Education Select Committee inquiry
Our submission to the Education Committee’s call for evidence as part of its inquiry into Children’s Social Care in England, with a call for written and oral evidence.
What is the Education Committee and the inquiry?
The Education Committee scrutinises the work of the Government’s Department for Education, covering children’s social care, schools, colleges, early years and higher education.
In November 2023, the committee launched an inquiry into children’s social care, which will look into protection for vulnerable children, support for care leavers and aim to assess the social care market in the context of the private and public sector. As well as ways to improve early intervention, tackle rising demand and rising local authority spending, and support children with complex needs.
Our response
We responded to the committee’s call for evidence with two written submissions – one submission representing Become’s views; and one submission representing care-experienced young people’s views, gathered by us in a survey.
Key Messages
- The care system is overwhelmed, with increasing number of children in care and a lack of appropriate homes able to adequately meet their needs.
- Children in care continue to face high levels of instability, which can negatively impact on their wellbeing, education and relationships.
- There needs to be significant reform, sustainable investment and stronger accountability to ensure that children in care are able to live in stable homes that meet their needs.
- Young people leaving the care system face a care cliff, often forced to become independent before they are ready and without the support they need to make a positive start to adulthood.
- The Government’s proposed reforms do not go fast or far enough to address the disparities and disadvantages facing care-experienced children and young people
Thank you for your involvement!
We launched a young person’s survey on 13 December 2023 on our website, which closed on 22 January 2024. In our survey we asked care-experienced children and young people about issues including sufficiency, types of care settings, the effects of care experience across different areas of life, and the importance of each of the Government’s proposed reforms for improving the care system.
We heard from 37 young people who responded to the survey, sharing their views, insights and experiences on a wide range of issues. We would like to say thank you to each of you for your time and participation, and for sharing such valuable insight.
Next Steps?
Over the next few months, the education committee will review the 96 pieces of written evidence, as well as begin to carry out oral evidence sessions. To keep up to date with the progress of this and our involvement, sign up to our newsletter.
The APPG Report
On 5 March 2024, the APPG published its report with the findings from this inquiry. The report was officially launched in Parliament, to explore the inquiry’s key findings and how these reforms have the potential to positively transform the scaffolding of support around care-experienced young people. In a powerful discussion, parliamentarians heard directly from care-experienced young people involved in the inquiry, on how they would like to see public organisations, including schools, health services and the police, improve the support and services they provide.
