Press release: 500% increase of children being placed in unregistered children’s homes 

Become CEO, Katharine Sacks-Jones says:

“It’s a real indictment of the current state of children’s social care that hundreds of children who’ve experienced trauma are not being provided with the specialist, quality care they need, and instead are living in illegal and often completely unsuitable accommodation with limited support.

We have a chronic shortage of homes for children, local councils on their knees financially while private providers make ever-increasing profits. 

The Government’s recent proposals to address the issue of unregistered homes is welcome, but this latest data shows how urgently and robustly the Government must act. We must see stronger scrutiny and enforcement so that all children are able to live in safe homes and receive the high-quality care and support they need to thrive.”

The report from Ofsted shows:

• Number of unregistered children’s homes has gone up by more than 500% in the last three years, from 144 in 2021 to 931 in 2024
• Ofsted uncovered over 900 unregistered settings last year – almost three times the number of unregistered settings it found in 2021–22
• This is a national issue but the highest volumes of these illegal homes appear to be in the North West. A total of 157 were reported in that region, with 74 homes in the East of England, the lowest number in a region
• Of the children placed in unregistered settings Oftsed investigated last year, 12% were subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Order
• Following contact from Ofsted to the unregistered homes to stop operating and to register, only 6% of them did so. Of that 6%, only 8% were of a good enough quality to register successfully