Children in care ‘moving between placements a thousand times every week

Children in care are moving between placements a thousand times every week in England, according to fresh analysis of Government figures. Children’s care placements have changed more than 220,000 times between 2018 and 2021, according to charities’ analysis of figures on looked-after children published by the Department for Education (DfE).

This is the equivalent of 1,059 changes every week, the coalition of seven children’s charities said. In 64% of the changes in 2021, the reason for the young person being moved on was concern about abuse or neglect, they said. It comes as more than a hundred young people with experience of being in care are set to gather in Parliament today, urging MPs to act to fix the social care system.