English councils are increasingly applying to take children into care, Cafcass figures have revealed.
The number of care applications from April to August 2025 (5,115) was 6.6% higher than in the same period last year (4,799) and the highest level recorded during the same five months since 2022.
Cafcass said the trend was driven by practice in some council areas, while the Association of Directors of Children's Services said that many families were "struggling and reaching crisis point".
The news comes with the government rolling out reforms to children's social care whose key aim, according to chief social worker Isabelle Trowler, is a "massive reduction" in the size of the care population.
Trends in care applications and orders
The number of children subject to a full or interim care order rose from 40,090 in 2014, equivalent to 58% of the care population, to 63,640 (78%) in 2021, with the proportion accommodated voluntarily under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 falling from 28% to 15% from 2015-21.However, from 2021-24, the share of children on a care order fell to 74%, while the number under section 20 rose to 19%. During this time, the number on a care order fell from 63,640 to 62,420 (source: Department for Education).
According to Cafcass's data, the number of care applications, under section 31 of the Children Act, hit a high of 14,599 in 2016-17 and - apart from a slight increase in 2022-23 - fell in every year up to 2024-25, when it stood at 11,458.
The 5,115 applications from April to August 2025 concerned 8,416 children, a rise of 7.6% (591 children) on the numbers who were the subjects of applications in the same period in 2024.
'Lots of families struggling and reaching crisis point'
In response to the data, a Cafcass spokesperson said: "There has been a general rise in public law demand, particularly for section 31 applications, in some local authority areas in recent months."The reasons for these increases are likely to vary and may reflect a range of local and systemic factors. We are continuing to work with our local authority partners at a local level to try and anticipate the likely flow of future work."
The chair of the ADCS's families, communities and young people policy network, Helen Lincoln, said there had been a general trend in recent years for the number of over-16s entering care to increase, with many of this group having "complex and overlapping health and social care needs".
She added: “This picture may vary from place to place, as lots of families are still struggling and reaching crisis point.”
Government aims to reduce numbers going into care
The Department for Education (DfE) reform agenda aims to shift the balance of the children's social care system towards earlier intervention to support families manage pressures and complexities in their lives, in order to prevent children going into care.Its chief vehicle to achieve this is the creation of multidisciplinary family help services, which are designed to provide families with non-stigmatising, relationship-based support from a consistent lead practitioner, helped by a wider team around the family.
In addition, the DfE is urging councils to make much greater use of family group decision making (FGDM) meetings, which offer families the opportunity to develop their own plans to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need or at risk.
Under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently going through Parliament, councils will be required to offer families an FGDM meeting at the pre-proceedings stage, giving them an opportunity to propose alternatives to care proceedings.
