High number of teens in care in England is ‘unsustainable’ says Children’s Commissioner

The care system in England is struggling to cope with rising demand from teenagers the children’s commissioner Anne Longfield has said.

The Children’s Commissioner’s 2019 Stability Index is an annual measure of the stability of the lives of children in care in England. The Index was launched in 2017 and provides information on the number of times children in care move home placement school or social worker.  

This year’s Stability Index released today shows how the profile and needs of children in care has changed over the last five years driven by a growing share of older children and teenage care entrants who have more complex needs and potentially more expensive living arrangements. They are six times more likely than children under 13 to be living in residential or secure children’s homes and nearly half are living in privately-run accommodation.

Compared with under-13s teenagers in care are significantly more likely to have the following issues flagged up by social workers: child sexual exploitation (6 times more likely) going missing from home (7 times more likely) gangs (5 times more likely) trafficking...