The residential child care sector looks after some of the most vulnerable children who have complex and challenging needs. The children often have serious psychological needs that stem from abuse, trauma and neglect, which make them a very different group than those placed in other segments of the care system, such as fostering or residential special needs schools. Children often arrive at children’s homes quite late: on average at 14.6 years of age. Twenty nine per cent have had six or more placements, and some have tens of previous community and family-based placements. Outcomes from residential child care are often seen as poor, but this may be to do with the high level of needs the children have developed over a relatively long period of time prior to entry to residential child care rather than a cause. Notably, although it is the negative outcomes of regulatory inspections that receive the largest headlines, these are reported for only 4 per cent of all inspections and 81% of children’s homes were judged good or better in 2016.

The project will provide accommodation and tailored support packages to vulnerable young people who are under the care of local authorities due to concerns that their needs could not be met by their parents or within foster care placements as they have high needs. Our service will be provided to local authorities who are corporate parents of looked after children. There are different classifications of accommodation and support that can be provided to young people in care between the ages of 11 and 18 depending on their specific needs. The project focuses on support and accommodation for 11 to 18 year olds who have high emotional and behavioural needs, and the accommodation will be in detached houses for up to 5 residents and they will be staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

There is a shortage of residential children’s homes within London which provide specialised form of social care home, within which looked after children are provided with the support they need to become fully independent at 18. As a result most of the children in need of specialist residential care end up being placed in placements which far away from home and family and friends network as far as Manchester and Rochdale. Some of these young people have ended up at more risk such as child sexual exploitation and gang activities as they go missing from placements trying to return home to see friends and family.

There is an ever growing need for residential children’s home placements, rising around 5% year on year; in addition to this the recent influx of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) is putting additional strain on the system. In addition to the rising need for placements, the needs of the children requiring residential placements are also becoming more complex, and there is need to tailor the services to meet their need to enable them to realise their full potential in life.