This article reports on research conducted by the TV Programme Panorama on some of the current practices and standards in the children’s residential care system in England. The findings were described by a charity representing children in care as “extremely worrying”.
According to Panorama, one in four of the nearly 5,000 children in residential care in England is in a children's home that has received a rating by the national regulatory agency Ofsted of only "adequate" or even "inadequate”. In response to Panorama's research, the government said it was in talks with Ofsted, to make "good" the acceptable minimum standard for residential care homes.
Panorama also found that many children across the UK were being sent to live away from their home area. According to the 147 councils that responded to the question, over half (51%) of all their children were in homes outside the area, which could lead to isolation and increase the risk of children going missing. The article also highlights the impact of children being moved frequently from home to home, resulting in a lack of consistent, coordinated support.
The article concludes with a discussion of the financial aspect of children’s residential care in England. According to Panorama, most homes are privately run and there is growing concern that some smaller providers are being squeezed out of the market in favor of larger institutions that can offer residential care at lower cost to local authorities. This could lead to monopolization of the “residential care market” by a small number of providers.