our young people matter too
By Razia, CEO
The latest Ofsted inspection of Kent County Council’s (KCC) Children Services for care leavers validates KRAN’s experiences of supporting young refugees and asylum seekers.
In May 2022 in the middle of the pandemic, KCC received a glowing Ofsted report for its Children's Services. It was outstanding in all domains, apart from one where it was deemed good.
In the latest report, published this week, the overall services have been downgraded to good. The experience and progress of those in care remains outstanding, but for care leavers’ services, it requires improvement.
KCC leaders do not recognise this rating as they argue it doesn't account for the unique circumstances that KCC operated in. They note the legacy of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) of the past 10 years: those who stay in Kent to their full term of age 25 when funding ends at the age of 21, that the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) was previously broken and ineffective, the delays in the asylum process, and most recently the fact that local authorities on the NTS are paying providers to keep UASCs in Kent. The housing costs and absence of family and community networks create unfair pressure and exceptional demand in Kent.
Over the past 10 years (2015-2025) 12,000 UASCs have been looked after in Kent. Currently, just over 1,000 care leavers are UASCs and nearly 900 are citizen young people. In addition, 1,300 looked after children who are on the NTS are currently still in Kent supported by private providers, funded by other local authorities. KCC is also funded by the Home Office to run up to nine reception centres in Kent for newly arrived UASCs on the NTS.
Although the main points raised in the latest Ofsted report affect all care leavers - just over half of whom are young refugees and asylum seekers - from KRAN's experience of supporting care leavers in our Advocacy and Support team, these young people are even more affected by what the findings reveal.
Housing - the lack of quality and choice of accommodation for care leavers.
Ofstead report point 48. Concerns relate to internal issues such as damp, mould and faulty electrical wiring, as well as external factors, including unsafe neighbours and local environmental risks. Care leavers do not always feel safe in their homes. The quality and range of housing provision has improved little since the last inspection. Registering care leavers as homeless to secure temporary accommodation when they turn 18 has become custom and practice and is symptomatic of insufficient preparation time with their Personal Assistant (PA).
Many care leavers must move long distances to access suitable housing and are given limited choice. Insufficient impact to introduce a rent guarantor scheme and resolve these issues.
Education, employment and support - fall in the number of those leaving care in education, employment or training or suitable accommodation.
Pnt 49. Care leavers in custody often receive minimal assistance to participate in education or work while detained, increasing the risk of reoffending.
Support in transition offer
Pnt 38. The transition at the age of 18 from Social Worker to PA takes place close to or shortly after their birthday, which limits the opportunity to build meaningful relationships and impacts the quality of support they receive.
Pnt 43. There is limited evidence of additional tailored support that addresses the impact of trauma and early life experiences in care leavers, compared to those in care.
Pnt 45. Pathway plans focus more on tasks for the young person rather than a supportive roadmap for achieving success.
Staffing caseloads and approach
High demand and heavy caseloads mean there is little opportunity to match PAs, whose skills and approach are best sited to their needs.
Consistency in ensuring Social Workers have manageable caseloads to allow time to focus in line with young people's needs.
Pnt 44. The local offer for care leavers lacks ambition... it relies on the PA's initiative, persistence and knowledge of local charities.
Pnt 50. Professionals lack curiosity regarding potential exploitation with little sense of urgency and minimal use of assessment tools to evaluate risk.
Unfortunately, the Cabinet member for Children and Young People’s services remark is so telling of the attitude and approach that is now prevalent at KCC: “The large rising number of out-of-country children placed here also makes it increasingly difficult for us to provide timely support for Kent children who need our help.”
This “them and us” polarisation of deserving and undeserving children and young people because of where they are born, rather than the trauma they have endured, exposes an additional challenge for the young people we work with leaving care.