Characteristics of children in need: 2014 to 2015 Children referred to and assessed by children's social services for the financial year ending March 2015. The ‘main text’ document includes information on: children in need of social services children referred to social services assessments of children in need and their primary need at first assessment section 47 enquiries (a local authority carries out one of these if they suspect a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm) and initial child protection conferences children who were the subject of a child protection plan The ‘main tables’ and first ‘methodology’ document relate to this publication. We subsequently published the ‘outcomes tables’, showing figures that result from matching the children in need census to the national pupil database (NPD). These tables show children in need by: prevalence of free school meals (FSM) special educational needs (SEN) attainment absence and exclusions The ‘outcomes methodology’ document explains the matching process and calculations we used in these tables.