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Safeguarding context · Local authority

Reading: the safeguarding context

  • 71 schools and colleges
  • England
  • Berkshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership

Evidence of the local risks around every school and college in Reading, ready for your policy, your staff and your inspector.

What children's services, the health service and the police record across Reading, the local safeguarding arrangements, and the 71 open schools and colleges in the Department for Education register for Reading, England. Everything here describes the area. None of it rates a school or college.

£149 for 12 months

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First finding · Harm and risk outside the home (ROTH) across Reading

Across Reading, children's social care recorded child criminal exploitation and sexual 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.

See the figures behind it

Order the report for a school or college in Reading

£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.

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Local safeguarding arrangements

Reading is covered by Berkshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership, shared with West Berkshire and Wokingham.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Links checked 1 November 2026.

What is recorded across Reading

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 Reading. The whole authority, never a school, college or setting.

Measure Reading England Compared
Children in need at 31 March 444.5 per 10,000 children (1,732 children) 330.3 Higher
Children on child protection plans at 31 March 70.6 per 10,000 children (275 children) 40.6 Higher
Child criminal exploitation 5.3% of assessments 3.2% Higher
Child sexual exploitation 1.7% of assessments 2.4% Lower
Gangs 1.5% of assessments 1.7% Lower
Going missing 2.1% of assessments 3.3% Lower
Trafficking not published 0.4% Not compared
Sexual abuse by another child 3.1% of assessments 2.5% Higher
Physical abuse by another child 2.5% of assessments 3% Lower
Domestic abuse, the child as victim 11.9% of assessments 11.3% Similar
Domestic abuse, a parent or carer as victim 29.1% of assessments 31.7% Similar
Self-harm 4% of assessments 5% Lower
The child's mental health 10.4% of assessments 17.6% Lower
Drug misuse by the child 2.9% of assessments 4.8% Lower
Alcohol misuse by the child 1% of assessments 2.1% Lower
Socially unacceptable behaviour 9.2% of assessments 7% Higher
Neglect 13.2% of assessments 17.6% Lower
Emotional abuse 13.6% of assessments 19% Lower

Department for Education, Children in need, reporting year 2025.

Young people's health and youth justice

Published figures for Reading against England; higher or lower is the publisher's own significance test.

Measure Period Reading England Compared
Hospital admissions for self-harm, ages 10 to 24 2023/24 142.2 per 100,000, age-standardised 266.6 Lower
Hospital admissions for violence, including sexual violence, all ages 2022/23 - 24/25 20.4 per 100,000, age-standardised 31.9 Lower
First-time entrants to the youth justice system, ages 10 to 17 2025 133 per 100,000 aged 10 to 17 127.1 Similar
Hospital admissions for substance misuse, ages 15 to 24 2022/23 - 24/25 38.4 per 100,000, age-standardised 39 Similar
Hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions, under 18 2021/22 - 23/24 17 per 100,000 under 18 22.6 Similar
16 and 17 year olds not in education, employment or training, or not known 2025/26 4.8% of 16 and 17 year olds 5.8% Lower
Children under 16 in relative low income families 2024/25 14.9% of children under 16 19.8% Lower

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 Thames Valley police force area, the force area the authority sits in.

Measure Thames Valley England and Wales Compared
Domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes recorded by the police 21.7 per 1,000 people 21.8 Similar
Domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police 10.2 per 1,000 people 13.2 Lower
Cases discussed at multi-agency risk assessment conferences (MARACs) 15.7 per 10,000 adult women 50.2 Lower

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 Reading

Which safeguarding partnership covers Reading?

Reading is covered by Berkshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership, which it shares with West Berkshire and Wokingham. Its procedures, threshold guidance and training are published at https://www.berkshirewestsafeguardingchildrenpartnership.org.uk/.

How do I report a concern about a child in Reading?

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Otherwise the council's page for reporting a concern about a child is http://www.reading.gov.uk/concernsaboutachild. 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 Reading?

Across Reading, children's social care recorded child criminal exploitation and sexual 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 Reading

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 (5)

Primary (40)

Secondary (11)

Other schools and colleges (15)

Colleges with a campus in Reading

College campuses in Reading, whichever authority their college is registered in. Each campus page reads the context against Reading, where the campus is.

Nurseries, pre-schools and clubs in Reading

99 registered nurseries, pre-schools and out-of-school clubs on non-domestic premises in Reading have their own pages, each describing the safeguarding context around the setting and the same authority figures as above. See every setting in Reading.

£149 for 12 months

Evidence of the local risks around your school, college, nursery or club

The public evidence about the area around your school, college, nursery or club, written into your safeguarding policy, staff briefing and board report for the year ahead. We email you when it is ready, usually within an hour of payment.

  • The report
  • The staff briefing and slides
  • The evidence pack
  • The dashboard for the year

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Get Information about Schools, Department for Education.