New Research Evidence on Looked After Children & Adoption From Barnardos

Photograph by MegaBu7

Baranrdos has published a new, free to download report: What Works in Achieving Adoption for Looked After Children: An Overview of Evidence for the Coram/Barnardo's Partnership

The review was commissioned by Barnardo's and Coram to support their partnership initiative which provides consultancy and support to local authorities with the aim of increasing the number of children adopted from care and reducing delays in making and implementing decisions about adoptive placements. 

The work forms part of the Department for Education 'Pathways to Permanency project'.

Young Offenders Failed By Care System Says New Report

Photograph by Richard Masoner/Cycledelicious

An new report by HM Inspectorate of Probation "Looked After Children: An inspection of the work of Youth Offending Teams with children and young people who are looked after and placed away from home" reveals that children in care in England and Wales who've been in trouble with the law are being failed by youth offending teams.

The Inspectorate of Probation raised concerns about children placed far from home, and some youth offending team staff who thought little about the emotional impact of being in care.

The report looked at 60 children, from about 3,000 supervised by the teams. It found about a third of children were placed more than 100 miles away from home, and nearly two-thirds were placed 50 miles away.


Basic checks were not made when placing these "vulnerable and potentially dangerous" children into homes, the report said, adding that examples had been found of sex attackers being placed with abuse victims.

Youth offending teams and and other agencies did not "always work effectively together in the best interests of the children", and poor planning and assessment meant insufficient protection for two-thirds of the children.


You can read more on this story on the BBC News website here.

A Teenager's Life In Care: 'Sex, Drink & Drugs'

There is a special feature on the BBC News website about the sexual exploitation of a teenager whilst in care.

Julie, not her real name, was placed in care at the age of 11, where she remained until she was 18, staying in a combination of foster homes and children's homes. Now 19, she has spoken to Newsnight about her experiences of sexual exploitation.

You can read the full feature here.


You can watch this episode of Newsnight on the sexual exploitation of children and what is being done to combat it on Tuesday 3rd July, 22.30 BST on BBC2, then afterwards on BBCiPlayer here.

Child Abuse In Care Homes: Children Subjected To 'Violent & Sadistic' Sexual Abuse

Children in care homes are being subjected to sexual abuse of a "violent and sadistic nature", England's Deputy Children's Commissioner Sue Berelowitz has warned.
She made the comments as the government announced new reforms that aim to better protect youngsters who reside in the country's 455 children's homes.
The action comes following a report published by Ms Berelowitz, which was ordered after the jailing of a sex abuse ring in May which preyed on vulnerable girls in Rochdale. Only one of the girls was in care at the time of the abuse but all were known to social services at some point in their childhood.

The ongoing inquiry has highlighted evidence that children in care are particularly vulnerable to child sex exploitation, with some residential homes being specifically targeted by abusers.Ms Berelowitz said her research found perpetrators come from all ethnic groups, as do their victims, who are as young as 11 and are largely but not exclusively girls.

Speaking alongside Children's Minister Tim Loughton as he announced the new measures, she said of the abuse: "It is of a violent and sadistic nature. I've been in the children's services field for a very long time, and I have never come across the scale of violence and sadism that I'm encountering now. The stories that children and young people tell us are truly horrific."

"I think it's quite right and proper that the Government is paying special attention to this group of children as the state is their parent and therefore we have a special duty of care to children who are under care orders of one kind or another."

A spokesman for Ofsted welcomed the government's commitment to reform, adding that its own inspections of children's homes were constantly reviewed.

Sexually Exploited Children Are At Further Risk In Care Says Barnardo's

Children who have been sexually exploited and trafficked are being put in further danger because of a dire lack of trained foster carers, children's charity Barnardo's has warned.

The most vulnerable children are left in residential care or secure units where they are at greater risk from groomers and traffickers, according to the charity.

Taking action after nine men were jailed for grooming young girls for sex in Rochdale, the Department of Education has announced new funding for a specialist foster care scheme in an attempt to tackle the problem, but Barnardo's argues that more must be done.

"Without a doubt the system is completely failing children in residential care. This idea that you can gather large numbers of vulnerable children together in one place acts as a magnet to abusers – you might as well put up a neon sign saying get your most vulnerable children here," said Anne-Marie Carrie, chief executive of Barnardo's.

You can read more on this story on The Guardian's website here.

Outcomes for Looked After Children as at 31st March 2011

Outcomes for children looked after as at 31 March 2011. Department for Education.

Outcomes reported include education, health, offending and substance misuse. For the first time this year, it also includes information to show performance against the new Impact Indicator for attainment gaps for looked after children. This indicator includes a change to the definition previously used to monitor the attainment of looked after children and covers children who have been continuously looked after for at least 6 months - those who would be eligible for the pupil premium payment.
Published 14 December 2011
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001046/index.shtml