Thousands of the most vulnerable children every year are being sent to care homes that are not regulated by Ofsted, a situation critics have repeatedly labelled a national scandal.
On Friday the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, said it would be illegal for councils to put children under 16 in this accommodation.
But the decision not to extend that ban to 16- and 17-year-olds has prompted concern.
Unregulated children’s homes do not have the same scrutiny as other homes because they are not inspected by a watchdog. Often the reality of this is young people living without any support. In these settings, they are at risk of exploitation and often live with people they do not feel safe with.
A teenager earlier this year wrote about his experience in a semi-independent unregulated home in south-east London, saying it became a “trap house”, a base for distributing and storing drugs. He saw people come and go with knives and his room was constantly broken into.
Charities warn that by saying younger teenagers should not be put in this setting but those aged 16 and 17 can be, it creates a two-tier system with the state effectively washing its hands of young people as they get past a certain age and putting them in potentially dangerous housing.
The use of unregulated homes has grown exponentially over the years since children’s homes moved out of the control of local authorities. Three-quarters of homes in England are now privately run and demand is outstripping supply. There is a growing number of children needing support and not enough places to house them.
This puts councils in a difficult position in terms of finding accommodation and means young people are sent to where there is a space, as opposed to where is best for them to be.
Friday’s announcement came following a government review of the emerging sector of semi-independent accommodation, after repeated calls from the children’s commissioner and charities to look into the issue.
The Department for Education has said such accommodation can be the right option for some older children where it is high quality and meets their needs.
Ministers said they would also introduce national standards for unregulated accommodation for older children in care or care leavers, those who are aged 16 and over, to ensure the settings are consistently high quality.
However, charities warn this means the state – which acts as a parent for children in care – is effectively saying that those over 16 do not need to be supported in full.
As the pandemic puts an increased financial burden on families, it is likely more young people will end up in care and potentially be placed in homes where they feel unsafe or unsupported.
