Nearly 900 children in care across Northern Trust despite 29% fall in child protection register
Thursday 15 October 2026
Nearly 900 children and young people are in care across the Northern Health and Social Care Trust area, with numbers continuing to rise despite a substantial reduction in children on the Child Protection Register.
New Department of Health statistics show that 899 children were in care across the Trust area, which includes Ballymena, Antrim, Coleraine and surrounding communities, at 31 March 2026 – an increase of 20 compared with the previous year.
At the same time, the number of children on the Northern Trust’s Child Protection Register fell from 555 to 396, a reduction of 159 children, or 28.6%.
The contrasting trends emerge as Northern Ireland records its highest number of children in care under the current legislation, while fostering recruitment activity has declined and registered childcare provision continues to contract.
The figures are contained in the Department’s Children’s Social Care Statistics for Northern Ireland 2025/26 report, published on Thursday (15 October).
Northern Trust sees sharp fall in child protection registrations
The Northern Trust’s Child Protection Register contained 396 children at the end of March 2026, compared with 555 a year earlier.
The reduction of almost 29% was considerably greater than the Northern Ireland-wide fall of 12.9%, which saw the total decline from 2,283 to 1,989 children.
The Northern Trust’s rate of children on the register stood at 37.1 per 10,000 children, the lowest among Northern Ireland’s five health and social care trusts.
A child is placed on the register when professionals determine that a formal child protection plan is necessary because of concerns about their safety or welfare. Registration does not, in itself, establish that abuse has been proven.
The reduction is significant, but the statistics do not explain what caused it or establish whether the level of risk facing children has changed.
Love Ballymena has contacted the Northern Health and Social Care Trust to ask what has contributed to the substantial reduction, whether it reflects changing safeguarding needs or practices, and how the Trust explains the contrasting increase in children entering or remaining in care. A response is awaited.
Number of children in care continues to increase
Despite the reduction in child protection registrations, the number of children in care across the Northern Trust increased from 879 in March 2025 to 899 in March 2026.
That represents an increase of approximately 2.3%, with the Trust recording the second-highest number of children in care among Northern Ireland’s five health and social care trusts.
Approximately one in five children in care across Northern Ireland was within the Northern Trust area.
However, when measured against the local child population, the Northern Trust’s rate of 84.3 children in care per 10,000 was below the Northern Ireland average of 98.4.
The Trust also recorded 4,156 children in need, compared with 4,145 the previous year, while the number of children-in-need referrals increased from 7,916 to 7,991.
Children classified as being in need may require additional support for a range of reasons, including disability, family circumstances, safeguarding concerns or difficulties affecting their health and development.
These figures cover the wider Northern Trust area and are not separate totals for Ballymena, Antrim or Coleraine.
They nevertheless demonstrate the scale of support required across local communities, including children who need ongoing social work involvement and families requiring assistance to keep children safe and well.
Record 4,287 children in care across Northern Ireland
Across Northern Ireland, 4,287 children and young people were in care at 31 March 2026, compared with 4,188 the previous year.
The increase of 99 children, or approximately 2.4%, takes the total to its highest recorded level since the introduction of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
The number has increased by approximately 48% over the past decade and by 84% since 1999, the lowest recorded year under the current legislative framework.
During 2025/26, there were 1,038 admissions to care and 900 discharges.
More than one in five children in care at the end of March (21%) had entered care during the preceding year, while approximately one in three (33%) had been in care for at least five years.
The figures highlight the continuing need for both immediate safeguarding responses and long-term care arrangements for children who cannot safely remain in their family homes.
Foster care remains central to children’s services
Foster care accounted for 83% of placements across Northern Ireland, meaning approximately five in every six children in care were living with foster families.
A further 7% were placed with parents, 6% were living in residential care and 4% were in other placement arrangements.
At 31 March 2026, the Department recorded 2,821 foster carers recruited by health and social care trusts, alongside another 278 recruited through the independent sector.
Fewer initial visits to prospective foster carers
The number of initial home visits undertaken by health and social care trusts as part of the fostering recruitment process fell from 947 in 2024/25 to 641 in 2025/26.
That represents a reduction of 306 visits, or approximately 32.3%, with the Department indicating that much of the decline related to prospective kinship carers.
Kinship fostering involves relatives or other people already connected to a child providing care, rather than a placement with an unrelated foster family.
Completed fostering assessments also fell from 422 to 395, a reduction of approximately 6.4%.
The number of specialist foster carers decreased from 515 to 479, while 329 Trust-recruited foster carers de-registered during the year.
These figures raise questions about future placement capacity, although fewer recruitment visits do not necessarily mean fewer suitable foster homes are available.
The report does not establish how many additional foster placements are currently required across the Northern Trust area or how many children are waiting for a particular type of placement.
Residential homes provide additional care places
At 30 June 2026, Northern Ireland had 60 children’s residential homes, including 50 statutory homes and 10 operated by independent providers.
Statutory homes provided 264 places, while independent homes accounted for another 24, giving a combined registered capacity of 288 places.
Residential care represents a relatively small proportion of placements but remains an important option for children whose individual needs require a different care setting.
Childcare provision continues to shrink
The Department’s statistics also reveal a continued reduction in registered childcare provision for children aged 12 and under.
At 31 March 2026, Northern Ireland had 3,025 registered daycare providers, approximately 5% fewer than the previous year.
Five years earlier, there were 3,809 providers, meaning the number has fallen by 784, or approximately 20.6%.
The number of registered childcare places also declined to 55,870, down from 57,358 the previous year – a reduction of 1,488 places, or approximately 2.6%.
Compared with 2020/21, when 59,618 places were registered, Northern Ireland has lost 3,748 registered childcare places, equivalent to a reduction of approximately 6.3%.
Childminders continued to make up the largest group of registered daycare providers.
For families across Ballymena, Mid and East Antrim and neighbouring districts, childcare availability can influence employment decisions, household finances and parents’ ability to balance work with family responsibilities.
However, the regional statistics do not show how many places are currently available in individual towns, how much families are paying or whether local demand is being met.
More young people need support after leaving care
The number of young people covered by Northern Ireland’s leaving-care legislation has risen to 2,113, compared with 1,542 in 2020/21.
That represents an increase of 571 young people, or approximately 37%, over five years.
Leaving-care support is intended to help eligible young people make the transition towards independent adulthood, including assistance with accommodation, education, employment and other practical needs.
The latest figures show that 1,421 young people were classified as relevant or former relevant, accounting for approximately 67% of the total. A further 44 were recorded in the qualifying category.
The figures highlight the importance of sustained support for young adults whose needs do not necessarily end when they leave the formal care system.
National safeguarding figures present a mixed picture
Across Northern Ireland, 21,180 children were known to social services as children in need at the end of March 2026, compared with 22,243 a year earlier – a reduction of approximately 4.8%.
The Child Protection Register contained 1,989 children, down from 2,283 in March 2025.
Neglect and physical abuse were the main recorded reasons for children being on the register, together accounting for 84% of registrations.
Children aged under five accounted for approximately one-third of those on the register, compared with around one-quarter of Northern Ireland’s overall child population.
During 2025/26, health and social care trusts received 1,374 child protection referrals, with 1,865 new registrations and 3,010 de-registrations recorded during the year.
While the number of children on the register has fallen nationally, the figures do not establish whether fewer children are experiencing harm or whether safeguarding risks have reduced.
Questions remain over local services and future capacity
The Northern Trust’s figures reveal two contrasting trends: a 29% reduction in children on the Child Protection Register alongside a further increase in children requiring care.
The reasons behind the sharp reduction in child protection registrations have not yet been established, while the published statistics do not provide separate breakdowns for Ballymena, Antrim and Coleraine.
Further information about social work staffing, caseloads, fostering capacity and early family support would help establish whether local services have the resources needed to respond.
For families across the Northern Trust area, the central issue is whether children at risk receive timely protection, parents can access support before difficulties escalate, and sufficient stable care arrangements are available when children cannot safely remain at home.
