Pam Hibbert, assistant director of policy for Barnardo's, believes the residential care system needs to be "radically rethought" so it is not seen as a last resort for children.
"We need a system that enables residential care to be a positive choice, that attracts the best staff and that supports and trains them properly," she said. "Only then will we have residential units fit for purpose.
"Despite a number of reforms over the past 15 to 20 years in terms of quality of staff and training, we still don't seem to be able to get it right for children in residential care."
According to Hibbert there is a negative perception of children's homes in society. She said residential care should adopt a social pedagogy approach, which is used in many European countries and is based on building relationships with children.
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