There is a ‘lack of collective knowledge’ around the needs of
children in care, according to a study by Ofsted, published
today.
The report ‘Why do children go into
children’s homes?’ draws on responses to surveys and
discussions between inspectors and children placed in children’s
homes, staff and others to provide insights into the diverse and
complex needs of children who go into children’s homes, and the
life experiences that led to them living there.
The report calls for further research to be done, including a
national audit of children needs, to provide better understanding
of the experiences of children in care, and of the complexities
of sufficiency in children’s social care.
The study looked at the experiences of 113 children in care and
found that their needs were very diverse, and there was usually
more than one reason they were living in a children’s home. Two
thirds of the children in the study had entered a children’s home
because of some form of interruption in their previous care,
including:
- foster placement breakdown (41%)
- children’s home breakdown (15%)
- family breakdown (12%)
Although a children’s home placement had not been the original
care plan for just under half of children taking part in the
study, around three quarters of these children were found to be
well matched to their home.
Of the 82 children found to be well matched, 36 had some form of
foster care as their original care plan. The fact that they were
doing well in their home demonstrates how children’s homes are
able to adapt to children’s different needs, challenges the
commonly held assumption that foster care is a better option for
children in care.
Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Social Care, said:
This report confirms how important it is that we have a better
understanding, at a strategic level, of children’s needs so we
can better plan for their futures.
I’m sure these findings will be valuable to wider conversations
and future research on sufficiency – which is about the provision
of the right care, in the right place, at the right time, to help
children in need of care achieve the best outcomes.
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Notes
This report draws on surveys of children, children’s home staff
and other stakeholders across 83 children’s homes in 2019. The
findings are not necessarily representative of all children who
were resident in children’s homes.
The report is part of a wider project looking at sufficiency and
the diversity of needs children’s homes try to meet. Our next
report will look into the services children’s homes provide and
what needs they are able to meet.
