Children in Care

Children and young people come into the care of the local authority, either on a voluntary basis with the agreement of their parents, or through a decision made in Family Courts. Children can enter care due to a variety of reasons: It may be necessary to protect them from harm, or their family may need support due to crisis circumstances. Some may be in care due to illness or the death of a parent, others because of profound disabilities or complex needs. A minority of children in care are so because they have committed a criminal offence. Some unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK also come into care to keep them safe. 

Children in care can live in a range of different settings: they may live with family members or friends who have been assessed as suitable to care for them; many live with foster carers; in residential children’s homes; or in semi-independent accommodation if they are 16 or over. A few children in care still live with their parents. Some children are looked after for short periods of time, while others require longer-term placements. 

The health and wellbeing of children and young people is significantly influenced by their life experiences prior to care. Many children in care will have been affected by trauma such as physical/sexual abuse, neglect, or being separated from their family. Once children are in care, changes of placement can also cause distress. Experiences in early life can have long-term consequences on health, social development, educational achievement and emotional wellbeing. Therefore, children in care are a particularly vulnerable group and are at high risk of social exclusion, greater health inequalities, and poor educational attainment. National data consistently shows children in care achieve significantly lower educational outcomes than their peers, with large gaps in GCSE passes, especially in English and Maths, and lower rates in higher education, often due to higher rates of Special Educational Needs (SEN), frequent placement/school changes, and significant school absence, though longer time in care and stable foster placements can correlate with better results than unstable ones (Source: National Centre for Social Research). 

Although many children in care do well across these areas, there is significant evidence that many still do less well than children not in care. 

These young people are at higher risk of becoming involved in offending, becoming a teenage parent, and not being in education, employment, or training (NEET) – all of which can cause significant adverse effects on quality of life and access to opportunities. 

Loneliness is the subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship, and is more likely following major life events such as changing environments, leaving school or ending a relationship. Children in care are likely to experience such circumstances disproportionately. Social connection is a fundamental human need, but the extent and type of connection people seek is intensely personal to everyone. Having opportunities for social connection at a young age is vital for good physical and emotional wellbeing. 

Certain children, who have been in care, are entitled to support as Care Leavers. Councils have ongoing responsibilities to Care Leavers in helping to promote independence and stability, and to keep in contact with them until the age of 25. Many young people leaving care will face more challenges and barriers than their peers, particularly through the first stages of adulthood. 

Care leavers face higher risks of homelessness and unsuitable accommodation due to early transitions to independence and poor housing stability compared with peers.  Care leavers are significantly more likely to be NEET and to experience precarious employment, experience poorer mental and physical health outcomes, including higher premature mortality, and are over-represented in custody. 

It is the responsibility of all agencies involved with Children in Care to act as a Corporate Parent. The role of a Corporate Parent is to make decisions and provide services that enhance a child’s potential, and to act as a good parent to all children, in care and after care, when they become care leavers (Source: UK Government).

Lincolnshire County Council has high aspirations for all children in its care and is committed to providing the highest standards of care, support, education and opportunity. This can only be achieved by all parts of the council taking responsibilities as a corporate parent very seriously and, alongside partner agencies, placing children in care and care leavers at the forefront of their considerations. 

Children and Social Work Act 
Aims to improve support for looked-after children and care leavers by strengthening corporate parenting duties, promoting educational achievement, and reforming social work regulation to raise professional standards. 

The Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations: Care planning, placement and case review (Department for Education (DfE), July 2021) 
Provides the statutory framework for how local authorities should plan, place, and review the care of looked-after children, ensuring their welfare, stability, and long-term outcomes remain central. 

Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England, Reporting year 2024 (DfE April 2025) 
Monitors and reports on educational and developmental outcomes for children in need and looked after, enabling policy-makers and councils to identify disparities, trends, and areas needing improvement.

Exploring the Lives of Care Experienced Children and Young People | National Centre for Social Research Feb 2025 
Uses research evidence and lived experience to explore wellbeing, stability, and daily realities of care-experienced children, informing policy and practice improvements.

Outcomes for children in need, including looked after by local authorities in England: 2019 to 2020 (DfE, March 2021)
Dataset offering insights into how children in need and looked after were performing educationally and socially, helping track long-term trends and assess improvement over time.

Children looked after in England, including adoption: 2013 to 2025 (DfE) 
Provides annual national statistics on numbers, placements, care experiences, and outcomes for looked-after children, supporting strategic planning and accountability.

Ofsted Ready or Not Report (2022) 
Examines how well schools, services, and local systems prepare children for the next stage of their education or life, identifying gaps in readiness and areas requiring system-wide support.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE) (Updated 2025) 
Sets out statutory safeguarding duties for schools and colleges, ensuring clear policies and practices to protect children from harm.

House of Commons Library: Support for Care Leavers 
Provides an impartial overview of entitlements, legislation, and challenges affecting care leavers, supporting MPs and practitioners to understand policy gaps and needs.

Barnardo’s – No Place Like Home: 
Highlights the experiences of care leavers facing housing instability, advocating for improved accommodation options and stronger support for transitions to independent living.

Children’s Social Care National Framework (DfE) (2023) 
Defines national expectations for children’s social care, clarifying the purpose, principles, and desired outcomes for children, families, and practitioners across England.

Independent Review of Children’s Social Care (DfE) (2022) 
A comprehensive review setting out proposals to reform children’s social care, focusing on early help, stable homes, workforce reform, and long-term outcomes.

Stable Homes, Built on Love strategy (DfE) (2023) 
Government response to the Independent Review, outlining a reform programme to deliver earlier support, reduce care entrants, improve workforce stability, and create more loving, stable homes. 

Working Together (DfE) (2025) 
The central statutory guidance for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, setting out responsibilities for local authorities, health, police, and partners within multi-agency arrangements. 

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (UK Parliament) (2026) 
Seeks to strengthen the role of schools in promoting children’s mental health, wellbeing, and safety by embedding new duties and support structures across education settings.  Also embeds the duty for local authorities to provide a Staying Close, Staying Connected. 

 The Looked-After Children and Care Leavers Strategy 2012-2025 will be updated shortly. 

The number of children in care in England has continued to rise in recent years. However, the number of children in care in Lincolnshire (per 10,000 population) remains below the national average (Source: Department for Education). 

Approximately half of the children in care in Lincolnshire are from families living in Lincolnshire. The remainder are placed within Lincolnshire by other local authorities. (Lincolnshire County Council). 

Recruitment of foster carers is a key priority to provide the most effective means to deliver help for children most in need. Children in care in Lincolnshire are designated a teacher, have access to additional educational resources via the pupil premium, and access to the Virtual School. 

Children in care in Lincolnshire reside within fostering households, with kinship carers, independent foster carers, and local authority or private residential care homes. All children in care have access to a dedicated group of nurses. Children in care are also granted priority assessments of need by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). 

Education is crucial to improving life chances for children in care. Lincolnshire Virtual School acts as an education advocate, ensuring children in care are supported and challenged to meet their individual potential. Every child in care aged 3-18 has a Personal Education Plan (PEP) that is reviewed termly and informs the effective use of the Pupil Premium to remove any potential barriers to attendance, progress and attainment.  Support for care leavers in accessing and sustaining engagement in education, employment and training is provided by the Virtual School Post 16 EET team, working in close collaboration with the Leaving Care Service. 

Recent years have seen significant developments in the key areas of partnership working, professional development, championing the individual needs of all children in care, and the building of strong, resilient partnerships between the Virtual School, Lincolnshire education settings, training providers, employers and other partners. 

Lincolnshire continues to be a high-performing authority in relation to completed children in care review health assessments, and registration with dentists and GPs. Health information enables the authority to profile the health needs of looked-after children, so future resources can be targeted to their needs. 

The authority commissions additional services for children in care, including an independent visitor scheme, advocacy, specialist therapies and drug and alcohol services. 

Voices for Choices (V4C) is a well-established council for children in care and care leavers. Four groups contribute to the local authority’s ‘Big Conversation’ programme. The programme brings together young people, elected members, managers from children’s services, and Barnardo’s Leaving Care Service to develop and improve the services that children and young people receive. Young people have clear roles in participating in and influencing service delivery to support other young people and children in care. V4C contributes to Social Worker training and Foster Carer recruitment events. 

Feedback from young people has instigated changes and helped develop several areas of the service recently. For example, the development of the pathway plan, the development of the children in care strategy and the use of language across the council. 

Adolescents often enter care as a result of personal trauma. Results of trauma mean these adolescents are likely to present a range of behavioural challenges for carers. Both nationally and locally, there are insufficient suitable foster, residential, or independent accommodation options to ensure that the first placement is the right placement. A small proportion of young people will experience placement instability as a result. 

Recruitment of foster carers to meet the demand for housing children of all ages remains a challenge. An increasing number of independent agencies are actively recruiting foster carers in Lincolnshire. Foster carers working for independent agencies can care for children hailing from outside authorities, not necessarily children from Lincolnshire. The ambition is to recruit additional fostering households for children of all ages, with emphasis on permanence, given the increase in the number of children requiring longer-term foster care. 

1. The Council’s priority is to ensure that children are safe and supported to achieve their full potential. Services are offered to families in order to enable them to appropriately care for their children. There are a variety of reasons why children cannot safely remain with their families and may need to come into care, each case is considered individually. With increasing numbers of children in care and placement sufficiency, the associated social and financial costs are significant. Placement costs for children placed within externally commissioned providers can run into many thousands of pounds per week, making a considerable impact on local authority and health budgets. The Children in Care Transformation Programme has been developed in response to the placement sufficiency agenda, being both innovative and ambitious whilst embracing three key strategic goals. To reduce the need for statutory intervention in families’ lives, and costly crisis intervention, by providing the right help to the right children, at the right time and for the right duration.
2. To support families to come to their own solutions by focusing on building and sustaining the networks which they have in place. Wherever possible, children should remain with their families and be safely prevented from entering the care system in the first place. 

To improve outcomes for our Children in Care and Young People, by providing care locally within Lincolnshire, rather than care at a distance. When children do need to be cared for, our aim is to support them to live with kinship carers or in fostering families within their own communities, enabling them to remain close and connected to their families. 

As a Corporate Parent, there is a social, reputational, and legal risk if LCC does not fulfil these many responsibilities. Recent years have seen a focus on improving engagement with partners to ensure that the responsibilities of corporate parenting are promoted actively. 

Next steps include: 

• Improved transition into adulthood for children leaving care. 
• Continued development and review of Lincolnshire’s accommodation offer to adolescents and those leaving care. 
• Increase the provision of Lincolnshire’s residential children’s homes estate to accommodate children requiring residential care. 
• Improve the recruitment and retention of foster carers and continue with targeted recruitment of permanent foster carers.