03/12/2023: Thousands of new foster carers urgently needed in England, experts say
Social workers scrambling to find places for children after net loss of 1,000 foster families in past year.
Read: Guardian
30/11/2023: Councils reveal sharp rise in high-cost children’s care placements
There has been a sharp rise in the number of social care placements costing £10,000 a week, a Local Government Association (LGA) survey has revealed.
29/11/2023: Councils say they are ‘held to ransom’ by private providers of children’s care
One child cost a local authority £63,000 a week and the number of placements has shot up to more than 1,500 from 120 five years ago.
Read: Guardian
28/11/2023: Councils breaching guidance by not taking homeless teenagers into care, suggests Children’s Commissioner
Most young people presenting as homeless not taken into care despite guidance stating this should be default option, research finds.
Read: Community Care
23/11/2023: Ofsted: Councils using unregistered children’s homes ‘due to lack of suitable options’
More than three-quarters of local authorities say they have placed young people in unregistered children’s homes due to a lack of other suitable options, Ofsted’s annual report finds.
21/11/2023: Majority of children in custody have been in care, report finds
Two-thirds of children in custody have been in local authority care, a new report finds, prompting calls for an improvement in relationships between children and staff to create a “stable environment” for young people.
17/11/2023: All children classed as homeless must be taken into care, children’s commissioner says
Every child assessed as homeless by their local authority should be brought into care, the children’s commissioner for England has said after research revealed that almost 6,500 teenagers were homeless or at risk of homelessness in England last year.
08/11/2023: Trauma experts call for end to profit making in foster care
Private sector fostering agencies are being called on to “transition to not-for-profit operation” by a group of trauma experts.
02/11/2023: Private fostering: ‘the potentially vulnerable children going under the radar of services’
While councils have a duty to assess private fostering arrangements, there is likely to be significant underreporting, leading children without the support or protection they need, warns Clare Seth from CoramBAAF
Read: Community Care
01/11/2023: Ofsted calls for action over council’s care leaver accommodation crisis
A lack of housing for care leavers in Devon is forcing “too many” to live in hotels and other unsuitable accommodation, Ofsted has warned.
28/10/2023: Biggest private children’s homes in England made £300m profit last year
The biggest private providers of children’s homes in England made profits of more than £300m last year, as concern mounts over the conditions some children are being placed in and the spiralling costs for councils.
Read: Guardian
24/10/2023: DfE shares report into deaths of children in care after legal battle
A government report, released after a tribunal deemed its contents to be in the public interest, reveals details of dozens of cases where children and young people died or suffered serious harm while in care.
19/10/2023: BBC Teach partners with Adoption UK to represent care experience in the classroom
Adoption UK has joined forces with BBC Teach to design a new set of resources for teachers and children based on how to address care experience in education settings.
18/10/2023: Care leavers: Number facing homelessness rises by a third
Rising numbers of young people leaving care in England are facing homelessness, according to new figures. Government data shows that, since 2018-19, there has been a 33% rise in the number of care leaver households aged 18-20 assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness.
Read: BBC
18/10/2023: Better support for ‘repeat removal’ families could reduce number of children in care, report finds
Targeting support at mothers who have already had one or more children removed from their care can reduce looked-after children figures each year and lead to substantial long-term savings to the UK economy, analysis has found.