After many years campaigning on this, Laura Sandys, MP for South Thanet, today welcomed the Education Secretary’s announcement that the Government will be implementing a series of measures to improve the quality of care for our looked after children.
The Education Secretary has announced that he will be:
- Re-examining the rules that prevent basic information being shared about who is responsible for children’s homes and the quality of them;
- Looking at the location of children’s homes, particularly those homes in areas with above average crime rates;
- Changing rules so that councils, the police and children’s homes providers carry out risk assessments of the location of new homes;
- Reviewing why so many children are located out of borough, with some sent over 20 miles away from home.
Speaking after the announcement, Laura said: “I am delighted that the Education Secretary will be looking at many of the issues I have raised, particularly children being placed out of borough. I was extremely pleased to discuss these issues with Mr Gove when he visited Cliftonville earlier on this year. I was able to provide him with a comprehensive overview of the challenges in the area and put forward our concerns about the placing of vulnerable children in inappropriate surroundings. I will be looking at the report being issued very closely and will keep pushing for the changes needed in our area.”