Today’s education in the media looks at figures from the department on the number of children placed in care outside of the borough their family are from.
Out-of-borough children’s care
Today, Tuesday 8 May, several outlets have covered comments from Labour MP Ann Coffey on an increase in the number of children being placed in care outside of the borough they’re from. The comments were covered by BBC Online, Politics Home, the Independent, The Metro, The Times, and the Daily Mirror. Coffey also wrote a piece for The i on the subject, and was interviewed on Sky News.
Local authorities are required to make sure placements for children in care meet the needs of the child, and that this can include the location of a placement. The Government is also updating the 2011 Missing Children and Adults Strategy and – for the first time – will include an implementation plan with the strategy setting out the key actions being taken across Government to improve the current response to missing people.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
Children in care are some of the most vulnerable people in society and it’s essential that their best interests are at the centre of all decision making. Local authorities have a statutory duty to make sure that placements meet the needs of children in their care and this includes the location of the placement.
We are updating our Missing Children and Adults Strategy which for the first time will include a strategy to improve the current response to missing people. We have also strengthened care planning and children’s homes regulation requiring all homes to have a clear policy for preventing children from going missing.
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