Nine in ten felt lonely and isolated during their time as a child in care
A new report by Action for Children reveals more than nine in ten (91%) care-experienced adults in the UK felt lonely and isolated during their time as a child in care – and nearly one in five (18%) felt like this all the time.
Whilst two thirds (66%) of the care-experienced 18–44-year-olds polled said they had a generally positive experience of their homes in care, the report also found nearly three in ten (28%) had a negative experience, nearly one in four (23%) said they didn’t feel at home, and one in five (20%) didn’t feel loved by their carers.
The report – A Place to Call Home – said that despite a national review of the children’s social care system in England, there has been insufficient government action to date, particularly on the quality of homes and the impact this has on the children who live in them.
The charity – which supports children in care – calls on the new government to take steps to create new, high-quality homes and boost recruitment and support for carers.
The report ‘A Place to Call Home: Understanding placement quality in the children’s social care system in England’ argues that for more children to have positive experiences of care and improved life chances, the system needs to ensure:
- A good matching of children with homes which can meet their unique needs; and
- A warm, caring, and child-centred approach within homes
However, interviews revealed these elements are too often absent. The report authors held in-depth interviews with six recently care-experienced young people, as well as seven frontline workers from the care system in England and found a consensus that:
- The quality of care provided was inconsistent.
- Many children in care are still not being listened to.
- Their needs are lacking attention.
- Many placements don’t have the ‘family feel’ that helps children feel at home.
- There is a huge shortfall in support and training for carers.
There are more than 83,000 children in care in England, a number that has risen steadily in recent years.[2] The government-commissioned independent review of children’s social care in 2022 called for an additional £2.6bn to address the existing crisis in the sector.
In February 2023, the previous government published its response, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which committed to adopting most but not all the recommendations. Yet very little progress has been made, or investment committed.
Action for Children argues that whilst there has been a big debate about a shortage of both children’s homes and foster homes for children in care - as well as a recruitment crisis in the social care sector - there has been very little focus on the quality of homes and the impact this has on the children and young people who live there.
It says there is a risk the government could consign more highly vulnerable children to unacceptably low standards of care, if increased numbers of homes are not of good quality.
‘[At 15] I was in a home that had 14 girls – there is not enough staff in the world for that many young people in one place…Homes…need to make sure that they are able to individually cater…Too often young people are taken on as an experiment [by care providers]…It seems to be like, “Well, if it doesn’t work out they’ll find them somewhere else”. But a child shouldn’t have to move because people…aren’t able to meet their needs.’
Care-experienced young person interviewed for the report
Action for Children' CEO, Paul Carberry, said:
"Every child deserves a safe, loving, and supportive home. That security gives them the foundations they need to thrive, both in childhood and later life. For children in care, the majority of whom have been through the very toughest challenges, this high-quality support is essential to help them recover from trauma. That’s what we strive to provide in the homes we run. But we know that too often for children in care, that isn’t happening."
"We still hear regularly from children who have had poor, or even dire, experiences in care. There simply aren’t enough of the right types of homes for children in care in the right parts of the country, that can meet the needs of those children. We need more, high-quality homes – in both foster and residential care – and a focus on recruiting and keeping brilliant carers that are well trained and properly supported to provide the care that children deserve."
"We want the new government to take steps to make sure the voices of children in care are heard, so they get the support, love and care they need to have safe and happy childhoods."
- Help create more homes for children: the right homes, in the right places, so that every child can grow up in a home that meets their needs.
- Boost recruitment and provide quality support for carers, so that everyone looking after children can provide the best possible care.
By taking steps including:
- Providing capital investment for the creation of new, high-quality public and voluntary sector residential placements.
- Granting special planning status to high-quality voluntary sector residential care providers, to accelerate the creation of new placements.
- Investing in the residential sector to enable staff pay increases and enhanced training opportunities – to aid recruitment and retention.
- Ensuring the national minimum fostering allowance always covers the full cost of caring.
- Developing a children-in-care wellbeing measure.
ENDS
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NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Regionally representative polling of 1,050 care-experienced people across the UK aged 18-44 years. The polling took place April-May 2024 and was carried out by Savanta. Savanta is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
2. Department for Education, 2023, ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’, available at: Children looked after in England including adoptions, Reporting year 2023 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)
3. Children’s social care is a devolved issue. The Action for Children report focuses on the children’s social care system in England. The polling is UK wide.
About Action for Children
Action for Children protects and supports vulnerable children and young people by providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. With 372 services across the UK, in schools and online, in 2023/24 we helped 687,755 children, young people and families. actionforchildren.org.uk
