Child and parental mental health problems are increasingly driving the need for social care, Department for Education figures have shown.
Mental health concerns about children showed the biggest increase from 2017-18 to 2024-25 among factors identified following child and family assessments, according to the DfE's annual children in need census, released last week.
And parental mental health concerns had the third highest rate of growth while also remaining the factor most frequently recorded following assessments in 2024-25.
In the wake of the figures, the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) warned that that strain on the NHS was loading increased pressures on councils in responding to these needs.
More on the 2025 children in need census
Children's social care caseloads broadly stable
The data suggested children's social care caseloads in England have been broadly stable in recent years.
The number of children in need - a category that includes those on child in need or child protection plans, disabled children, looked-after children and care leavers, as well as those awaiting or undergoing an assessment - was 402,400 at 31 March 2025.
Though this was up by 0.7% on the March 2024 figure (399,460), it was slightly below the figures recorded in 2023 (403,090) and 2022 (404,310).
Similarly, the numbers of referrals to children's social care and assessments were higher in 2024-25 than 2023-24, but lower than in 2022-23.
Referral trends
Councils received 632,880 referrals in the year to 31 March 2025, up 1.8% on the previous year (621,880), but down on the 640,430 recorded in 2023-24.
Though the police continued to account for the largest share of referrals (178,890), the latest rise was driven by reports from health - which rose from 91,370 in 2023-24 to 96,090 - and from schools, which increased from 126,460 to 130,050.
Just over a fifth of 2024-25 referrals (22.6%) were re-referrals within 12 months of the previous one, a similar proportion to that recorded in 2023-24 (22.4%).
Just over a third of referrals resulted in no further action (6.5%) or an assessment resulting in the child not being found to be in need (30.8%), a similar proportion to previous years.
How long are assessments taking?
Practitioners carried out 648,830 assessments in 2024-25, compared with 643,170 and 655,540 in 2023-24. Despite the rise, the median average duration of assessments decreased from 34 to 33 days between 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Under Working Together to Safeguard Children, assessments should be completed within 45 working days.
Of children in need at 31 March 2025, 58% (234,590) had abuse or neglect identified as their primary need, with the number of such cases growing from 217,440 to 234,590 since 2022. Over the same time, the area of need that has seen the biggest drop is family dysfunction, with the number of children identified for this having fallen from 54,810 to 42,290.
The data also showed shifts over time in factors identified following assessments, notably the rising level of child and parental mental health needs, though the DfE stressed that these statistics should be treated with caution because of differences in local authority recording practices.
Rising levels of mental health need
Parental mental health concerns remained the factor most frequently identified following an assessment, with 171,780 such instances in 2024-25, up 3.8% on the 165,480 recorded in 2023-24.
Since 2017-18, the number of episodes of need in which parental mental health was recorded following assessment has grown by 33% (from 129,230), the third fastest rate of growth among factors over that time. During this period, it has gone from being recorded in 27% of episodes of need for which a factors were recorded following assessment, to 33%.
The fastest rate of growth was in relation to child mental health concerns, which was identified 90,400 times in 2024-25, up 57% on the 57,410 recorded in 2017-18, when it was recorded in 12% of cases, compared with 18% now.
Risks to youngest children from parental mental illness
The findings reflect concerns raised by sector leaders. Three-quarters of directors responding to an Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) survey covering said issues arising from a deterioration in parental mental health had increased pressures on their services from 2022-24, with leaders reporting that this had increased risks of harm to the youngest children.
At the same time, according to NHS data, the proportion of children aged 8-16 with a probable mental health disorder - based on responses to a standard questionnaire - rose from 12.5% to 20.3% from 2017-23.
Increasing levels of mental health need have been a key driver of the significant challenges facing councils in finding appropriate placements for children in care, and have been associated with the sharp rise in the use of High Court deprivation of liberty orders seen in recent years.
At the same time, there are longstanding concerns about children in care's lacking access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
'Strain on NHS adding to pressures on councils' - directors
In response to the children in need census, the ADCS highlighted mental health as a rising area of need, but also warned that strains on the NHS were increasing pressures on councils.
“The ongoing effects of the pandemic, worsening mental health among children and parents, housing insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis are all driving up need," said Helen Lincoln, chair of the ADCS's families, communities and young people network.
“The interconnectedness of life, public services and need has never been clearer. A crisis in one part of the system, for example, the strain on the NHS, inevitably ripples across others, with more children, young people and families turning to us for support with mental health and wellbeing."
She added: “Government must commit to a coherent, long-term plan for children and young people, one that is genuinely cross-departmental and brings together education, health, policing and other key partners to tackle poverty, inequality and systemic inequities that continue to impact children and families facing racial or social disadvantage."
'Good evidence for parental support schemes'
Meanwhile, sector what works body Foundations said there was a good evidence base for certain parental support schemes for those experiencing mental ill-health, as highlighted in its DfE-commissioned practice guide on parenting children aged 0-10 through adversity, published earlier this year.
The guide was based on what Foundations said was the first major review of UK and international evidence on parenting support for families experiencing adversity, which found small statistically significant effects on parental mental health and reducing parental stress from parenting interventions.
Based on this, Foundations advised that there was strong evidence that evidence-based interventions could reduce parental stress and improve mental health for those with mild-to-moderate problems.
In the wake of the children in need census, a Foundations spokesperson said: “Our existing evidence shows that the right support can strengthen the parenting skills of those who experience serious mental health issues, and reduce the risk of serious harm to vulnerable children. Where we know what works, we need to act on it if we are to shift the dial on children’s outcomes. A national focus on support for parents, driven from the centre, will be key to realising the transformative potential of early intervention."
Children's social care reforms
The parenting through adversity guide is one of a number produced by Foundations for the DfE to support councils and their partners in implementing the government's children's social care reforms.
At the heart of these is the establishment of multidisciplinary family help teams to provide families with complex and multiple needs, including in relation to mental health, with earlier, better and less stigmatising support, to help them keep their children with them safely.
The DfE is investing at least £523.5m a year - just over half of which is new money - over the next four years to help councils implement this change, alongside the establishment of multi-agency child protection teams, designed to improve the quality of safeguarding practice, and the rollout of family group decision making meetings. The latter involve bringing together family networks to draw up plans to tackle concerns about a child, including to provide alternatives to the care system, where relevant.
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