A report by the Children’s Commissioner has highlighted the continuing use of unregulated settings to house children in care. The Commissioner notes that ‘there is no process for checking the quality of the care they receive or the suitability of those adults providing the care – because, by law, these homes should not exist. ‘
Interestingly, the Commissioner notes that figures used in the report are provided by OFSTED, which would indicate there is no intention by Local Authorities to cover up the use of unregulated provision and contradicts the point that there is no process for monitoring these placements.
However, the report highlights that sufficiency of residential care places for children, particularly those with high needs, still falls short of demand. The report is also correct in stating that companies providing unregulated care tend to provide high cost, low quality support for young people which exacerbates their trauma and isolation.
Part of the answer is to speed up the registration process for new homes. It is not uncommon for the application process to take 9 months. The majority of Children and Family’s homes are in partnership with Local Authorities, using Local Authority owned buildings and closely monitored by Commissioners and Social Work teams. In days gone by, Local Authorities could register their own homes, and we would like to see this route re-established, especially where the home is owned or operated by the Local Authority. This would ease OFSTED’s workload and speed the registration of new homes, reducing the need for unregulated care. The home would then receive its annual inspections as normal from OFSTED.
Unregulated care is not a choice any Local Authority makes lightly. The Children’s Commissioner correctly highlights the issues associated with it. However, it will only end when sufficient regulated placements are available to meet the demand of young people.