This official statistics release reports on the number of children’s social care providers and places and provision of residential accommodation for children in boarding schools and further education colleges for which Ofsted had regulatory or inspection responsibility for, covering the period between 30 September and 31 December 2011.1 Children’s social care providers include, children’s homes, secure children’s homes, residential special schools, residential family centres, boarding schools, further education colleges, secure training centres, adoption support services, voluntary adoption agencies, local authority adoption agencies and independent and local authority fostering services.