This report looks at what we do, and importantly do not know about children in and leaving care with a disability or long-term health condition in England. It brings together findings from:
- A Freedom of Information (FOI) request to local authorities.
- Learning on disability from the Bright Spots Programme, including survey answers from over 8,000 young people in and leaving care.
- Workshops with young people and leaving care professionals.
This report provides an important new analysis of the numbers of children and young people in and leaving care living with a disability or long-term health condition, and the disparity between the support needs and those recognised or supported by local authorities.
Key findings
- There is significant disparity between local authority (LA) data which records that 13% of care leavers have a disability, and self-reported data which found 27% of care leavers reported disability or long-term health condition
- Inconsistencies in how disability is defined across LAs, with significant variation in the percentage of children in care who were recorded as having a disability in an LA, ranging from 3% in the lowest proportion to 32% in the highest. The difference was even more pronounced in care leavers with 1% vs 36%.
- The percentage of young people self-reporting a disability or long-term health condition is rising over time: 22% in 2017 up to 32% in 2023.
Care-experienced young personMy rights are often ignored because I am very disabled, [I’m] expected to fit into a system that I can’t fit into.
Natasha, a Care-Experienced Consultant for Coram Voice told us what she thinks about our new report in this blog post.
Recommendations
In response to the findings, we make 19 recommendations across 2 areas:
1. Improve data and knowledge:
Local authorities and Government must improve the way they collect and report data on the types and prevalence of disabilities among children in care and care leavers. Better data, including hearing directly from young people, will allow for more effective service planning and monitoring.
2. Enhance policy and practice:
Services need to be more inclusive and responsive to the needs of care-experienced disabled young people including those who do not meet thresholds for specialist services, but whose additional support needs cannot be met by existing services.
Focus must be on creating services that can support the range of needs disabled children in care and care leavers experience, and ensuring staff feel confident and have the right skills and support to deliver personalised care plans and smoother transitions from care.
Where can you get support?
- Coram Voice Specialist Advocacy Services for disabled children.
- Fill in a Specialist Advocacy Advice consultation form.
- Attend one of our upcoming Specialist Advocacy Service trainings for professionals working with care-experienced children and young people.
