Ofsted promises to penalise councils using illegal children's homes

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Ofsted promises to penalise councils using illegal children's homesImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Both councils and unregistered children's homes face fines and penaltiesByNoel Titheradge Investigations correspondentPublished19 minutes agoLocal authorities who place children in care in unregistered homes could face being downgraded in performance inspections, Ofsted's chief inspector has said. Councils may be graded as requiring 'urgent improvement' and penalised in the running of their Children's Services departments under the regulator's proposals to tackle the issue. Sir Martyn Oliver told the 's Today programme that the practice of companies themselves running illegal placements was a "scandal" and that they will face fines.

He added that local authorities may be penalised under new plans for changes to inspections. Ofsted has failed to successfully prosecute a single provider since their use first emerged around a decade ago. In 2021, the government banned the use of children's homes which are not registered with Ofsted following successive investigations.

The Details

We discovered that one girl was trafficked directly from her home and sexually abused while a boy was kidnapped from another home to sell drugs. Children in care as young as ten were also regularly moved between caravans and narrow boats. At the time of the ban, local authorities complained that they were forced to use them because there were not enough placements in registered children's homes.

But with the supply of children's homes doubling in the past eight years - as private equity and property investors entered the market - illegal placements might have been expected to stop. Despite this, the practice has only grown with the cost of these placements also rising sharply. In May, the revealed that three local authorities in England spent more than £2 million each on a single child's placement in an illegal children's home last year.

Whistleblowers continue to tell the about appalling conditions inside homes. One described finding a child being barricaded inside a room. Ofsted has faced criticism for failing to successfully prosecute any providers over this period - and for excessive delays over applications to register children's homes which now stretch to 18 months.

What Experts Say

Providers have told the that they feel forced to open without registration or face bankruptcy because of the sunk costs in hiring premises and employing key staff. Sir Martyn has now promised to help end the use of illegal children's homes. "It's simply unacceptable.

It needs to end, and we're going to play our part in it," he said. Ofsted's chief inspector said he has increased the size of the team investigating the use of illegal placements and three prosecutions are ongoing, with one awaiting sentencing. "I'm saying it's simply not good enough if you use a children's home that's not registered with us, and we will downgrade you if that's the case", he said.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.