Coronavirus: Fears staff sickness could lead to children's home closures
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Ofsted is looking at options to increase capacity in children’s homes, including speeding up the application process for new provisions, amid fears staff sickness and isolation due to coronavirus could lead to a shortage of placements.
Children’s social care leaders have said they cannot “guarantee the safety” of children living in residential settings if staff numbers drop below a certain level due either to them being sick themselves or having to self-isolate if a family member shows symptoms of the virus.
Government guidance states that a person showing symptoms including a new persistent cough or fever should self-isolate for seven days and anyone living in the same household should self-isolate for 14 days.
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The chief executive of one children’s home said in a briefing sent by Children England to ministers: “We would be unable to guarantee the safety of children and need to return them to their local authorities.”
They added: “At worst, this might mean closing homes, or even the charity [which runs the home], with the loss of a specialist capacity that has taken 50 years to develop.”
Others raised concerns over the lack of availability of new placements should residents of a children’s home have to self-isolate.
Government guidance classes children’s homes as households, meaning all residents should self-isolate for 14 days if another person shows symptoms.
“Staff can continue to enter and leave the home as required – however, consistent staff rotas should be used where possible and staff should follow infection control procedures,” it states. “Other residents in the home should remain in isolation and not attend any off-site school for 14 days, following the guidance for households.”
Another children’s home leader said: “The capacity of the children's residential sector is already at breaking point. Most local authorities would struggle to find alternative provision, especially for long or open-ended periods of time, and for children whose needs it will not have been able to anticipate on a case-by-case basis.”
Ofsted has said it is “exploring” options to create more capacity for placements as the crisis may lead to “fewer homes available for children needing placements, where residents are in self-isolation or there are closures due to staff shortages”.
A spokesperson told CYP Now that options being looked into include speeding up application processes for new homes and the possibility of using programmes like Skype to carry out final visits to homes towards the end of the application process.
Fears have also been raised over the impact of moving placements while schools are closed on vulnerable children, as well as the stigmatisation of children in care who, under government guidelines, are required to continue going to school with the children of key workers.
“Children’s charities are concerned that, in the absence of key teachers, social workers and friends, children in care (and other children in need) will feel singled out and anxious, and the adults who remain around them may not be able to recognise their needs and provide the tailored support they need to stay safe,” the briefing adds, stating that this may lead to some children running away.