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Dance and Drama Awards guide : academic year 2024 to 2025 : Published 23 April 2025

Hunt, Emily

Tuckett, Sam

Jiménez, Eva

Robinson, David

Breaking down the gap : The role of school absence and pupil characteristics

Zuccollo, James

What pensions do teachers want?

Subject Benchmark Statement : Philosophy : April 2025

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Published 15 May 2025
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Reporting year 2025
Children accommodated in
secure children's homes
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This release contains statistics on children
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numbers of approved and available places
availability and occupancy rates
children accommodated by sex, age, ethnicity, and
length of stay.
The data in this release is used to support monitoring
and assessment of capacity within the system. The
data is reported for England and Wales and is
collected directly from secure children's homes. 
Given the cohort of children accommodated in secure
children's homes is small, and these figures represent
a snapshot of the position on 31 March each year,
users should be cautious when interpreting year on
year variations.
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Children accommodated
in secure children's
homes
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Headline facts and figures - 2025
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Background
Secure children's homes 
Secure children's homes provide a safe place where very vulnerable children and
young people can receive the care, support and education they need. Beds within
secure children's homes are either contracted to the Youth Custody Service (YCS)
or are available to local authorities (LAs) for welfare or criminal justice placements,
so children can be placed within these children's homes either by LAs or the YCS.
The YCS place vulnerable children when they are remanded to custody by the courts
or are serving a custodial sentence. LAs place children when no other type of
placement can keep them safe as they are a significant risk to themselves or others.
There are currently two other types of secure accommodation - young offender
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institutions  and secure training centres. There is also one secure school. Data on
children placed in these are not included in this release but are published by the
Ministry of Justice (MoJ). (opens in a new tab)
Places contracted to the  Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
From September 2017, the overall responsibility for commissioning of youth
custody transferred to the MoJ from the Youth Justice Board. At the same time the
YCS took over responsibility for individual placements of children and young people
into youth custody and day-to-day management of youth custody. Some places
within secure children's homes are contracted out for use to the MoJ and children
are placed in them by the YCS. 
Go to top
Places approved and available
There are currently 14 secure children’s homes in England and Wales, with 235
approved places which is a decrease of 2 places on last year. 
The availability of approved places has decreased slightly since last year, at 90%
down from 93%. Last year the availability rate was above 90% for the first time since
2016.
Not all approved places are always available for use, for example homes
may temporarily close to make improvements, a bed may be out of use
due to damage or refurbishment or if staffing ratios mean a reduced
number of places can be filled. 
The number of approved places contracted to the MoJ steadily declined from 191
places in 2010 to 106 in 2019. Since then places contracted to the MoJ have
remained at a similar level - there were 102 places this year - three less than in
2024.
The number of children placed by the YCS in secure homes decreased from 146 in
2011 and 2012 down to 56 in 2023. Last year YCS placements increased slightly to
59 and they have increased further this year to 83.
Figures published by the His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (opens in a
new tab) show the overall population of the youth secure estate had been declining
to a series low in 2022. The population has fluctuated just above this value
since. This is reflected in the secure children’s homes data for MoJ contracted
places and YCS placements.
Go to top
Children accommodated and occupancy rate
Within the 14 secure children’s homes, there were 170 children accommodated, up
9% since last year. Between 2010 and 2021 there was an overall gradual decline in
children accommodated in secure children's homes, but since 2021 the number of
children accommodated has fluctuated more - generally around 150 children each
year, and increasing to 170 this year.  
The occupancy rate was 72% - up from 66% last year.  Note that a lower than 100%
occupancy rate does not necessarily mean that there are available spaces within
secure children's homes - availability of a suitable place may depend on if the place
is contracted to the YCS. In addition, placements are complex, and each home will
assess the resources required to support the individual needs of the children they
accommodate. 
Occupancy rates
These are based on the number of children accommodated in relation to
the number of places for which the home has approval to operate with.
Children and young people placed within secure children's homes may be placed
as:
Children detained or sentenced and placed by the YCS include children
detained for, or convicted of, a serious offence under the Powers of Criminal
Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 or the Criminal Justice Act 2003; or subject to a
Supervision Order with a residence requirement or a Detention and Training Order
under the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.
Children placed by the local authority in a criminal justice context include
children remanded by a court under section 102 (Remand to youth detention
accommodation) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act
2012; or accommodated pursuant to section 38 of the Police and Criminal
Evidence Act 1984.
Children placed by the local authority on welfare grounds include children
who are placed into the homes by their local authority under section 25 of the
Children Act 1989 for the protection of themselves and/or others.
On 31 March 2025, 47% of the children accommodated in secure children's homes
were placed on welfare grounds, 49% were detained or sentenced and placed by
the YCS and 4% were placed by the LA in a criminal justice context.
Children placed in secure homes on a welfare basis increased to 80 (up by 8
children). 
Children detained or sentenced and placed by the YCS increased to 83 (up by 24
children). Placements by the YCS have previously varied between 50 and 60
children for the last 4 years but is still down from a series peak of 146 in 2012.
Children placed by the LA in a criminal justice context decreased to 7 (down by 18
children), 
However, it is common for these figures to fluctuate from year to year. 
Go to top
Sex, age, and ethnicity
Note that due to the relatively small size of the cohort, users should be
cautious interpreting year on year changes.
Sex
There are more males than females accommodated in secure children’s homes.
The proportion of children accommodated who were male was 69% - a slight
decrease from 72% last year.  Males are over-represented in the secure children's
homes population (69% compared to 51% in the overall child population - as shown
in the ONS mid-year population estimates (opens in a new tab)).
Age
Children aged 15, 16 or 17 years make up 72% of the children accommodated. The
numbers in each age group are small and do fluctuate over time - children
accommodated by age in 2025:
14 were aged 13 years (8%)
26 were aged 14 years old (15%)
49 were aged 15 years old (29%)
47 were aged 16 years old (28%)
27 were aged 17 years old (16%)
the remaining 4% were either aged under 13, or 18 years and over.
Ethnicity
Information on the ethnicity of children accommodated in secure homes has been
reported since 2021. 
Go to top
Length of stay
60% of young people had been at the secure children’s home for 3 months or more,
compared to 55% last year.
Go to top
Help and support
Methodology
Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.
Children accommodated in secure children's homes
Accredited official statistics
These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office
for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness,
quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics
are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for
Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:
managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
meet identified user needs
produced according to sound methods
well explained and readily accessible
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).
OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice
for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet
these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing
regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Children accommodated in secure children's
homes statistics and data:
Children looked after statistics team
Email: cla.stats@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Justin Ushie
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Children accommodated in secure children's homes : 31 March 2025 : Published 15 May 2025

Improving attendance in secondary schools : An update on progress : May 2025

Aldred, Mike

School Teachers’ Review Body : 35th report, 2025 : Recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body on teachers’ and school leaders’ pay.

Crowley, Joseph

Wilson, Charles

Vallgarda, Lovisa Moller

Speight, Svetlana

Bhatti, Sehaj

Keyes, Anna

Parker, Rebecca

Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) : Impact Report on Early Education Use and Child Outcomes at Key Stage 2 : Research report : July 2025

The Department for Education (DfE) is establishing 10 technical excellence
colleges specialising in construction in the 2025 to 2026 academic year. This is
one of the measures announced in Spring Statement 2025 to boost skills in
construction, crucial for delivering the government’s plans to build 1.5 million
homes and progress vital infrastructure projects.
These 10 colleges will be the first to achieve technical excellence college status
and will play an active and pivotal role, both in shaping the wider technical
excellence colleges programme and in supporting other providers in their region.
There will be 1 construction technical excellence college (CTEC) in each of the
following regions:
East of England
East Midlands
Greater London
North East
North West
South East
South West
Guidance
Construction technical excellence
colleges: selection criteria and
application form
Published 12 June 2025
Applies to England
Menu
Home Education, training and skills Further and higher education, skills and vocational training
Construction technical excellence colleges: selection criteria
Department 
for Education
Contents
Eligibility criteria
How to apply
Selection process
Ways of working for CTECs
West Midlands
Yorkshire and the Humber
One region will have 2 CTECs.
Colleges appointed as CTECs are expected to have the capacity and capability to
support providers across their region, so that the opportunities and benefits
CTECs create are available to all learners without the need for extensive travel,
and so that differing skills needs within each region are met.
Through this ‘hub and spoke’ delivery model, CTECs will partner with colleges and
independent training providers across their region to share and embed the
resources they develop – for example providing access to excellent professional
development for teachers and cutting-edge specialist curricula.
CTECs may also broker partnerships between employers and partner providers.
Such partnerships could spread opportunities for learners to complete industry
placements and facilitate the participation of construction experts in training the
sector’s future workforce.            
At the Spring Statement 2025, the government committed £100 million over the
course of this Parliament to establish the 10 CTECs and to expand construction
skills provision. This includes £80 million in capital funding and £20 million in
revenue funding over the next 4 years.
While the revenue funding may be made available to CTECs, the specific terms,
conditions, and allocation of grant funding will be determined following
collaboration with participating organisations to ensure the programme delivers
maximum impact and value for money for the UK taxpayer.
We do not guarantee that capital funding will be made available to CTECs. Further
details on the separate process for how the capital funding may be accessed and
distributed will be provided in due course.
We will work with CTECs, mayoral strategic authorities, and other partners in the
skills system to co-design and implement solutions to increase delivery against
these 5 objectives:
boosting construction skills provision in direct response to local and national
employer needs
delivering high-quality teaching practice and curricula in construction courses,
including continuous professional development for staff, with an emphasis on
site integration and employer input
leveraging employer engagement and investment in construction skills provision
collaboration with other further education (FE) providers to boost construction
provision and quality both locally and nationally
clear pathways for learners to progress into work in the construction industry or
into higher level education construction courses
The co-design exercise will run from September 2025 to April 2026, but we
expect participants to retain their CTEC status and to continue to deliver against
the programme’s objectives in future years. Participants’ eligibility and
performance will be monitored and reviewed. If a college with CTEC status no
longer meets the criteria or its performance is below the required standard, this
status and any associated funding could be withdrawn with other providers being
invited to apply.
We reserve the right to alter the eligibility criteria for CTEC status in future years
following the co-design exercise.
This application process is for construction technical excellence colleges only.
We intend to roll-out additional technical excellence colleges (TECs) specialising
in other sectors identified by the industrial strategy as having high growth potential
in future years. The number and design of other TECs will need to reflect the
needs and landscape of the individual sector. More information on other TECs will
be published in due course.
Eligibility criteria
Applications will only be considered from providers that fully meet the eligibility
criteria outlined here. Providers that do not meet these criteria should not
apply.
To be eligible to apply for construction technical excellence college status, FE
providers must:
1. Be a general FE college that is part of the statutory FE sector in England
2. Based on the finance record, have (or expect to have) a finalised financial
health grade of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ for the year 2023 to 2024 as assessed
by DfE or the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), including:
no active ‘notice to improve’ issued
no significant concerns raised in any recent DfE or ESFA audits
no current, or recent investigations underway
3. Be Ofsted rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in overall effectiveness - colleges who
have an Ofsted rating of ‘requires improvement’ may apply if they can
demonstrate through a recent monitoring visit report that they have made
significant progress against all areas requiring improvement
4. Offer qualifications in construction at level 2 and above
5. Support either an above average proportion (5.8% or more) of construction
learners at all levels compared to the rest of their overall cohort or at least 525
construction learners. Providers who support fewer than 300 learners will not be
eligible. This minimum threshold is based on the number of leavers in academic
year 2023 to 2024 from published FE and skills data
6. Have either an above average (84% or more) achievement rate for learners at
all levels in construction or at least 440 achieving learners. This minimum
threshold is based on published FE and Skills data for academic year 2023 to
2024 [footnote 1]
7. Have experience of one or more of the following:
delivering in the construction sector as a partner of a local Institute of
Technology
being the project lead provider of a Local Skills Improvement Fund project
focused on the construction sector
being a member of the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence
registering learners at your institution participate in a WorldSkills or
Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Skills competition in a
construction-related field in 2025
(Greater London region only) involvement in the Mayor’s Skills Academies
Green (including Construction) Hubs or hold the Mayor’s Quality Mark for
Green or Construction
The department reserves the right to adjust one or more competitive criteria to
ensure that regional circumstances are appropriately reflected. Accordingly, we
have applied an additional relevant criterion for London colleges.
How to apply
Colleges that meet the above criteria need to apply using our online
application form by 11:59pm on Friday 4 July 2025.
Late submissions will not be accepted.
Contact DfE at tec.enquiries@education.gov.uk if you have any questions
about the application process.
For DfE Sign-in queries use the Virtual assistant for education providers
and learners.
 
Selection process  
The decision to appoint construction technical excellence colleges will be made
by the Secretary of State for Education, in consultation with mayoral strategic
authorities where applicant colleges are located within the relevant areas.
DfE will select colleges based on an assessment of overall merit and strategic
considerations, ensuring the best fit for the programme’s goals, including:
an assessment of the evidence they provide of their delivery against the 5
objectives
an assessment of the plans they submit for the first year of the programme
the number of endorsements from other regional skills partners, this includes,
where applicable:
FE providers delivering construction-related courses
higher education institutions offering construction-related courses
employers in the construction sector
local skills improvement plan (LSIP) designated employer representative
bodies (ERB)
Contact DfE at tec.enquiries@education.gov.uk if you require more detailed
information on your local ERB.
Endorsements
DfE will consider endorsements in the selection process. Endorsements:
are a desirable criterion, not an essential one
may be used to distinguish between providers if no single candidate in a region
achieves a decisive score
are intended to capture expressions of willingness to collaborate with your
college should you be selected as the regional CTEC, because collaboration is
key to successful TEC delivery
are not binding commitments and do not imply exclusivity or formal partnership
agreements – including as a delivery partner
will all be treated equally, regardless of the type of organisation providing them
Endorsing organisations:
are under no obligation to take any action if the applicant is selected
may endorse more than one candidate
If no single candidate achieves a decisive score
If no single candidate in a region achieves a decisive score, DfE will adjudicate by
carrying out an assessment of the highest scoring candidate and the next highest
scoring candidate(s) suitability against the criteria outlined here.
This assessment will not be carried out by officials who conducted the original
assessment and moderation of applications.
Selecting the tenth CTEC
The tenth CTEC will be selected once the 9 regional CTECs have been agreed.
This final place will be awarded based on composite scores and an assessment
of each candidate’s capacity to operate beyond their immediate region. In
particular, the tenth CTEC will be expected to support cross-regional and national
programme activities. This will distinguish it from the regional CTEC in its area,
which will remain primarily focused on regional delivery.
Involvement of mayoral strategic authorities
We will consult mayoral strategic authorities in relevant areas to gather their views
on which applicants should be designated as the CTEC in their region.
For applicants based in areas without a mayoral strategic authorities, we will seek
recommendations from non-mayoral combined authorities with a Level 2
devolution deal. Their input will be based on an assessment of local contextual
factors, which may include considerations such as local housing needs, the scale
and scope of planned infrastructure projects in the area, and the strategic
importance of the applicant within both the regional and national skills system.
In areas where no strategic authority exists, the fact that colleges are unable to
obtain a recommendation from a strategic authority will be taken into account when
assessing the objective suitability of the college to become a CTEC against other
applicants in the same region. It is recognised that colleges that are in areas
without a strategic authority will not have the opportunity to obtain a
recommendation, and a lack of recommendation will, therefore, not be viewed as
a negative. However, where one or more applicants are equal in other respects,
the applicant(s) that have been recommended by a strategic authority are likely to
be viewed more favourably.
Ways of working for CTECs
We will work closely with CTECs, mayoral strategic authorities, and other partners
in the skills system during the policy co-design exercise to run and evaluate our
proposals. Colleges selected should be willing to:
make a substantial commitment to working with the department both before,
during, and after the policy co-design exercise via:
regular workshops
meetings
collaborative sessions
engage actively in the co-design process, contributing to the development of
solutions and sharing best practices
complete relevant evaluation processes and requirements for the policy co-
design exercise, including providing:
detailed feedback
data on their progress and outcomes
lead peer learning and support activities for construction skills provision on
behalf of their region, including engaging with and providing support to other
providers, and working with employers, strategic authorities and ERB-led local
skills improvement plans (LSIPs) at either existing regional and national forums
or through new engagement structures
operate inclusively given other regional priorities such as Get Britain Working,
Youth Guarantee Trailblazer and Economic Inactivity Trailblazer, and Local
Growth Plans
dedicate sufficient resources, including staff time and expertise, to ensure the
successful implementation of the programme’s objectives
participate in the co-design exercise, with the understanding that this does not
guarantee the award of grant funding from DfE
1. FE and Skills data includes all classroom-based learners aged 16 and over,
excluding T Levels and apprenticeships. FE and Skills data, T Levels data, and
apprenticeships data are reported separately and should not be combined to
calculate overall proportions or achievement rates for all construction learners.
However, providers may include apprenticeship and T Level learner numbers in
construction for the academic year 2023 to 2024 when demonstrating that they
meet the absolute thresholds for total learners (525) and achievers (440),
provided that all other eligibility criteria are met. ↩
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Construction technical excellence colleges : selection criteria and application form : Published 12 June 2025

Ministerial review of play progress report: February 2025 : A review of progress made against the actions set out in our response to the Ministerial Review of Play Steering Group

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