News

Longfield to examine Muslim fostering case

The Children's Commissioner for England will examine reports that a five-year-old Christian girl was left distressed after being placed in foster care with a Muslim family.

According to The Times, the girl was taken from her family by children's services at Tower Hamlets Council and forced to live with a niqab-wearing foster carer in a home where she was allegedly encouraged to learn Arabic.

It said that in a confidential council report on the case, a social services supervisor describes the child sobbing and begging not to be returned to the foster carer's home because "they don't speak English".

Anne Longfield, children's commissioner for England, said she was concerned by the reports.

"A child's religious, racial and cultural background should be taken into consideration when they are placed with foster carers.

"We will be contacting the director of children's services at Tower Hamlets to establish more about the facts of this case."

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included

  • Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month

  • Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here


More like this