A charity has won a pledge from the region’s councils to improve support for hundreds of children in care, some of whom are moved up to 30 miles away from their local communities.
Of 5,200 young people in care in Greater Manchester in March 2015, 2,060 – nearly four in ten - were in a placement outside the boundaries of their local council. These include placements with foster carers, in children’s homes, with family or friends, or for adoption.
Around one-fifth of those placed outside their local council area had been moved to placements more than 20 miles away.
The Children’s Society’s revealed in a report last year that it meant young people were left isolated, with some forced to switch schools, after being uprooted from family and friends.
Some are moved for their own safety, as they are at risk of abuse or neglect, but in other cases their local councils are unable to find places closer to home.
The charity campaigned for young people only to be moved out of their local community where absolutely necessary.
Over the summer it collected 2,300 signatures for a petition in support of its proposals.
Now a package of measures has been agreed by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority – which is made up of 10 city region council leaders and the Interim Greater Manchester Mayor.
The measures include:
- Ensure young people can contact family and friends, and receive appropriate support from their social worker.
- Make sure social workers always have a discussion with the young person about the reasons for the move and give them at least one month’s notice where possible
- Avoid arranging any move out of area at a time which could disrupt a young person’s education, unless totally necessary.
- Explore the possibility of creating a ‘Welcome Pack’ for young people including details about their new area, transport information, and services available.
- Make sure the young people have the luggage needed to move and discuss arrangements for transport.
Rob Jackson, Greater Manchester Area Director at The Children’s Society, said: “Through our Handle with Care campaign we wanted to ensure that young people in care receive the best possible support when it is necessary for them to move to a new area.
“That includes councils’ planning of the move and young people’s understanding of why it needs to happen, but also ensuring they have the help needed to settle and thrive.
“Moving home and school and adjusting to a new area would be difficult for any young person, but those in care can be particularly vulnerable so maintaining those vital links with family, friends and professionals is crucial.
“While there is good practice in Greater Manchester, there are also clearly many instances in which support could be better and we are delighted that our local councils have made this commitment.”
Councillor Cliff Morris, GMCA Lead for Children’s Services said: “I’m proud that by working together we’re implementing these recommendations and improving the lives of young people in care.”
How one girl in care was moved ELEVEN times
Opal Deakin was taken into care aged 11.
She was placed in nine different foster and children’s homes across Greater Manchester, but also as far away as Scunthorpe - 90 miles away - and Barnsley - 35 miles away.
Only one of all those placements was within her local council area.
Now aged 19, and living with her mum in Heywood, Opal said: “The hardest thing was being further away from my family and friends and not being able to see them as much.
“I also had to keep on moving schools, including in my final year of GCSEs, so that affected my education and knocked my grades down. At one time I had to travel from Yorkshire to a school back in Lincolnshire where my previous foster placement had been.
“I used to have difficulty finding out why I was moving and I didn’t get much warning of it. I remember getting home from school one day in Scunthorpe and being told to pack my bags because I would be leaving straight away for a new placement in Barnsley.
“I used to get angry and frustrated because I felt no one was listening and I would be kicking off and smashing things up. There were times when that led to me having my phone taken off me and because of that it meant it was harder to speak to people back home.”
Opal added: “I do think young people in care need more support when they move to new areas so it was great that The Children’s Society’s ran this campaign and I’m happy that the Greater Manchester councils have agreed to the recommendations.”
Now studying health and social care at North Manchester Sixth Form, things are looking up for Opal, who is also an aspiring singer and last year auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent.
She hopes to draw on her own experiences to find a job working with children in the future.
