Written evidence

CSC0121 - Ofsted

CSC0121 – Written Evidence on Children’s Social Care – Ofsted

Dear Lord Bradley

Ofsted’s response to the House of Lords Public Services Committee’s call for evidence into its inquiry on children’s social care

I write in response to your email dated 18 September 2026 requesting evidence for the above inquiry.

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. We inspect and regulate services that care for children and young people, as well as inspect services providing education and skills for learners of all ages.

It is clear that the inquiry is covering a wide range of issues, and, in attempt to keep this response succinct, I will draw your attention, where applicable, to recent Ofsted reports which I believe are relevant and will be helpful to the inquiry’s work, under the headings below. In addition, I have annexed a list of relevant Ofsted publications, including data, analysis and inspection findings.

Demand in the children’s social care sector

Ofsted has been reporting the rise in demand for suitable children’s placements for some years. Our research, published in 2024, found that 91% of local authorities struggle to find suitable homes for children with complex needs, with some children waiting months, or even years, for a stable placement.[1] The geographical distribution of children’s homes (and residential special schools) often bears little resemblance to the pattern of need or demand. As a result, children with complex needs too often live far from family or friends, experiencing multiple moves, and/or are accommodated in unsuitable and unregistered homes.

Recent years have also seen a growth in unregistered provision, as the gap between local demand and available registered accommodation has led to a concerning reliance on illegal children’s homes. In 2024/25 alone, Ofsted started nearly 900 investigations into potential unregistered homes, which often charge exorbitant fees to local authorities that have run out of options. This shadow market exists because there are not enough of the right kinds of places in legitimate, registered homes to take the children who most need specialist support.

While the number of children’s homes has grown significantly over recent years (a 70% increase in the four years to 31 March 2026), we are also aware of profit-driven placement locations often failing to match the local need, leaving some regions with a proliferation of homes (where housing is more affordable) and other regions with a deficit.

Although the number of children’s homes has continued to increase, the number of places available is not growing at the same rate, as there has been a shift towards smaller settings. This trend is explored further in the ‘Inspection and regulatory activity’ chapter in my most recent annual report.[2]

With a lack of accommodation in the right places to meet the needs of children, local authorities often have little choice but to spend considerable amounts of their

looked-after children budget on accommodation elsewhere.

We have also seen a steady decline in fostering capacity, with fewer foster carers entering the system and increasing numbers leaving. The reduction in available foster placements is contributing to pressure on placements and limiting the options for children who could otherwise be supported in a family setting. However, the decrease in fostering households has been partially offset by an increase in formal kinship care arrangements (or ‘family and friends carers’), which is the preferred route in many cases. The government has identified the need to provide better support to kinship carers through strengthened local offers, and this may lead to an increase in other permanency arrangements such as special guardianship orders.

Residential care

Ofsted has been reporting on the mismatch between the location of children’s homes and the originating area of children needing placements for some years. In short, the country does not have the right homes in the right places offering the right care. For example, as at 31 March 2026, the North West region hosts 26% of all children’s homes (1,250 homes and 3,580 places), yet only 18% of looked-after children are from this region (31 March 2025 figure). In contrast, the South West has the fewest homes (300) and the fewest places (890). Further data can be found online.[3]

Sufficiency in children’s social care, that is, the amount of suitable legal accommodation available for children in care and care leavers, is shaped by a complex set of factors rather than by the volume of provision alone. From our research, the misalignment of supply and demand is likely to have been influenced by property prices and provider incentives, rather than local demand.[4]

In our experience, the strongest provision and best applications for new homes are firmly based on strong liaison with commissioning local authorities, and a detailed understanding of local need and how the potential provision is going to meet that need. Ofsted has seen how the best commissioners work with local providers to make sure that children are getting the quality care and support that they deserve, and that the services can adapt to their changing needs.

The rapid growth in the number of children’s homes applying to register with Ofsted has created significant pressure on the system, meaning it has taken longer than usual to process applications. Despite seeing the highest number of applications to register children’s homes in our history, the uneven distribution means that some regions are saturated, while others have gaps in the type and number of homes available. This led us, in 2025, in liaison with the Department for Education (DfE) and support of the Minister, to update our prioritisation criteria for processing registration applications.[5]

We welcome the new measures the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill and associated secondary legislation will bring to strengthen our powers, but we want to work with the DfE to find more ways to limit future registrations to geographical areas of specific need or to cater for specific children’s needs. We also need the ability to regulate beyond those running homes on a day-to-day basis, so we can

assess the suitability of the intermediate or ultimate owners. The regulations for this are owned by the DfE.

Foster care

At the end of March 2025, there were 42,190 fostering households in England.[6] The number of households has decreased steadily by 7% since 2021, and the make-up has changed. Formal kinship care fostering is the preferred route in many cases, and it is increasingly common for this type of foster care to be used to meet the needs of individual children. The largest subset of fostering households is mainstream local authority households (18,415), which currently account for 44% of total fostering households.

The Fostering Network’s ‘State of the Nations’ series of reports sets out a stark view of the experience of foster carers.[7] Our inspections give a further perspective, and tell us that, although the majority of foster carers do feel supported by their fostering service, when things are not positive the impact on foster carers is huge.

We know that systemic issues, such as not feeling valued, lack of support, and the management of allegations, have a significant impact on foster carer retention. In terms of recruitment specifically, issues for families include the impact of the cost of living (not being able to have someone at home for a foster child, low fostering allowances), uncertainty about income (not being paid when they do not have children in placement), a misunderstanding about what fostering is and/or means for their family, and a poor or protracted assessment experience.

Kinship foster carers are in a unique position, taking on the care of children at a point of crisis or trauma, not only for the children but also often for them as family members. Their primary role is often grandparent or aunt, for example, as opposed to foster carer, and these people would often not have become foster carers had this not been required by a child within their family. Any support system, whilst primarily ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children, must also be sensitive to these complex and competing dynamics for the kinship carers.

We reported on the quality of kinship care in our response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ inquiry on human rights of children in the social care system in England.[8],[9]

For young people turning 18, the implementation of ‘Staying Put’ (whereby young people aged 18 and older who were previously looked after remain living with their former foster carer/s) offers, in principle, an option for children to remain living with foster carers through the important transition to adulthood, benefitting from their ongoing support as their peers do within their own families.[10]

Our inspections show us that where children are able to access Staying Put, and their foster carers are supported in this role, children are able to progress in education and employment, and sustain significant, enduring links with their foster carers.

However, the challenge for foster carers is that offering a child Staying Put can sometimes come at the expense of their continued ability to foster other children. For those who rely on fostering as an income, this presents significant challenges, and as a result, many foster carers are unable to proceed to Staying Put, as the allowances and support available are often significantly less than those for foster carers. This means children move from the high support, nurturing environment of foster care into supported accommodation or independence, at a time when the support systems around them are also diminishing. Current research tells us that this can have a significant impact on children, leaving them feeling isolated.[11]

We welcome the government’s ‘Renewing Fostering: homes for 10,000 more

children’ strategy as a positive step towards addressing the pressures facing the fostering system. The strategy is, at this stage, relatively new, and it is too early for us to assess its impact through our regulation and inspection work.[12] As mentioned

above, the common factors contributing to shortages of foster carers remain relevant and provide key challenges to any recruitment strategy.

Given the decline in foster carer numbers, any increase in capacity in the foster care system is a positive. However, as with any increase, it is also about having the right foster carers, who can provide care to a wide range of children, and provide the essential nurture required when children have experienced trauma and complex histories.

Inspection tells us that foster carers for teenagers are less available than foster carers for young children, and this is something that needs to be targeted to meet the objective of all children having access to a family placement.

Workforce

From our qualitative research, workforce is a major concern raised by commissioners as a key factor influencing sufficiency of children’s places. They described persistent challenges in recruiting and retaining staff with the skills, qualifications and experience required to support children in residential care. In areas that have seen rapid growth in the number of children’s homes, expansion has not always been matched with the necessary workforce.

There are ongoing concerns about the recruitment and retention of registered managers. Currently, around 1 in 5 children’s homes is operating without a registered manager in post.[13] While many may have remained within the sector, turnover at this level is significant and can disrupt continuity of care and leadership within homes.

Our blog, ‘Children’s homes need strong leadership and a stable workforce’, discusses the benefits for children and settings of having a strong and stable workforce, and the impact on the care provided when staffing is insufficient or lacking in experience.[14]

Unregistered homes

Decisions about where children who require residential care are placed rests with placing local authorities. Several factors contribute to those decisions. For example, it is not so much a shortage of legally registered children’s homes, but rather a shortage of the right type of children’s homes, providing a high level of specialist care for children who have the most complex lives, being available and located in the right places.

Some of our most vulnerable children are placed in settings with the least amount of regulatory, independent oversight or scrutiny. All children who require residential care should only be placed in legally registered settings, or provisions that provide the same safeguards afforded to other children who benefit from the required levels of regulatory and independent oversight and scrutiny.

Ofsted’s inspection and research has also identified that the reduction in Tier 4 children and young people's mental health services provision is not only negatively affecting children’s wellbeing, relationships, stability and overall outcomes, but is adding further pressure on the residential sector, which cannot always support the children’s mental health needs. There is a need for health commissioners and providers to address this gap.

Further detail about our work on unregistered children’s homes can be found online.[15],[16],[17] We are considering, through our inspection consultation, how we might further strengthen our focus on how local authorities are developing their sufficiency to eliminate the use of unregistered homes.[18]

Regulation

Ofsted’s role in regulating (and inspecting) social care providers is detailed in our annual reports and statistical releases (see list in Annex).[19]

In June 2026, we secured our first successful criminal prosecution and court fines against an illegal provider running unregistered children's homes.[20]

Under the new Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act, in July 2026 Ofsted gained an additional power to impose monetary penalties on illegal providers running and/or managing unregistered social care, including unregistered children’s homes.

Additional funding has been secured to implement this new power, enabling us to expand our operating model and bring in new resources with criminal expertise to considerably increase our ability to conduct higher volumes of criminal investigations. We will continue to prosecute where it is in the public interest to do so.

Outcomes for care-experienced children

Children in care are among the most vulnerable in our society, and they often face significant challenges that can make success harder to achieve.

Among the factors that we consider have the greatest impact on outcomes for care-experienced children are enduring relationships, placement stability, and support that involves suitably trained staff, effective transition planning and communication across support networks such as local authorities, social workers, carers and schools.

When we conducted research for our recently published report, ‘How schools and colleges support the academic and personal progress of children in care’, we found that schools and colleges that took time to understand each child’s circumstances and strengths, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach, were able to put the right support in place at the right time.[21] Other important factors to help their progress included:

Prioritising emotional and social wellbeing. Children told us how important it was to have safe spaces and trusted adults they could turn to when things felt overwhelming.
Learning interventions aligned with individual needs and high-quality personal education plans.

Effective communication, both within schools and colleges and with partners like carers, social workers and virtual schools, was essential to timely and effective support.
Careful planning for transitions, whether moving within or between schools, into further education, or between care placements, was important to help learners successfully navigate moves.
Support was most effective when staff were well trained to understand the needs of care-experienced children. Leaders who invested in specialist professional development, particularly in understanding the needs of care-experienced children, were better equipped to create supportive environments.

Further detail on our findings and conclusion can be found in the published report.

I hope the above is helpful to the Committee’s inquiry. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information.

Yours sincerely

Sir Martyn Oliver

His Majesty's Chief Inspector

Annex – Recent publications relevant to the inquiry’s questions

Reports and consultations:

‘Good decisions: children with complex needs in children's homes’, Ofsted, January 2024; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-decisions-children-with-complex-needs-in-childrens-homes.
‘The annual report of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2024/25’, Ofsted, December 2025; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-annual-report-202425-education-childrens-services-and-skills/the-annual-report-of-his-majestys-chief-inspector-of-education-childrens-services-and-skills-202425.
‘How schools and colleges support the academic and personal progress of children in care’, Ofsted, March 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-schools-and-colleges-support-the-academic-and-personal-progress-of-children-in-care.
‘Improving the way Ofsted inspects children’s social care’, Ofsted, July 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-way-ofsted-inspects-childrens-social-care.
‘Ofsted outlines plans to tackle sharp growth in unregistered children’s homes’, Ofsted, July 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-outlines-plans-to-tackle-sharp-growth-in-unregistered-childrens-homes.
‘Registering children’s homes: prioritising applications’, Ofsted, July 2026;

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/registering-childrens-homes-in-an-emergency.

Blogs:

‘How Ofsted is putting children known to social care at the heart of education inspections’, Ofsted, March 2026; https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2026/03/19/how-ofsted-is-putting-children-known-to-social-care-at-the-heart-of-education-inspections/.
‘Prioritising social care registration applications: putting the needs of children and young people first’, Ofsted, October 2025; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/09/prioritising-social-care-registration-applications-putting-the-needs-of-children-and-young-people-first/.
‘Finding out more about residential family centres’, Ofsted, September 2025; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2025/09/03/finding-out-more-about-residential-family-centres/.
‘Restraint and restrictive practices: positive environments for children’, Ofsted, July 2025; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2025/07/30/restraint-and-restrictive-practices-positive-environments-for-children/.
‘Why your registration application may be taking longer than usual’, Ofsted, June 2025; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2025/06/27/why-your-registration-application-may-be-taking-longer-than-usual/.
‘Getting the ‘front door’ right for children and families’, Ofsted, June 2025; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2025/06/05/getting-the-front-door-right-for-children-and-families/.
‘How local authorities can help young carers’, Ofsted, March 2025; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2025/03/12/how-local-authorities-can-help-young-carers/.
‘Setting up provision for children with the most complex needs – tips,

reassurance and a new advice form’, Ofsted, February 2025; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2025/02/11/setting-up-provision-for-children-with-the-most-complex-needs-tips-reassurance-and-a-new-advice-form/.

‘Unregistered children’s homes: too many vulnerable children are placed at risk’, Ofsted, December 2024; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2024/12/06/unregistered-childrens-homes-too-many-vulnerable-children-are-placed-at-risk/.
‘Our response to the government's social care reform proposals’, Ofsted, November 2024; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2024/11/19/our-response-to-the-governments-social-care-reform-proposals/.
‘Children’s homes need strong leadership and a stable workforce’, Ofsted, November 2022; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2022/11/24/childrens-homes-need-strong-leadership-and-a-stable-workforce/.

Key data published on children’s social care:

‘Children's social care in England 2026’, Ofsted, July 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-in-england-2026.
‘Local authority inspection outcomes as at 31 March 2026’, Ofsted, August 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-inspection-outcomes-as-at-31-march-2026.
‘Regulatory activity in all types of children’s homes and supported

accommodation providers between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026’, Ofsted,

August 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-activity-in-all-types-of-childrens-homes/regulatory-activity-in-all-types-of-childrens-homes-and-supported-accommodation-providers-between-1-april-2025-and-31-march-2026.

‘Ownership of children’s social care providers in England 2025’, Ofsted, November 2025; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ownership-of-childrens-social-care-providers-in-england-2025.
‘Fostering in England 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025’, Ofsted, November 2025; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fostering-in-england-1-april-2024-to-31-march-2025.
‘Understanding children’s social care sufficiency in England’, Ofsted, July 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-childrens-social-care-sufficiency-in-england.
‘Unregistered children’s homes’, Ofsted, November 2024;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unregistered-childrens-homes.

‘Fostering recruitment and retention’, Ofsted, March 2024; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fostering-recruitment-and-retention.

Other reports referenced (not published by Ofsted):

‘State of the Nations’ Foster Care, The Fostering Network;

www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/state-of-the-nations/

‘Staying put: arrangements for care leavers aged 18 years and above’, Department for Education, HM Revenue and Customs, and Department for Work and Pensions, May 2013; www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-put-arrangements-for-care-leavers-aged-18-years-and-above.
‘Human Rights of Children in the Social Care System in England’, Human Rights (Joint Committee); https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9255/human-rights-of-children-in-the-social-care-system-in-england/publications/.
‘Written Evidence submitted by Ofsted (CSC0030)’, Human Rights (Joint

Committee); https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/147466/html/.

‘‘You really are on your own’: A study of the early deaths of young people who were in care’, Department for Education, August 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-early-deaths-of-care-leavers.
‘Renewing fostering: homes for 10,000 more children’, Department for Education, February 2026; www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewing-fostering-homes-for-10000-more-children.

21 October 2026

[1] ‘Good decisions: children with complex needs in children's homes’, Ofsted, January 2024; www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-decisions-children-with-complex-needs-in-childrens-homes.

[2] ‘The annual report of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2024/25’, Ofsted, December 2025; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-annual-report-202425-education-childrens-services-and-skills/the-annual-report-of-his-majestys-chief-inspector-of-education-childrens-services-and-skills-202425#inspection-and-regulatory-activity.

[3] ‘Main findings: children’s social care in England 2026’, Ofsted, July 2026; www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-in-england-2026/main-findings-childrens-social-care-in-england-2026.

[4] ‘Understanding children’s social care sufficiency in England’, Ofsted, July 2026; www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-childrens-social-care-sufficiency-in-england/understanding-childrens-social-care-sufficiency-in-england.

[5] ‘Registering children’s homes: prioritising applications’, Ofsted, July 2026;

www.gov.uk/guidance/registering-childrens-homes-in-an-emergency.

[6] ‘Main findings: fostering in England 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025’, Ofsted, November 2025; www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fostering-in-england-1-april-2024-to-31-march-2025/main-findings-fostering-in-england-1-april-2024-to-31-march-2025.

[7] ‘State of the Nations’ Foster Care’, The Fostering Network; www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/state-of-the-nations/.

[8] ‘Human Rights of Children in the Social Care System in England’, Human Rights (Joint Committee); https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9255/human-rights-of-children-in-the-social-care-system-in-england/publications/.

[9] ‘Written Evidence submitted by Ofsted (CSC0030)’, Human Rights (Joint Committee); https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/147466/html/.

[10] ‘Staying put: arrangements for care leavers aged 18 years and above’, Department for Education, HM Revenue and Customs, and Department for Work and Pensions, May 2013; www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-put-arrangements-for-care-leavers-aged-18-years-and-above.

[11] ‘‘You really are on your own’: A study of the early deaths of young people who were in care’, Department for Education, August 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-early-deaths-of-care-leavers.

[12] ‘Renewing fostering: homes for 10,000 more children’, Department for Education, February 2026; www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewing-fostering-homes-for-10000-more-children.

[13] ‘Regulatory activity in all types of children’s homes and supported accommodation providers between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026’ Ofsted, August 2026; www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-activity-in-all-types-of-childrens-homes/regulatory-activity-in-all-types-of-childrens-homes-and-supported-accommodation-providers-between-1-april-2025-and-31-march-2026.

[14] ‘Children’s homes need strong leadership and a stable workforce’ Ofsted, November 2022; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2022/11/24/childrens-homes-need-strong-leadership-and-a-stable-workforce/.

[15] ‘Unregistered children’s homes: too many vulnerable children are placed at risk’, Ofsted, December 2024; https://socialcareinspection.blog.gov.uk/2024/12/06/unregistered-childrens-homes-too-many-vulnerable-children-are-placed-at-risk/.

[16] ‘Unregistered children's homes’, Ofsted, November 2024; www.gov.uk/government/publications/unregistered-childrens-homes/unregistered-childrens-homes.

[17] ‘Ofsted outlines plans to tackle sharp growth in unregistered children’s homes’, Ofsted, July 2026; www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-outlines-plans-to-tackle-sharp-growth-in-unregistered-childrens-homes.

[18] ‘Improving the way Ofsted inspects children’s social care’, Ofsted, July 2026;

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-way-ofsted-inspects-childrens-social-care.

[19] ‘Ofsted annual report 2024/25: education, children’s services and skills’, Ofsted, December 2025; www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-annual-report-202425-education-childrens-services-and-skills.

[20] ‘Ofsted wins first successful prosecution of illegal children's home provider’, Ofsted, August 2026; https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-wins-first-successful-prosecution-of-illegal-childrens-home-provider.

[21] ‘How schools and colleges support the academic and personal progress of children in care’, Ofsted, March 2026; www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-schools-and-colleges-support-the-academic-and-personal-progress-of-children-in-care.