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Education and Inspections Bill

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, for the opportunity to look again at this important issue. I see parallels with what happens to children who are taken into care. Those children are supposed to receive a full assessment on being taken into care but I understand that, when they are assessed and it is decided that they have such a need, often they are not given the appropriate placement. As a result, the chief inspector for Ofsted last year reported to this House that 40 per cent of looked-after children were in inappropriate placements. Some children are suited to the setting provided by children’s homes—particularly adolescents, as fewer foster carers want to take on teenagers or children who are particularly emotionally demanding. Yet it appears that often the cheapest option is tried first—that is, low-level supported fostering, followed by a higher level of supported fostering. At a recent meeting of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Children In and Leaving Care, one young man there had had 37 different placements. Therefore, I think that I recognise this problem of mainstreaming some young people too quickly. There are also some very good residential schools for children with emotional behavioural difficulties, but they can be very expensive to run. I know that one with very good Ofsted results is currently suffering from a low occupancy rate. It needs people to take those places. I imagine that this problem is familiar to the noble Baroness. I know that the Minister is trying to tackle this problem—for example, through schools within schools, by making schools more intimate andplaces where children can have a stronger sense of belonging, and through many other means. I remember his predecessor, the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton of Upholland, talking about strategy, for instance, to have special schools supporting mainstream schools. From the report to which the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, referred, it is clear that there is still a long way to go. I look forward to the report from the Select Committee, which will be produced tomorrow, and I am sure that it will be helpful for further debates in this area. I look forward to the Minister’s response and the reassurances that he can provide.