High Court rejects local authority plan to remove three-year-old from long term foster carers to place for adoption alongside half-sister

www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/child-protec...

My son lived in squalor with his dying mother - the system failed him Leo came to Scotland for a better life but ended up living in squalor in a house surrounded by empty bottles and takeaway containers.

“My son lived in squalor with his dying mother - the system failed him” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Foster parents could get up to £200k for home improvements Bristol city councillors will vote on the plans this week

Bristol foster parents could get up to £200k for private home improvements

www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol...

Wolverhampton Council spends £1.5 million on children's home - but it's still empty after three years A controversial children's home is still empty three years after permission was granted - despite the council having spent more than £1.5 million on it.

Wolverhampton Council spends £1.5 million on children's home - but it's still empty after three years

www.expressandstar.com/news/local-h...

Reducing school places an 'urgent' priority which may mean school closures - report Isle of Wight councillors on the children’s services, education and skills committee have been advised to recognise the urgency of addressing the…

Britain’s unfolding demographic disaster can be tracked through the increasing number of school closures around the country

www.countypress.co.uk/news/2590833...

Toxic prejudice against benefits has no place in the care system Young people in care will face prejudice and discrimination, simply because they are in care.

Toxic prejudice against benefits has no place in the care system. My latest column, via Substack

open.substack.com/pub/martinba...

YOIs still failing on out-of-cell time and education, analysis finds - CYP Now Boys locked in prisons in England are spending around 20 hours a day in their cells and receiving far less than the legal minimum of education, according to analysis.

Boys locked in prisons in England are spending around 20 hours a day in their cells and receiving far less than the legal minimum of education, according to analysis.

www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

Hartlepool children's care home plans resubmitted A charity hopes to convert the property into accommodation for four young people.

Meanwhile, in Hartlepool plans have been lodged to convert a house into a children's care home, after an initial application was refused.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Children's home plan for Cheshire property scrapped A total of 40 objections were made

Also, plans to turn a house in Widnes into a home for looked after children which prompted dozens of objections have been scrapped.

www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester...

Children's home in Milton would be too 'heavily car dependent' An appeal against the refusal of the plans in rural southern Scotland is dismissed.

A council's refusal of plans to create a children's residential care home in a tiny hamlet in southern Scotland has been upheld at appeal.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The latest Week in Care is out, rounding up news and views about children’s services and the care of young people from the past seven days, with links to more than 40 articles. Sign up via weekincare@gmail.com.

National Trust membership was £63 ten years ago. Now it’s over £100 The charity has lost more than 119,000 members since 2023

Cover price of The Times has more than doubled from £1.40 to £3.20 over the same period.

www.thetimes.com/money/family...

Needs are not defined by budgets set in Whitehall A government that treats the protection of vulnerable children as a financial inconvenience has lost sight of what government is for, but that is what the dispute between Hartlepool Council and Steve ...

Excellent blog by @richardjmurphy.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/richardj...

Northern adoption charity expands with Wrexham fostering agency deal Adoption Matters acquires Wrexham’s 1st Affinity Fostering Service, supporting Welsh Government’s not-for-profit foster care reforms.

The charity Adoption Matters is taking over the Wrexham fostering agency 1st Affinity Fostering Service, ahead of a ban on children’s social care profits in Wales

www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/2589819...

Sharp drop in number of social workers on ASYE in children’s services - Community Care Almost 20% fewer children's social workers started assessed and supported year in employment programmes in 2024-25

Sharp drop in the number of children’s social workers starting assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) programmes in 2024-25, a report has shown.

www.communitycare.co.uk/content/news...

Children in care research ‘fragmented’, study finds An international review highlights major gaps in research on children in care, with little evidence on identity and participation in later life.  The study, led by Swansea University, analysed 77 revi...

New study reveals gaps in research on children in care

socialcare.today/2026/02/27/n...

“They said children were being forced into expensive private and unregulated placements due to a nationwide shortage of foster carers. Each placement costs the council £13,000 to £20,000 per child each week.”

Labour council accuses minister of ‘moral bankruptcy’ over social care dispute Hartlepool leaders ‘furious and appalled’ after meeting with Steve Reed about growing cost of social care

Labour council accuses minister of ‘moral bankruptcy’ over children’s social care dispute

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Some are taking a punt on a climbdown and/or change of government, or they mistakenly believe that they can legally admit children in care (they can’t).

Bid for official conversion into children's home dropped after dozens of complaints Plans to officially convert a house into a children's care home have been dropped following resident objections who claimed the area was…

This home was proposed for Newport

www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/2588677...

Property in Rhyl could be converted into a home for vulnerable children A property in Rhyl could be converted into a children’s residential home.

Private companies are still setting up children’s homes in Wales, even though it will soon be illegal to make a profit from children’s social care in Wales. This home is planned in Rhyl:

www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/2589060...

End of the Dubai dream, by RUTH SUNDERLAND: Consequences of the attack The missile strikes on Dubai come as a profound shock for the tiny emirate's ruling elite and the hundreds of thousands of British expats and tourists who have flocked to the desert statelet.

Disenchanted Brits who emigrated to the Gulf always underestimated the risk premium; the promise of a fairytale lifestyle built on precarious foundations.

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/articl...

Lost childhoods A generation of boomerang children is crashing in and out of the care system, with nothing being done to improve their lives.

What the scourge of re-referrals says about the failing care system for children and young people. My new column:

open.substack.com/pub/martinba...

Lost childhoods A generation of boomerang children is crashing in and out of the care system, with nothing being done to improve their lives.

I’ve written about inexcusably high re-referral rates here open.substack.com/pub/martinba...

Children experiencing extra-familial harm have highest re-referral rates, DfE analysis shows - Community Care About a third of referrals for gang involvement, criminal exploitation and missing episodes were re-referrals, finds DfE

Children experiencing extra-familial harm have highest re-referral rates, DfE analysis shows

www.communitycare.co.uk/content/news...

Lost childhoods A generation of boomerang children is crashing in and out of the care system, with nothing being done to improve their lives.

Lost childhoods: A generation of boomerang children is crashing in and out of the care system, with nothing being done to improve their lives.

open.substack.com/pub/martinba...

Tony Hudgell wins his campaign for new UK child cruelty register Tony Hudgell, who lost both legs after his birth parents assaulted him, has fought to protect children.

11-year-old Tony Hudgell, who had both legs amputated after being assaulted by his birth parents, has won his campaign for a new child safety register.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'Gang bullied us for years before our son Ibrahima Seck was killed' The parents of 14-year-old Ibrahima Seck say they were being harassed and bullied for years.

The parents of a 14-year-old boy stabbed to death in a pub car park have said they were harassed and bullied for years before he was killed.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Approach in parental alienation case was “fundamentally flawed” and every agency was at fault, Family President rules

www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/child-protec...

Proposed changes to Children’s Care in Scotland - What providers need to know Explore the key provisions of the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill, its impact on social care, and comparisons with Wales.

Proposed changes to children’s care in Scotland - What providers need to know. Useful explainer via CMS-Lawnow

cms-lawnow.com/en/ealerts/2...