Film involving Portsmouth teenager highlights UK's lack of foster care

Become, a charity for children in care, worked with the young care leavers on the project

A teenager in foster care who was moved 100 miles away from her home has joined young care leavers at Parliament to show a film calling for support.

Lamar, 18, from Portsmouth, was among the group who made a film raising awareness of children in care being moved far from the people and places they love.

They are working with Become, a charity for children in care.

The Gone Too far film will be shown in the House of Lords.

Lamar, from Portsmouth, was moved 100 miles away from her local community to Luton

Lamar has lived with 10 foster families in the past eight years and last year she was sent to Luton for two weeks' respite care when her foster carer went on holiday.

The move happened just before her GCSEs, and Lamar did not know where she was being sent to until the day it happened.

She said: "I didn't realise things like this actually happened to young children in care and until it actually happens to you, you don't really understand how scary it is and how alone you feel.

"It was crazy, it's not a moment I want to relive and I don't wish any child to relive what I went through as well."

Lamar is among a group who made the film raising awareness of children in care

Become blames a lack of foster homes and children's homes for the issue.

It is calling on the government and local authorities to commit to stop children being placed miles from home, to publish strategies to increase the supply of appropriate local options, and to recognise and register the number of times children are moved inappropriately.

It says one in five children in care are moved more than 20 miles away, disrupting their education, their relationships, including with brothers and sisters, and impacting on their mental health.

Katharine Sacks-Jones, Become CEO, said: "These are children who have been through much more than most children have to face at a young age.

"At the very minimum we need to be giving them stability, support and we need to be keeping them close to what matters to them."

The Department for Education said local authorities have a responsibility to place children in an environment that is in their best interests, usually within 20 miles of their homes.

It added it was investing £400m to create more placements and £36m in delivering a fostering retention and recruitment programme.

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