Letters

I challenge Anne Longfield's use of the oft-quoted figure that there are 60,000 children being failed by the looked-after children system (CYP Now, 9-15 July).

Mike Stein, research professor at York University and a long-time campaigner for improved services for these children, says the 60,000 figure is wrong for several reasons.

First, the average length of stay for looked-after children is two and a half years, so this cannot be linked to future outcomes. Second, only 10 per cent of care leavers are 16 or 17 years old, and of these the majority enter care aged between 10 and 15 from difficult family or socio-economic backgrounds. Any association with their outcomes is flawed unless it recognises their pre-care experiences. Third, three to five per cent of the total care population have complex needs that require intervention well into adulthood. There is also research that shows the outcomes of all looked-after children improve with age.