UK children in care being ‘pinged’ around schools, homes
“These children need stability, yet far too many are living unstable lives, in particular children entering care in their early teens. This puts them at greater risk of falling through the gaps in the schools system and opens them up to exploitation by gangs or to abuse.”
Now in its second year, the index found education was frequently disrupted, with 4,300 children in care moving schools mid-year to new schools which were 24 miles away on average. Four hundred children ended up missing a whole term as a result, while 6,500 children did not appear to be enrolled at school at all.
“These children may be temporarily out of school — perhaps because of a placement or school move — and reentering school mid-year or they might have previously been in school but now left state education, or they might have never been enrolled,” the index reported.”
The commissioner’s advice line for children in care, Help at Hand, receives calls from children who are being moved around the system against their wishes or best interests. One 15-yearold boy was suddenly moved by the for the most vulnerable children,” said the report.
High-income countries also have large equity gaps in child survival, the report added.
“In the US and Canada, infants from indigenous communities die at higher rates — 40 percent higher than the national average in the US and 20 to 360 percent higher than the rest of Canada,” it said.
The report said that although in most regions, child mortality rates have declined substantially faster for the poorest than for the richest households since 2000, they are not closing fast enough.
For example, the global number of child laborers has declined by close to 40 percent since 2000, but an estimated 152 million children are still trapped in child labor, compelled to work to support themselves and their families. local authority without being told why or where he was going, despite the fact he had just secured a school place after 18 months out of school.
Another child, who had been placed in a children’s home near to his grandmother and school, was then moved to a placement several hours away with no plan for a new school.
There are more than 70,000 children in the care of local authorities and the ¿gure is rising. Long¿eld said the index, which is based on data provided by councils, showed most children in care were being supported in stable foster families and schools but a ‘signi¿cant minority’ were changing home and school too often.
She expressed particular concern about hundreds of children in care who were being shunted from one poor school to another, even though ‘lookedafter’ children are supposed to be given priority in school admissions. Teenagers, children with additional behavioral or emotional needs and those in pupil referral units — generally for excluded pupils — were the most likely to experience instability.
Long¿eld said there had been little change in the ¿ndings since last year’s index.
“Over one in ¿ve children in care are not in the good or outstanding schools they should be, and I am worried that the system has given up on the hundreds of children bouncing around from one poor school to another,” she said.
“I want all local authorities to make reducing instability a priority and to measure it. I would also like to see Ofsted assessing the stability of children in care as part of their inspections and for the Department for Education to start asking for data on this in their annual returns from local authorities.
“The care system does work for many thousands of children but our ambition should be for every child growing up in care to have the same chances to live happy, healthy and rewarding lives as any other child. We put that at risk if we are expecting some children to constantly change school and home.”