A place to call home, for every child in care
Every 15 minutes
104,680 children
Because they’re a child, like any other. A child with a favourite TV show. A favourite food. A child that deserves to feel safe and loved, in a place they can call home.
That’s why we’re launching A Place to Call Home, a campaign calling on UK governments to take immediate action on children's social care, so children in care get the high-quality homes, love, and support they need to thrive.
A shortage of good, loving homes means that many children have a poor experience of being in care. Not all foster or residential homes provide the high-quality care that a child deserves, or are able to meet that child's individual needs.
Children often have to move home several times as their circumstances change, and are moved to homes far from their families. They can struggle to get the support they need from school, health and other services, and they can feel ignored by professionals when they speak up.
All four UK governments have recognised these problems, carried our reviews, and are starting to act. But they're not moving fast enough to make the vital changes needed to their care systems.
We're asking for UK governments to take immediate action on children's social care:
- Focus on providing high-quality homes for children: the right homes, in the right places, so that every child can grow up in a home that meets their needs.
- Invest in recruiting, training, and supporting brilliant carers and staff – so that everyone looking after children can provide the best possible care.
3. Listen to the experiences of care-experienced children and young people, and include them in decision making.
4. Make faster progress on reform: children in care can't afford to wait years for change to happen.
