registered children's homes (under 18s) 2.2 Residential schools / 52-week placements 2.3 Specialist SEND fostering placements (in-house or IFA) 2.4 Mainstream fostering (in-house or IFA) 2.5 Ofsted-registered supported accommodation (16-17) 2.6 Unregistered provision 2.7 Placed out of area (20+ miles from home address, or outside the LA boundary — please state which definition your authority uses) 2.8 In joint-funded placements (LA + ICB / NHS Continuing Care)

Attachments: FOI_Response 750.doc