Safeguarding context · Local authority
Darlington: the safeguarding context
- 48 schools and colleges
- England
- Darlington Safeguarding Partnership
Evidence of the local risks around every school and college in Darlington, ready for your policy, your staff and your inspector.
What children's services, the health service and the police record across Darlington, the local safeguarding arrangements, and the 48 open schools and colleges in the Department for Education register for Darlington, England. Everything here describes the area. None of it rates a school or college.
£149 for 12 months
First finding · Harm and risk outside the home (ROTH) across Darlington
Across Darlington, children's social care recorded child sexual exploitation, gangs, sexual abuse by another child and physical abuse by another child in a higher share of assessments than across England.
This describes what social workers record for the whole authority, never a school, a college or any child, and a higher share can reflect better identification as easily as more harm.
Order the report for a school or college in Darlington
£149 per school, college or campus for 12 months, the same however many an order holds. Choose it from the list below and order from its page. What's included.
Local safeguarding arrangements
Darlington is covered by Darlington Safeguarding Partnership.
- Report a concern about a childdarlington.gov.uk
- Darlington threshold document (continuum of need)darlington-safeguarding-partnership.co.uk
- Request early help in Darlingtondarlington.gov.uk
- Allegations against staff: the Darlington designated officer (LADO)darlington-safeguarding-partnership.co.uk
- Prevent referral route in Darlingtondarlington.gov.uk
- Family hubs in Darlingtondarlington.gov.uk
- The partnership's procedures, guidance and trainingdarlington-safeguarding-partnership.co.uk
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Links checked 1 November 2026.
What is recorded across Darlington
Published figures for the whole authority, or the police force area it sits in, beside the national figure named in each table where one is published. Counts below three are shown as fewer than 3.
What children's services record, year to 31 March 2025, the latest year published
Children in need, child protection plans and the factors social workers identified at assessment across Darlington. The whole authority, never a school, college or setting.
| Measure | Darlington | England | Compared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children in need at 31 March | 440.0 per 10,000 children (1,002 children) | 330.3 | Higher |
| Children on child protection plans at 31 March | 40.4 per 10,000 children (92 children) | 40.6 | Similar |
| Child criminal exploitation | 0% of assessments | 3.2% | Not compared |
| Child sexual exploitation | 2.7% of assessments | 2.4% | Higher |
| Gangs | 2.4% of assessments | 1.7% | Higher |
| Going missing | 2.8% of assessments | 3.3% | Lower |
| Trafficking | 0.6% of assessments | 0.4% | Not compared |
| Sexual abuse by another child | 3.9% of assessments | 2.5% | Higher |
| Physical abuse by another child | 7.1% of assessments | 3% | Higher |
| Domestic abuse, the child as victim | 11.4% of assessments | 11.3% | Similar |
| Domestic abuse, a parent or carer as victim | 36.7% of assessments | 31.7% | Higher |
| Self-harm | 4.9% of assessments | 5% | Similar |
| The child's mental health | 17.4% of assessments | 17.6% | Similar |
| Drug misuse by the child | 4.5% of assessments | 4.8% | Similar |
| Alcohol misuse by the child | 1.4% of assessments | 2.1% | Lower |
| Socially unacceptable behaviour | 8.3% of assessments | 7% | Higher |
| Neglect | 23% of assessments | 17.6% | Higher |
| Emotional abuse | 28.8% of assessments | 19% | Higher |
Department for Education, Children in need, reporting year 2025.
Young people's health and youth justice
Published figures for Darlington against England; higher or lower is the publisher's own significance test.
| Measure | Period | Darlington | England | Compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital admissions for self-harm, ages 10 to 24 | 2023/24 | 382.1 per 100,000, age-standardised | 266.6 | Higher |
| Hospital admissions for violence, including sexual violence, all ages | 2022/23 - 24/25 | 33.5 per 100,000, age-standardised | 31.9 | Similar |
| First-time entrants to the youth justice system, ages 10 to 17 | 2025 | 185.3 per 100,000 aged 10 to 17 | 127.1 | Similar |
| Hospital admissions for substance misuse, ages 15 to 24 | 2022/23 - 24/25 | 46.6 per 100,000, age-standardised | 39 | Similar |
| Hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions, under 18 | 2021/22 - 23/24 | 46.3 per 100,000 under 18 | 22.6 | Higher |
| 16 and 17 year olds not in education, employment or training, or not known | 2025/26 | 2.2% of 16 and 17 year olds | 5.8% | Lower |
| Children under 16 in relative low income families | 2024/25 | 24.8% of children under 16 | 19.8% | Higher |
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Fingertips public health profiles.
Domestic abuse, year ending March 2025, the latest year published
Police-recorded domestic abuse and MARAC cases for the Durham police force area, the force area the authority sits in.
| Measure | Durham | England and Wales | Compared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes recorded by the police | 29.6 per 1,000 people | 21.8 | Higher |
| Domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police | 15.2 per 1,000 people | 13.2 | Higher |
| Cases discussed at multi-agency risk assessment conferences (MARACs) | 47.5 per 10,000 adult women | 50.2 | Similar |
Office for National Statistics, Domestic abuse in England and Wales data tool.
Each school's or college's report sets these figures out chapter by chapter, beside the picture around its own site, and writes what they mean into the policy, the staff briefing and the report to governors, trustees or the proprietor.
Questions about safeguarding in Darlington
Which safeguarding partnership covers Darlington?
Darlington is covered by Darlington Safeguarding Partnership. Its procedures, threshold guidance and training are published at https://www.darlington-safeguarding-partnership.co.uk.
How do I report a concern about a child in Darlington?
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Otherwise the council's page for reporting a concern about a child is https://www.darlington.gov.uk/children-and-young-people/childrens-social-care/. Staff in a school or college should follow their own procedure and tell the designated safeguarding lead.
What do children's services record about harm and risk outside the home (ROTH) in Darlington?
Across Darlington, children's social care recorded child sexual exploitation, gangs, sexual abuse by another child and physical abuse by another child in a higher share of assessments than across England. These figures describe the whole authority, never any school, college or child, and a higher share can reflect better identification as easily as more harm.
Schools and colleges in Darlington
Each page describes the context around that school or college: the local arrangements, the places children and young people pass and gather, and the neighbourhood around each site. Open a page to order its report.
Nursery schools (2)
Primary (29)
- Abbey Infants' School
- Abbey Junior School
- Bishopton Redmarshall CofE Primary School
- Corporation Road Community Primary School
- Firthmoor Primary School
- Gurney Pease Academy
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School
- Heathfield Primary School
- Heighington Church of England Primary School
- High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School
- Hurworth Primary School
- Mount Pleasant Primary School
- Mowden Infant School
- Mowden Junior School
- Northwood Primary School
- Red Hall Primary School
- Reid Street Primary School
- Skerne Park Academy
- Springfield Academy
- St Augustine's Catholic Primary School
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School
- St John's Church of England Academy
- St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School
- St Teresa's Catholic Primary School
- St. George's Church of England Academy
- The Rydal Academy
- West Park Academy
- Whinfield Primary School
Secondary (7)
All-through (1)
Sixth forms and colleges (2)
Nurseries, pre-schools and clubs in Darlington
36 registered nurseries, pre-schools and out-of-school clubs on non-domestic premises in Darlington have their own pages, each describing the safeguarding context around the setting and the same authority figures as above. See every setting in Darlington.