The Children’s Commissioner published her report Illegal Children’s Homes on 16 December 2024.
Key findings of the report are:
- On 1 September 2024, 775 looked after children were living in unregistered placements in England.
- Ofsted’s data shows that over the course of the previous financial year, 1,056 unregistered placements were reported.
- The majority of children in unregistered homes were older teens
- Over half (58%) of all children in unregistered homes were boys, 42 % were girls.
- Many of the children in unregistered placements have complex needs.
- 31% of the children in unregistered placements were subject to a DoL order.
- Over half of children (57%) in unregistered placements had an EHCP(70% of those on a DoL order), a further 9% were identified as SEND but without an EHCP,
- 41 % were in receipt of child and adolescent mental health services (60% on a DoL order)
- 31% had at least one missing episode – nearly three times the number of all looked-after children.
- The vast majority of providers are private (94%)
- The majority of children were placed in out-of-area accommodation (62%, 72% of those on a DoL order) compared with 45% of all looked after children;.
- The average daily cost of an unregistered placement is £1567, £2140 for children on a DoL order. There were 33 children in placements each costing more than £1 million
- The estimated early cost of unregistered placements to English local authorities is £439,648, 762.
- The most common type of placement was an unregistered house (47% of children in the data return), while 40% were placed in supported accommodation (providing support rather than 1 This included 9% that were described as a “children’s home”, either not registered with Ofsted or in the process of registering. 8 care, despite the child being judged to need care2 ), 3% were placed in a holiday rental (e.g. an AirBnB property), and 2% were at a holiday camp or activity centre.
The announcement of the report stated:
The Children’s Commissioner is calling for immediate action to stop hundreds of children from being housed illegally in settings including caravans and holiday rentals, at exorbitant cost to local authorities.
It underscores the crisis in children’s social care, with children put in extremely high cost and poor quality placements – and makes clear the urgent need for reform to make sure every child receives appropriate care in a safe, supportive environment.
Currently there is no process for checking the quality of care children in illegal homes receive, or the suitability of the adults providing the care – because, by law, these placements should not exist in this form. They should be in registered children’s homes or foster homes overseen and inspected by Ofsted.
For the press release see here
To read the full report here
Original reporting by Family Law Week