Call to extend unregulated settings ban ahead of introduction for under-16s
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Social work and charity leaders have reiterated calls for an outright ban on the use of unregulated supported accommodation for all children a week before such settings are banned for those under 16.
Following a Department for Education consultation, unregulated placements which do not provide care for children aged under 16 will be banned from 9 September with a set of national standards due to be put in place for those housing young people aged 16 and 17.
However, thousands of campaigners are calling for an outright ban under the #KeepCaringTo18 movement.
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The campaign, spearheaded by children’s rights charity Article 39, has seen practitioners, academics and charity leaders sharing statements backing the calls on social media as well as 3,500 sign an online petition.
Article 39 director Carolyne Willow, described the changes as “discriminatory and dangerous”.
“As a mother, there is no way I would have stopped caring when my children turned 16. I want the very best for all children in care up to 18 and beyond,” she said.
Ali Gunn, communications and campaigns manager at the Together Trust, added: “Young people told us that they felt pressured to move into non-care settings before they were ready. They felt let down. They felt like no one cared about them. The government’s new proposed standards will continue to let down thousands of children in care.”
June Thorburn, emeritus professor of social work at the University of East Anglia, said: “I’ve met very few young people who needed to come into care who did not need loving care and an appropriate level of parenting to 18 (and beyond).
“As a trustee of a voluntary organisation providing long-term residential care, we took great care to be there for the young adults who moved on at 18.
“Flexibility is essential but all need care until 18 and someone who cares for them beyond that.”
Last month, the High Court granted Article 39’s request for a judicial review disputing the government’s refusal to extend the ban on non-care placements to 16- and 17-year-olds.
The hearing is due to take place in December.
