#GoneTooFar
Our campaign to keep children in care close to the people and places that matter to them.
“When young people are suddenly thrown into an area they don’t know and have to start a new life away from their family and friends and even people that look like them, it is extremely difficult.” – Jade
Thousands of children in care have #GoneTooFar away from the people and places that matter to them.
All children need and deserve the same things to thrive: a loving home, a stable support network, and access to the community that helps them feel like they belong. But children in care rarely get this when they are moved far away from the people and places that matter to them when it’s not in their best interests.
There are currently almost 18,000 children living more than 20 miles away, with moves often happening without warning – and some children have been moved more than 500 miles. The number of children experiencing these far away moves is rising year on year.
We know this is having a harmful impact on children’s lives and their futures. Being moved far away can disrupt a child’s education, their relationships – including with brothers and sisters who might live tens of miles away, and impact their mental health. Young people we work with have told us it makes them feel lonely, isolated, and even more stigmatised, and that they have little or no choice in where they live.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We are campaigning with an amazing group of care-experienced young people to change this, who have highlighted how things can be different and what this will mean for children in care.
Watch this video below where our young campaigners asked the public how they would feel if they were suddenly moved far away from their support network.
We’re calling on the Government for:
- A national commitment to stop children being placed miles from their home area when it is not in their best interests.
- The development and publication of national and local strategies to increase the provision of care placements closer to home, so that children don’t have to be moved miles from their support networks.
- New data collection and reporting on the numbers of children who are inappropriately moved miles from home.
- Increased accountability for national Government and local authorities.
Sign our petition to keep children in care close to the people and places that matter to them
Latest campaign updates
February 2025: Members of our Gone Too Far campaign group met with the Minister for Children and Families, Janet Daby MP, to raise the issue that more than 1 in 5 children in care in England are placed over 20 miles from home. They also met with Jake Richards MP to discuss his Private Members’ Bill to tackle distance moves and keep children in care close to the people and places that matter to them.
February 2025: We launched our Gone too Far petition with the aim of gathering 10,000 signatures in support of keeping children close to the people and places that matter to them. Currently 1 in 5 children are moved more than 20 miles away, often without warning. This needs to change.
October 2024: Jake Richards MP introduced his Private Members’ Bill to help keep children in care close to the people and places that matter to them and raised the impact of distance moves on children in care at Prime Minister’s Questions. You can watch the introduction to the Bill here.
August 2024: Chereece, a care-experienced young person and our CEO Katharine, spoke on Channel 4 about #GoneTooFar. Watch the interview here.
Each year, children in care are being moved miles away from the community, people, and places that matter to them.
18+ miles
the distance a child in care is moved, on average, from the people and places they know
Over 1 in 5
children in care in England are living more than 20 miles away from home
4 out of 5
children in secure settings are living more than 20 miles from home
2.5x more likely
to be living far away for children in private children’s homes
3,000
more children living further than 20 miles since 2018, rising every year
Read how this is having a harmful impact on the lives of children in care.
Jade
“I was thinking how will I see my mum, my sisters, keep in touch with my friends? All the emotions together made me burst out in tears.”
Listen to JadeKevin
"If we want the best outcomes for all care-experienced young people then we have to keep them within their local area, keep those relationships intact, keep that sense of community so they become the best person they can be."
Listen to KevinLouise
“My twin sister was moved from London to Ipswich. That really affected her as she went from living in a city to a countryside with a lack of diversity.”
Listen to LouiseRead more about our #GoneTooFar campaign
How you can get involved
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