Children in the care system are often placed in homes far away
from their families because of a lack of suitable places near to
where they live, Ofsted research published today suggests.
Ofsted’s report, ‘What types of needs do
children’s homes offer care for?’finds that children with
mental health problems, or experience of abuse and neglect, are
likely to be living the furthest away from their home prior to
coming into care, and above the average distance of 36 miles.
The research suggests that children are living far away from
their families because homes are not evenly distributed across
the regions of England, meaning supply does not match demand. For
example, just 5% of England’s children’s homes (7% of places) are
located in London, but London local authorities placed 11% of all
children living in homes. In contrast, local authorities in the
North West placed 19% of children living in children’s homes, but
25% of all homes (23% of places) are located in the region.
Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Children’s Social
Care, said:
Today’s research shows that this is a national challenge. It
suggests that Local Authorities are making a difficult choice
between placing a child either in a home close by, or in one that
is far away but relevant to their needs.
Children need provision of the right care, in the right place, at
the right time. And for some children, it is only through a
better needs analysis and planning across health and social care
at a national level, that they will be able to stay closer to
their family and friends.
Ofsted’s research, which is based on data up to 31 March 2020,
aims to contribute to the wider conversation around why there may
be barriers to achieving sufficiency of places in children’s
homes.
Other findings in the report include:
- there was no link between the types of needs that homes said
they could accommodate and their Ofsted inspection grades.
- a very high proportion of children living in children’s homes
had special educational needs (80%) compared with all children
looked after (52%) and all children (around 15%)
- the majority of homes (80%) said they could accommodate 2 or
more areas of need, with one fifth (20%) saying they could
accommodate only one area
- providers that stated they could accommodate children with
complex needs were the most common (93%), while sensory
impairment (4%) and complex health needs (5%) were the least
common
- the majority (83%) of children’s homes included in the report
were privately owned on 31 March 2020, which marked an increase
from 69% on the same date in 2016
