Children in care are being placed far from home, according to new findings

There are concerns children in care are being placed far away from their local communities

A charity is calling for the government and local authorities to take action to stop children being placed in care far away from their local communities.

It comes after new findings which suggest many are ending up miles away from their home area.

According to the data which comes from the charity Become, children in care in England are, on average, placed more than 18 miles from their local areas.

The charity also found in extreme cases, some children in care have been moved 500 miles away from their local communities, something which it has heavily criticised.

The government says it's taking steps to create a system which allows more children to be placed close to home.

Why are placements so important?

Children being placed far from home can affect their wellbeing

Become - a children's care charity - says that children who are moved more than 20 miles from home are more likely to have lower wellbeing and experience emotional difficulties than those placed closer to home.

In some situations, children being moved to a completely different area is the best thing for them, whether this is for their protection, or to move them closer to other family members.

However, Become has warned more and more children are being moved far away when it is not in their best interests because of a lack of suitable places in their local area.

It's now asking the government and local authorities to "commit to stop children being placed miles from home" and to come up with ways to "increase the supply of appropriate local options".

"There are 82,000 children in care, more than ever before, with numbers continuing to rise," said Katharine Sacks-Jones who is the chief executive of Become.

She called for a plan "to keep children close to the people and places that matter to them. All children in care deserve the love and stability they need to heal and thrive."

In which areas of the country are children placed the furthest?

Cumbria has one of highest rates of children being placed more than 20 miles from home

Government figures provided to the charity from the Department for Education (DfE) showed that more than one in five (21%) of all children in care in England were placed more than 20 miles from home, up from 16% in 2012.

They also revealed more than 800 children under the care of local authorities in England in 2022 were moved to Scotland or Wales.

A child being moved far from home can have a big impact on their education

"We hear time and again from the young people we work with that they've been made to move - often without warning - to an area they don't know, far away from everything that matters to them," said Ms Sacks-Jones.

"Being moved can disrupt a child's education, life outcomes, and relationships - including with brothers and sisters who might live miles away.

"Poor transport links can make it difficult or even impossible for a young person to get to school or college, see their friends or stay connected to their community. Young people tell us how lonely, isolated, and stigmatised it makes them feel.

"It's unacceptable that children are being moved away, not because it's the right decision for them, but because there are no suitable options closer. It cannot continue."

What has the government said?

The government says it's taking steps to create a system which allows more children to be placed close to home. "Every child deserves to live in a safe and stable home and local authorities have a responsibility to place children in an environment that is in their best interests, usually within 20 miles of their home," a spokesperson said.

"We are investing £259 million to create more placements for children in high-quality and safe homes, while developing a new model for care placements to keep more children close to home networks."