Care Day: celebrating the rights of the most vulnerable children

February 17 is Care Day, an event to celebrate the rights of care-experienced children and a joint initiative between five children’s rights charities across the UK and Ireland. Government statistics tell us that there are about 90,000 children in care across England and Wales, and that this group make up less than 1% of all children. Every child’s experience of care is different and the overwhelming majority of looked after children have no contact with the justice system, overcome the adversity they have faced in childhood and lead successful lives.

However, while leading inspections of institutions holding children and young adults, it is hard not to notice the large numbers of looked after children in custody. Last year my team visited every young offender institution (YOI) and secure training centre in England and Wales; at each site we asked children to complete a survey and 66% of those that did said they had previously been in local authority care. This is a notable increase over the previous 10 years and makes looked after children one of the most overrepresented groups in prison today. This overrepresentation is also apparent in the adult prison estate where 24% of men and 31% of women, equating to around 21,000 prisoners, report having previously been in care. This situation isn’t wholly new – we published a report in 2011 on the experiences of looked after children in custody, much of which holds true today.

Despite the terminology, what strikes me is the absence of care for these children before they arrive in custody. Too many have not been in education or have very low levels of attainment in key subjects including English and maths. In our survey, 44% of looked after children report having mental health problems and often, they have been pushed from pillar to post in the community. I remember a looked after girl who had been in six different placements before she was finally imprisoned for assaulting an emergency worker during a mental health crisis. As well as a boy who was imprisoned in a YOI simply because there was no community-based placement available.

Once in custody there is evidence that this group is more isolated than their peers – only 53% say they feel cared for by staff, and looked after children are more likely to report having experienced victimisation from staff. It is particularly concerning, given that children in custody rely on staff for every aspect of day-to-day life, that more than a quarter of looked after children say there is not one member of staff who they could turn to if they had a problem. In addition, fewer looked after children report being supported to keep in touch with friends or family and just 6% said they receive a visit every week, far fewer than their counterparts who do not have experience of the care system. This leaves them estranged from their communities and makes successful resettlement more difficult.

During prison inspections the terms ‘looked after’ and ‘care’ feel like cruel jokes to a group of children who have experienced little of either. For many children I speak to it is the failure of adults to provide the stability and love that all children need that leads to offending in the first place. I hope some of the stories and experiences that children are sharing as a part of care day lead to more genuine care being provided to these children who desperately need it.