Supreme Court rejects bid to revoke adoption of sisters The children, now 18 and 19, supported their adoptive mother's application to the court.

Supreme Court rejects bid to revoke adoption of sisters www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Where have all the children gone? A sharp fall in the number of young people in the UK will have a profound impact on children’s services.

There are also significant implications for children’s social care and the care system, although they are not really being discussed yet, so I wrote about this here open.substack.com/pub/martinba...

Responding to changing demand for school places  - NAO report This report looks at DfE’s approach to overseeing and supporting a resilient school system in England that can respond to changing pupil demand.

The National Audit Office has investigated the impact of the falling birth rate and decline in school numbers, which will be significant
www.nao.org.uk/reports/resp...

Long-lost grave of 15 children from Bradford Barnardo's home discovered A LONG lost grave of 15 children has been discovered in a sunken area of Undercliffe Cemetery.

Grave of Barnardo’s children grave discovered at Undercliffe Cemetery

www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/2604265...

Temporary accommodation linked to deaths of 104 children in England in six years Calls for ‘urgent, sustained action’ over rising number of children who do not have permanent home

Temporary accommodation linked to deaths of 104 children in England in six years

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Three proposed new Blackburn children's care homes refused A proposal to redevelop the premises of a former Blackburn care home for adults as similar facility for children has been rejected.

Council rejects planning permission for three children’s homes because “the proposals ultimately fail to demonstrate a need arising from the requirements of people with a defined association with Blackburn with Darwen.”

www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/2603699...

Children's social care reforms must be fully implemented by March 2027, says DfE - Community Care DfE sets deadline for councils to roll out Families First Partnership programme reforms to children's social care

Children's social care reforms must be fully implemented by March 2027, says DfE

www.communitycare.co.uk/content/news...

Plans for Ofsted to fine illegal children’s home providers 'could backfire' - CYP Now Increased regulatory powers to fine unregistered children’s home providers could risk harming the most vulnerable children by pushing the practice further out o

I believe that local authorities should also be prosecuted for sending children to live in illegal children’s homes

www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

The widespread use of illegal children’s homes is one of the biggest scandals of the care system The bleak truth is that local authorities gambled with children’s lives in a reckless punt on the market and lost.

The widespread use of illegal children’s homes is one of the biggest scandals of the care system. It all comes down to profits from care.
My latest column via Substack.

open.substack.com/pub/martinba...

The latest Week in Care has links to dozens of news stories about children’s services and the care of young people from the past seven days. Sign up for your free weekly email via weekincare@gmail.com

The Guardian view on social care shortages: housing charities could help England’s ‘hidden children’ | Editorial Editorial: New rules and extra foster carers should ease the pressure on councils. But unregistered placements remain a grave concern

The Guardian, to its shame, does not call for councils to open children’s homes

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Ex-teacher sexually abused and smothered baby he adopted, jury told A man is on trial accused of murdering 13-month-old Preston Davey in Blackpool.

A former high school teacher sexually assaulted and smothered to death a baby boy he adopted months earlier with his partner, a jury has been told.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Starmer says it ‘beggars belief’ he wasn’t told about Mandelson vetting failure as he faces down the Commons – UK politics live MPs jeered as PM said it is ‘incredible’ he was not told full story and he was wrong to appoint Mandelson as US ambassador

It was clear to anyone with a half-brain that Mandelson was not a fit and proper person to represent the UK. No vetting needed.

www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

This is the piece that nobody talks about: foster care is always the default response, regardless of whether it is the *right* response.

It is more about the fact that local authority children’s services decided that it wasn’t their responsibility to own children’s homes or to run a sustainable fostering service. It was all outsourced.

To be clear: “more foster carers” is not an acceptable answer to this crisis.

‘It’s soul-destroying’: struggle to house vulnerable children can leave breaking law as only option Social workers in England say they often have no choice but to place children in unregistered settings because no one else will take them

‘It’s soul-destroying’: struggle to house vulnerable children can leave breaking law as only option

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Analysis of Ofsted data reveals that cases of unregistered homes in England increased from 144 in 2020-21 to 680 in 2024-25, which experts say is likely to be an underestimation of the true figure.

Get a grip on ‘scandal’ of illegal child social care in England, ministers are told Vulnerable children placed in caravans, Airbnbs and holiday camps, with children’s commissioner saying practice must stop

“National scandal” of England’s shadow child social care as shocking new report reveals number of children in unregulated settings has increased by more than 370% in five years

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Children entering care in Stockton more than doubles as demand and pressures surge The number of children going into care in Stockton more than doubled last year, figures show.

Number of children going into care in Stockton-on-Tees more than doubled last year
www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/2603111...

Controversial plans for third children's home in city neighbourhood approved The site is the third Hamilton home to be converted into a residential facility

Three children’s homes open in the same Leicester neighbourhood. The ‘care market’ in one story.

www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicest...

Don’t mind the (attainment) gap. Care is about something much more precious. New government data underlines the gap in educational attainment between children growing up in care and their peers.

Don’t mind the (attainment) gap. Care is about something much more precious.

My latest Substack.

open.substack.com/pub/martinba...

Keir Starmer faces ‘judgment day’ as Mandelson vetting debacle grows As revelations mount and accusations fly, prime minister prepares for MPs’ anger and Olly Robbins’ testimony early next week

I can’t get beyond the fact that Mandelson needed to be vetted to decide if he was as a fit and proper person to bebUS ambassador

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Numbers of children going into care more than doubled in 2025 A leading officer has said Stockton Council plans to open three more children's homes as it continues to face rising costs, demands and pressures

The number of children going into care in Stockton-on-Tees more than doubled last year

www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teessid...

Foster carers reunite siblings under one roof after home renovation Through TACT Fostering’s 'Making Spaces' scheme, the couple was able to renovate their home and welcome another sibling.

Salisbury foster carers reunite siblings under one roof

www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/2601936...

Victims' anger at 'insulting' sentences for abusive foster carer and rapist son Jennifer Robertson was ordered to complete 250 hours of community service while her son Steven was jailed for 11 years.

Victims' anger at 'insulting' sentences for abusive foster carer and rapist son

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Navigating the Shift: Adapting to the New Era of Children’s Social Care ADCS is a membership organisation. Our members hold leadership roles in children’s services departments in local authorities in England.

Good corrective to the over-simplified reporting of foster carer numbers: the Association of Directors of Children’s Services restates its commitment to prioritise kinship care over mainstream foster care.

www.adcs.org.uk/navigating-t...

Release home - Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England Children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England, national and local authority level outcomes including key stage 4 and absence

We should acknowledge that the care system must do more to improve educational attainment. But we should also recognise that the average time a child spends in care is just 2.5 years, often beginning in their early to mid teens.
explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statist...

A care leaver from Bristol has described feeling "like a ghost" after she was moved between more than 40 different placements, often miles away from home.

www.itv.com/news/westcou...

SEND reforms: Where are care-experienced children? — Special Needs Jungle NEW POST: SNJ co-director, Renata Watts, who's also a foster carer, asks where are care-experienced children in the SEND reforms proposals?

SEND reforms: Where are care-experienced children? Good analysis by Renata Watts via Special Needs Jungle

www.specialneedsjungle.com/send-reforms...