Councils placed 706 children in unregulated homes in 2022-23, report finds
Hundreds of vulnerable children in England are being sent to homes not registered with Ofsted every year because of a “chronic shortage” of places in secure local authority units, an investigation by The Observer has revealed.
The study found that councils placed 706 children, the majority of them under the age of 16, in homes that were not registered with Ofsted in 2022-23.
It is an offence under the Care Standards Act 2000 to operate a children’s home without an Ofsted registration.
However, The Observer claimed that the watchdog did not prosecute a single provider in 2022-23, despite launching 845 investigations into suspected illegal children’s homes.
Last month, the former President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) called for interventions to address what he described as a “completely failing market system” for children’s residential provision.
At an Evidence Session with the Education Select committee on 26 March, concerns were raised by local authority representatives on the rising demand for children’s social care, the rising cost of procuring residential accommodation from private providers, and the negative impacts of placing children out of area.
John Pearce, President of the ADCS, said: "The biggest issue with placements out of area is a lack of sufficiency and a lack of choice. We're not making proactive, positive choices to place children far away from their homes".
Most of the providers that staff or operate unregulated homes are private companies. The Observer’s research found that providers received nearly £105m from English councils last year – equating to almost £150,000 a child.
Speaking to The Observer, the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, said she was “appalled” by the investigation’s findings. She said: “Some of these children will have experienced the worst trauma, abuse and neglect, with multiple and complex needs requiring genuine care – but instead they are placed in inappropriate settings which do not meet their needs, with little say in what happens to them, often miles from loved ones and sometimes denied basic rights like education.”
A spokesperson for Ofsted said: “We remain concerned that many children, usually those with the most complex needs, are being placed in unregistered children’s homes where they are at risk of harm. Without regulatory oversight, we are unable to know whether children are getting the care and support they need, and whether the right people are looking after them. We know the national shortage of registered placements means local authorities are facing real challenges in finding appropriate care for children. The government’s proposed reforms need to be introduced swiftly to address this long standing and growing issue.
“The government promised additional powers in 2021 that would enable us to take action against illegal providers more quickly – these powers are urgently needed, in the interests of children.”
The Department for Education has been approached for comment.
Lottie Winson
