Thousands of children in care being ‘failed by the state’

The Children’s Commissioner for England has warned that thousands of children in care being ‘failed by the state’ because of a broken residential care home market.

Anne Longfield has published a set of reports showing how the children’s residential social care system is broken and is failing many of the most vulnerable children, in particular those who are most at risk of falling through gaps in the system and becoming victims of criminal or sexual exploitation.

The first report highlights the issues faced by certain groups of children in care for whom the system is not working, including: the 8,000 children who have three different homes within a single year; the 13,000 children who end up in unregulated homes at some point during the year; as well as the hundreds of children who need a place in a secure children’s home but cannot get one anywhere in England.

The second explores the growth of private companies providing foster placements and children’s homes. It warns there is a clear lack of planning and oversight for the market, leading to an increasingly fragmented, uncoordinated and irrational market.

The Children’s Commissioner argues that the responsibility for making the system work has fallen through the cracks: the growth in private provision may not have been a deliberate policy choice but it is a consequence of government inaction along with the options and funding available to local authorities.

The report finds that certain large providers are seeing a profit margin of around 17 per cent on fees from local authorities, which can amount to over £200 million a year in total. It also shows how opaque the system has become, with detailed and complex investigation needed to understand the ownership, accountability, profits, costs, and prices of different providers – and the situation changing rapidly.

The third report is the Children’s Commissioner’s fourth annual study of the instability that children in care experience. This year’s update shows that: one in 10 children in care moved home at least twice in 2018/19, while one in four moved home at least twice in two years; 6,500 children in care had three or more home moves over the last two years, meaning they had at least four separate homes to live in over two years; and older children are more likely to experience multiple home moves. Rates are highest amongst 12-15-year-olds who have recently entered care: nearly one in five of this group moved home two or more times in 2018/19.

Longfield is making a number of recommendations to improve the provision of children’s social care in England, including that: councils should prioritise using their capital budgets to increase their children’s home capacity; the government quickly establish a strategy to improve capacity, stability, quality and costs in residential care; a central body (whether DfE, Ofsted or a new regulator) should be responsible for assessing current and future levels of need for care provision, both locally and nationally; and the government should launch the Care Review promised in the Conservative manifesto with an independent chair and a remit to consider the broad structure of children’s care provision and build a system that is more transparent, accountable and outcome-oriented.

Anne Longfield said: said: “These reports focus on the children that government has been ignoring and seemingly doesn’t know what to do with: those in the care system systemically let down because there isn’t a good, safe, welcoming home for them.

“The growing reliance on private providers, some of whom are making millions, is another symptom of a system failing to prioritise the needs of children. Both the government and councils have failed in their responsibilities by leaving it to the market. Many homes run by the private sector are excellent, but there are not enough of them, and they are not always in the right places.

“There are many tireless staff who provide excellent care, and many children in care are happy and doing well. But over the last five years, I have seen the system left to slip deeper into crisis, seemingly unable to stop some of the most vulnerable children from falling through the gaps, and buckling under financial pressures. Nobody seems to have a grip, despite repeated warnings from myself, Parliament and the National Audit Office. The government needs a strategy to fix problems that it already knows exist. It must also launch the independent review into children’s social care promised in the Conservative manifesto.”

Judith Blake, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “While the majority of children’s homes are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, councils have long been highlighting that we need more good quality provision, especially for children whose needs are more complex. A lack of such homes is helping to drive an increase in the use of unregulated accommodation.

“A varied market for homes for children in care can help councils to make sure children get the right homes for their needs, but fewer and fewer providers are now dominating that market. As our research earlier this year highlighted, much growth is fuelled by enormous loans, and councils have increasing concerns about the financial stability of many providers. We cannot risk a Southern Cross or Four Seasons situation in children’s social care. Stability for children in care is paramount if we are to help them to thrive and an oversight scheme is needed to help catch providers before they fall, and ensure company changes don’t risk the quality of provision.

“The government’s promised review of the children’s care system needs to be carried out as soon as possible and look at how the market for children’s social care placements is impacting on children’s outcomes. Providers should also not be making excessive profit from providing placements for children. What matters most is that children feel safe, loved and supported, in placements that best suit their needs and help them to live the lives they deserve.”