Hundreds of lone child refugees have been housed in Home Office hotel accommodation branded “unacceptable” by Ofsted despite ministers pledging to end the practice last year, it has emerged.

The Scottish Government Implementation Plan sets out the Government of Scotland's actions and commitments to Keep the Promise for care experienced children, young people and their families. The plan lays out what the government will do to Keep The Promise by 2030. The goal is for every child in Scotland to grow up loved, safe and respected so that they realise their full potential.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds in Scotland will not be placed in young offenders institutions, under new plans. The Scottish government said it wanted to end the placement of under 18s in custody "without delay". Instead, ministers said they would fund "care-based alternatives" and shift the approach from "one of punishment to one of love and support".

A major plan containing 80 actions to improve the lives of children, young people and families in and around the edges of care in Scotland has been published. The ‘Keeping The Promise Implementation Plan’ aims to significantly reduce the number of children in care, with at least £500 million over this Parliamentary term to help families stay together.

In New South Wales, as of June 2021, 42% of children in out-of-home care were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

This is a market study conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into children's social care provision in the UK. The study found that there is a shortage of appropriate places in children’s homes and with foster carers, meaning that some children are not getting the right care from their placement. Some children are also being placed too far away from where they previously lived or in placements that require them to be separated from their siblings.The authors recommend the development of national and regional bodies to support local authorities with getting suitable placements for children in the UK.

UK practitioners find the impact they have on people's wellbeing most rewarding but are struggling with administrative burdens, inadequate staffing and workloads, finds first annual British Association of Social Workers (BASW) membership survey.

This article draws on first-person narratives of care leavers in Ireland who have aged out of care and transitioned into independent living in a dedicated social housing programme to examine their strategies for coping with these competing pressures.

Salary:

GBP £50-55,000 equivalent - fixed in local currency. Salary will be determined based on experience and adjusted to the local market rate.

This report provides analysis of all up-to-date LA sufficiency strategies with a focus on identifying (I) the main perceived challenges for local authorities (LAs) to meet their sufficiency duty, (II) what actions are being undertaken or planned by LAs to improve commissioning outcomes, and (III) perceived negative consequences associated with using certain commissioning or market shaping approaches. This work was commissioned by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.