Key Points There has been little change in the number of fostering households and children in foster care. There were 44,320 approved fostering households as at 31 March 2016, less than a 1% fall from the previous year (44,625). There were 51,805 children and young people in placement on 31 March 2016, the same as last year’s figure. There was a large drop in applications to be foster carers. The reported number of applications fell by one third. There were 11,460 applications in 2015-16, compared to 16,920 the previous year. There are more approved family and friends households this year. There has been a 13% increase in the number of family and friends households from 4,145 on 31 March 2015 to 4,665 in 2016. A large minority of children who went missing had no RHI. Of the 3,055 children who went missing, 46% did not have a Return Home Interview (1,405). More care leavers stayed living with their former foster carers. Although the number of care leavers went up 17% to 4,025, the number who stayed living with their former foster carers increased by a higher rate (22%) to 2,190. Children were more likely to experience a change in educational placement if they also experienced an unplanned ending. Of the children who experienced at least one unplanned ending, 12% also experienced an education placement change, compared to 4% of those who had no unplanned endings. Contents
Chart 10: Percentage of children placed, compared to percentage experiencing an educational placement change, by sector as at 31 March 2016 A higher percentage of children who had an unplanned ending also had a change of educational placement (12%) compared to children with no unplanned endings who had a change of educational placements (4%). Staying Put A total of 4,025 young people in foster placements became 18 during the year 2015-16 (a 17% increase from 3,435 the previous year). Of these 4,025 care leavers, 54% (2,190) were still living with their former foster carers in 2015-16, an increase from 2014-15 of 22% (1,790). This is in line with the findings of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) Safeguarding Pressures research project, and the percentage is also in line with the DfE SSDA903 returns., The percentage of young people who “Stayed Put” with IFA carers rose by five percentage points from the previous year. This took it closer to the LA percentage, and to the 2013-14 level of 54%, so 2014-15 may have been an isolated dip. (Chart 11) Chart 11: Percentage of care leavers who remained with former foster carers after becoming 18, by sector, 2014-16 Restraint In 2015-16, there were 1,040 incidents of physical restraint, in line with the previous year. These affected 580 children and young people, which equated to an average of 1.8 incidents per child who experienced restraint. The number of children experiencing restraint once again diverged between the two sectors, as happened in each year except 2014-15: the number in LA foster care dropped by 13% from 155 to 135 children, while in IFAs it rose by 7% from 415 to 445. The preponderance of IFA placed children experiencing restraint may, again, be a result of the level and particular nature of the child’s need being met by those IFAs.