As your editorial headline suggests, “A ban on councils placing under-16s in unregulated settings is not enough” (Journal, 13 March), but neither is a review that focuses only on the care system, as this would fail to address the reasons why increasing numbers of young people are entering care in the first place.
There is research evidence that shows a strong connection between poverty and child separation; the different needs of asylum-seeking children; the impact of parental adverse childhood experiences, domestic violence and parental mental health problems on child maltreatment; and the systemic failures in helping families when problems first arise so young people can stay at home.
Also, in the context of longstanding research evidence that shows young people in care can do well in adulthood when provided with stable, loving placements, help to overcome educational deficits, gradual transitions from care and support into adulthood, it is of great urgency that the proposed review investigates why it seems so difficult for local authorities to meet their parental responsibilities by providing these opportunities to young people in their care.
The cost of being a good parent is not cheap, but the longer-term costs of poor outcomes for both young people and society are far greater.
Prof Mike Stein
University of York
• I agree that there are problems with the announcement by the education secretary, Gavin Williamson. There is also a problem with the accuracy of some of the information that is contributing to this debate.
There is little disagreement between professionals, parents, caregivers, care leavers and care-experienced adults about the need for a full review of the care system that captures the views of children and teenagers, as well as those responsible for their care.
Over the years there have been many changes to the legislative framework and various campaigns to improve what is on offer, notably Staying Put and Every Child Leaving Care Matters, yet the outcomes for too many care leavers are poor, even after 20 years of independent regulation, and we need to know why.
Why has there been a significant increase in the number of children coming into care? Why are siblings separated? Why don’t children’s homes feel able to offer places to the most distressed and disaffected children in the system? And why are local authorities using services that are not fit for purpose?
We may well end up taking the view that tenders, frameworks, service specifications and quality assurance inspections are not robust enough to protect young people in supported accommodation, but let’s arrive there in a carefully considered way and replace these arrangements with something better.
Amanda Knowles
Organiser, Your Life Your Story
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