Britain is failing children in care
There is no denying that, for so many looked-after children, growing up in care can be brutal and traumatic. I should know. I was looked after for most of my childhood, shunted between a range of foster homes in south-east London, as well as doing a stint in a residential care home with pre-teen boys of a similar age. In my case, it was necessary. But what concerns me is children being placed into care when it's avoidable – when there's a better alternative.
The number of looked-after children in England is high – more than 80,000. And although statistics from the Department for Education show that only a small proportion of children in care are there due to being in 'low income' homes, that doesn't disprove that poverty is a significant factor for children entering the system.
The UK's most senior family court judge, Andrew McFarlane, cites poverty as a key reason. It's also the case that poverty is often the trigger behind some of the other reasons children are placed into care – issues such as neglect and abuse. It demands concern that poverty can play such a vicious role in upending the life of a vulnerable child. Shouldn't the levers of the state be robust enough to prevent a child from being ripped apart from loved family members?
Just as concerning are the distances some of them are being sent to live, away from their homes and that which they hold dear. According to research from Become, a charity for care leavers, one in five children in care in England is placed more than 20 miles from their family, friends, school and wider community.
When the care system works, it can save the life of a child and steer them on to a positive path. I had the fortune of being supported by some incredible foster carers, care-home workers and social workers, all of whom played a critical role in my development and self-esteem. The fact remains, however, that many children in care are being let down.
At its worst, time spent in care can compound trauma, deepen a child's sense of abandonment and diminish their life chances. Placing a child into the care system should only ever be a last resort. A greater emphasis should be placed on preventative measures, keeping families together wherever it's safe and possible to do so.
A few years ago, I presented a BBC3 documentary, Split Up in Care, about the frequency of siblings being separated in the care system; it was rooted in my experience of sibling estrangement. I explored how some local authorities were pioneering preventative strategies. During the pandemic, Derby City Council introduced a rapid-response team to support vulnerable families and prevent more children from entering the system. In 15 months, they helped 60 families to stay together and prevented 50 sibling groups from being split up. While such measures form part of the solution, we must also recognise the challenge that leaving care presents for thousands of young people.
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Despite a string of school suspensions and one exclusion, I studied history at the University of Cambridge. It was something my local authority celebrated: a care-experienced student had been accepted into Oxbridge. To them, it was a case of social care having 'worked well'.
Yet, despite me being on the receiving end of platitudes and adulation, the reality of leaving care was tumultuous. My foster family let me go when I was 18. As well as studying for my A-levels, I had to prepare for independent living and moving into a council flat. Alongside sorting out student bursaries and loans, I also had to bid for council properties and budget for home furnishings. I should have been able to focus solely on my education, but that 'luxury' was never afforded to me.
Perhaps most challenging was that I wouldn't receive funding for both student accommodation and a London council flat. I could either stay in London and get a council flat, or go to Cambridge and lose my bidding priority for the flat. This was problematic because my Cambridge college didn't offer year-round accommodation. Only after I contacted my local MP did I receive the support to both attend my university of choice and have a home. Why should any teenager have to be so resilient?
So overwhelming were the pressures of leaving care that I nearly declined my Cambridge offer. How many young people, on the cusp of leaving care, are giving up on their ambitions and potential because of the immediacy of survival? University and other forms of higher education are not being pursued by many leaving care. I'd suggest this is not due to a lack of interest or ability, but the suffocating demands care leavers face when it comes to independence.
The chance to dream is a privilege that many leaving care aren't given. This stunted potential affects society deeply, including care-experienced people forming large proportions of the homeless, young offending and adult offending populations.
In 2022, the Welsh government piloted a basic income scheme for those leaving care. While its success is yet to be determined, one must appreciate the effort made to ease the pressure on those confronting the brutality of adulthood and independence. So many in care have known poverty – we must offer them a route out of it.
The case for better support for those leaving care is beyond clear. Hopefully, our authorities are prudent enough to ensure that the children's care system ends up doing what it says on the tin: caring.
Ashley John-Baptiste is the author of 'Looked After: A Childhood in Care' (Hodder)
[See also: The brain behind Labour's EU deal]
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