Foster care separates a third of siblings, research shows

Statistics gathered by Action for Children following a Freedom of Information request to all local authorities in the UK found that out of the 11,082 children from sibling groups who were placed in foster care between April 2013 and March 2014, 3,598 were separated from their siblings (32.5 per cent).

England performed best out of the four home countries in relation to keeping sibling groups together – with authorities reporting that 31 per cent of children were separated (2,880 out of 9,370).

Both Scotland and Northern Ireland separated 38 per cent of children belonging to sibling groups, and in Wales 43 per cent of sibling group children were separated.

In total, 89 per cent of local authorities responded.

In England, the best performing region was the East – which reported separating 19 per cent of siblings, followed by the South West, which separated 22 per cent of children.

The region that separated the highest proportion of children from sibling groups was the East Midlands – with 45 per cent, followed by the North East on 44 per cent.

Sir Tony Hawkhead, chief executive of Action for Children, said the findings highlight the need for more foster carers.

“For many children, being taken into care can be a confusing and upsetting time; add the distress of being split up from your brother or sister into the mix and the impact will last a lifetime,” he said.

“Nobody wants to separate brothers and sisters, but there simply aren’t enough foster carers who can look after siblings.

“By arming ourselves with a pool of dedicated people who can provide a loving and caring home to groups of children we will avoid breaking more young hearts in the future."

Sue Kent, professional officer at The British Association of Social Workers, said council fostering services are so stretched financially that there is an emphasis on placing children within their own local authority because it is cheaper than placing them with external providers even though they may be better equipped to support larger sibling groups.

“Many of our members have been told that placements outside the local authority have to come to an end irrespective of the needs of the child,” she said.

“As the impact of public spending cuts continue to hit the workforce, social workers also tell us that there are potential foster carers out there who may well offer the right home to a sibling group but with not enough capacity in the system to get these people assessed quickly, they are left to wait.”