One of the big challenges for the new Education Secretary is the growing number of children in care – with costs falling to cash-strapped local councils. But more quickly many children in care are moved miles away from everything they know – their hometown, friends, sometimes school and even relatives.
In England last year, one in five children in care were placed in accommodation more than 20 miles from their old home. That’s more than 17,000 children – and the number is growing – up 62% in the last ten years. Now, government figures obtained by charity ‘Dadi’ and shared exclusively with Channel 4 News shed light on all this.
They point out the average child in care is now further away from home than five years ago. The average distance in 2018 was 17.3 miles. That rises to 18.5 miles in 2023. The furthest a child is sent is 502 miles away from home.
Although, sometimes there is a good reason why a child can be sent further away – for example if there is danger in the home town. But being placed far from home can have a devastating effect on young lives, as one young woman explained to Ayshah Tull.
Chereece’s story
In just 22 years Chereece has been through more trauma than most. He grew up in a care system where he was moved eight times in a year, living out of garbage bags and struggling to find a place to call home. As a new figure from Dadi, a national charity for care leavers shows more children in England who are placed in “out of the area” placements, they want local authorities to think twice about doing so.
Social services have been involved in Chereece’s life since birth. When he was eight, he moved in with his sister, but the relationship became strained, and he was placed in the care system when he was 15.
In the first year, he was transferred to the north of England and Wales. At one point they were put in holiday camps and caravans and told to pack every three days. Speaking about this period in his life, he called it “Dehumanising. I felt like an animal. Like garbage.”
This has had a major impact on Chereece’s relationship; he felt like he couldn’t trust anyone. He kept running, even getting into other people’s cars, saying he felt “safer” there than anywhere else. He explained, “you learn how to put yourself in dangerous situations, you get into random people’s cars, you jump trains, you walk for kilometers, and you really put yourself in an unsafe position.” This is the only way they feel they have control over their lives. Chereece then started drinking as a way to escape the unhappiness she felt.
The constant need to move away caused his education. He always got his GCSEs but couldn’t concentrate on his work, he says “I had so much going on. I couldn’t even focus on myself. It was just so chaotic, such a chaotic lifestyle, you didn’t have time to think.
In response to concerns about the availability of placements for children in the care system, the Local Government Association, which represents the council, said: “As the number of children that local councils have to care for in recent years, this has put a real strain on the availability of local, high-quality provision in some area.We have long been concerned about the availability of housing for children in care and we want to work with the Government to address this issue.
In 2020, Chereece turned her life around, thanks to her daughter. They want to make sure that the small children they have, are not passed on to the next generation. Now settled and happy, carrying her four-year-old, she couldn’t imagine her daughter going through what she did. By speaking out, she hopes her experience will make authorities think twice about keeping children from what they know.
The Department for Education said it was “working on ways to bring local authorities together to reduce placements in these areas.”
He said he would look at what further action is needed to “ensure every child has a safe and loving home, in the best location for them.”
