Children in Need (CIN) Census

The Children in Need Census (in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005) has been the Department's only source of information on the numbers and characteristics of children in need, that is, children receiving social-services support. While the previous CIN Censuses recorded information on children in need during a 'typical week', the new census will capture slightly different information over a financial year, enabling deeper and more robust analysis.

The 2008-09 CIN Census collection covers the 6-month period from 1 October 2008 to 31 March 2009. Subsequent collections will cover the entire financial year.

News

January 2010
Highlights of the January newsletter (issue 11) include:
- feedback from the 2009 CIN conferences — an analysis of the group sessions
- communications with LA CEOs and Directors
- latest available CIN 2009-10 downloads include: Updated FAQs (v2) and guidance notes (v1.5), Common issues with XML files, and Report specifications for six National Indicators
- material from the January joint meeting with suppliers and LA focus group — date of next meeting 23 March
- options for collecting information on sources and reasons for referrals in future CIN censuses — how you can help with scoping.
December 2009
The CIN conferences page has been updated with material from the events held in Leeds, Birmingham and London. A summary of the group-session discussions on CIN 2009-10 issues, and solutions identified, will be added in due course.
November 2009
Highlights of the November newsletter (issue 10) include:
- information on two of the three CIN 2009 conferences taking place, on 24 November (Leeds) and 25 November (Birmingham). Contact and registration details can be found in the newsletter
- the familiarisation COLLECT blade for the 2009-10 CIN Census became available from 2 November and can be accessed up to 26 February 2010
- the CSV-to-XML converter, published on the website on 9 November. Updated versions of the COLLECT guidance, CSV-to-XML-converter guidance and XSLT validation suites are also available this month
- statistics from the 2008-09 CIN Census, published on 19 November.
October 2009
The 2010-11 CIN Census technical specification and guidance notes v1.0 were published in early October. CIN 2009-10 COLLECT user acceptance testing took place during October.
September 2009
2008-09 CIN status updates continued to be issued until the database closed following data cleaning in August. The DCSF would like to thank all LAs who have completed a return. The Department are analysing the information provided and aim to publish some data in November 2009. The exact data and timings are yet to be confirmed, but will depend largely on the quality and completeness of returns. The analysis of 2008-09 returns will also be used to help inform readiness and preparation for the 2009-10 collection. The CIN database will remain read only until 11 September, to allow those LAs who have not yet done so the opportunity to download copies of their final data. LAs will not, however, be able to edit any of their data.

Evaluation 2008-09 and Readiness Monitoring 2009-10: Thank you to the 84 LAs (56 per cent) who took the time to complete the online survey which the DCSF launched in June to evaluate the 2008-09 Census and to assess readiness for the 2009-10 collection. Early results from this survey were discussed at the 23 July meeting of the LA focus group and software suppliers.

An analysis of the full results will be presented to the CIN Project Board, which is due to meet next on 8 September, and will be published in the next issue of the CIN Newsletter, which the Department plan to email to all CIN contacts and suppliers by end September and publish on the CIN newsletters page shortly afterwards.
August 2009
Following the LA focus group and software suppliers joint meeting which took place at DCSF's Sanctuary Buildings in London on 23 July, the CIN 2009-10 technical specification and guidance notes have been updated. The current version of both these documents is v1.3. It is anticipated this version will be the final one. Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the 2009-10 CIN Census have also been published, as has guidance on the CSV-to-XML converter. All these documents can be downloaded from the children's statistical returns website.

The presentation slides and notes from the 23 July meeting can be found on the Management information system (MIS) suppliers meetings page. One action from the meeting is to have one-to-one meetings with suppliers over the autumn to discuss the requirements of the specification. The DCSF are looking to publish the technical specification for the 2010-11 CIN Census by the end of September.
July 2009
Guidance on the use of Privacy Notices, the new name for Fair Processing Notices (FPNs), and a suggested text have been posted on TeacherNet for use by schools and LAs. Privacy Notices are much simpler than the old FPNs and do not need reissuing on an annual basis. The details of any organisations the LA and DCSF share data with are contained on the LA and DCSF websites, with links from the Privacy Notice. The DCSF recommends that your own legal advisers review the suggested text so that they can be amended to suit local needs.