An Ofsted report published on 8th July 2022 suggests that there are too few suitable places to keep children in care close to home.

Children in the care system are often placed in homes far away from their families due to a lack of suitable places local to where they live, Ofsted research suggests. Ofsted’s report finds that children with mental health problems or who experience abuse and neglect are likely to live the furthest away from their home before coming into care and above the average distance of 36 miles.

Research suggests that children are living far away from their families since 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 in London, but London local authorities placed 11% of all children in homes. Juxtaposed to this, local authorities in the North West placed 19% of children in children’s homes, by 25% of all homes (23% of places) in the region.

Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Children’s Social Care, said: 

‘Today’s research shows this is a national challenge. It suggests that Local Authorities are making a difficult choice between placing a child in a home close by or in one far away but relevant to their needs. Children need the 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 can stay closer to their family and friends.’

Ofsted’s research, based on data up to 31st March, aims to contribute to the broader 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 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 (approximately 15%).
• Most homes (80%) said they could accommodate two 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 31st March 2020, which marked an increase from 69% on the same date in 2016.