Kids Lost in Care Panorama

children, but recent grooming scandals have revealed young people

in care can be prime targets for abusers. He was horrible. He paid us

for it. We looked like children. With ever more children in care,

Panorama reveals how thousands are being exported across the UK.

place the most vulnerable children in our society in one of the most

deprived parts of England seems to be insane. How many go missing,

putting themselves at risk. Drinking, smoking drugs, robbing

cars. They call young people in Zoe's position looked-after

children. They're not looked after. And we meet the family stopped from

speaking openly about failing that's their son's care. I don't want him

I'm really worried about you. We all miss you. Kisses. From her home in

Nottinghamshire, this mother sends regular text messages to her

13-year-old son. Don't get no replies. No, it's really upsetting.

She hasn't seen her son since January. He lives in a children's

home, because the family weren't able to cope with his behaviour. His

mum is still legally responsible for him, but we can't identify her or

the family. Nottinghamshire, the council they turned to for help,

last week went to court to stop their concerns about the care he's

getting being reported openly . The boy's mother remarried when he was

younger. Family videos speak of happier times together. He's always

been polite. He was the one making the conversation and being the

Frankster. 18 months ago -- prankster. 18 months ago he started

to go off the rails. All of a sudden, it just changed. We didn't

understand why. Constantly every day going further away from us. We felt

him slipping away. Wasn't long before he started getting into

serious trouble. There was one situation where he lit a fire up in

his bedroom, which obviously we don't want him to smoke. He set fire

to some things in a box that. Night I slept outside his bedroom. I slept

down stairs. We were trying everything we could to prevent him

run ago way. They were so worried about him, they asked social workers

for help. From Tuesday to Thursday, he didn't come home at all, so we

didn't know whether he was dead or alive. We rang social and they

agreed with us that it was his best interests to go. They found him on

the Saturday morning. He got took into care. Did that feel for you as

his mum? Oh, devastated. Absolutely devastated. With the family's

agreement Nottinghamshire County Council moved him to a private

children's home. His mum expected a short stay with expert help. That

was 13 months ago. I've not seen him since January. There's been nothing

trying to help get the family together. His brother and sister, he

doesn't want to see them, but nobody's trying to mediate with the

family. There's a school connected to the home, but he rarely goes. An

assessment of their son marked "urgent" a year ago, hasn't been

done. In terms of any real specialist help, counselling,

therapy, anything like that, have you seen any evidence of that?

Absolutely nothing. Despite the mother's concerns being very real,

the council believes they shouldn't be reported openly because they say

it will upset her son and may harm his welfare. Residential care should

be a place of safety, but the recent child sex scandals from Derby, to

rap Dale to Oxford have revealed -- Rochdale to Oxford have revealed how

children in care can become targets for abuse. This young woman, we'll

call her Jane, was a victim of the Oxford grooming gang. Seven men were

found guilty of offences including rape, trafficking and organising

prostitutes... This week, her abusers are due to be sentenced for

their part in a child sex trafficking ring. Jane's untold

story shines a light on the substandard care that some children

receive from the state. It started in Oxford when at the age of just 12

she was first targeted by the gang. I was just out every day. I I was

missing for four days at a time. Coming back, not being able to

breathe through drugs. Jane had been with several foster families and was

adopt whenned she was 11. -- when she was 11. Her adoptive mum said

Jane's vulnerability was exploited by the men. It kept escalating. She

kept going missing for longer. She kept coming back in an even worse

state, more dishevelled, more drugged, more dirty. Sometimes with

various injuries. Eventually, like the Nottinghamshire family, she

agreed her daughter should be sent away for her own safety. Oxfordshire

County Council sent Jane to a private home 100 miles away.

just don't feel safe. You feel like you're allowed to wander off and do

what you want. We would smoke weed with men down the road. They'd let

you stay out till 10pm. That's not what I needed. I needed to be safe.

After a few weeks there, Jane got into a fight. So she was moved in

the middle of the night to another home, nearly 300 miles away in

Devon. It was pitch black. It was very - I was very tired. I was in a

car with these two horrible people that I'd never met. I didn't know

where I was going. I was just really scared. What should have been a

refuge was anything but. Jane's mum and the Nottinghamshire family both

turned to the state for help but were shocked bit standard of

residential care provided for their children. How unusual is their

experience? Well, that is very hard to find out, because in England,

detailed information about children's homes is not publicly

available. All children's homes in England are inspected by the

regulator Ofsted, twice a year. Their reports aren't easy to access

for child protection reasons. We had to negotiate with Ofsted for months

to see reports on just 14 homes. We were then able to show the mother in

Nottinghamshire reports for her son's home. The actual home in

November was given a rating of adequate. They're actually looking

after my children and for it to be adequate, it's just not good enough.

The home has neverries an buff adequate in four years -- never

risen above adequate in four years. The school is worse, inadequate.

they had told me about these Ofsted reports when he went into care, I'd

have done everything in my power to get him out. The home is run by a

company called Turnaround: Inspiring the Next Generation, which last

year, was paid more than �500,000 by Nottinghamshire County Council. The

company told us that it complies with recommendations from Ofsted and

local authorities when they arise and can't comment on individual

cases. How many councils use children's homes that are less than

good? We asked every council in England with Children's Services.

More than half responded. Their More than half responded. Their

answers reveal a worrying picture. At the turn of the year, one child

in four was in a home rated adequate or even inadequate. I think local

authorities should only be placing them in homes that are outstanding

or that are good. Those homes that are judged adequate or, in some

cases, inadequate, need to work as hard as they can to raise the

standards because that's what these children deserve. Some councils have

high standards. We've found 16 that told us all their children were

placed in good or outstanding homes. But we found eight where none of

their children were in homes rated above adequate. I think that's

extremely worrying that you've found that. Those local authorities need

to be held to account. They need to explain why they think that's

acceptable for those children. the Government has revealed to

Panorama it's going to act on these concerns. With Ofsted it plans to

make "good" the minimum acceptable standard. I'll be changing the

ratings so it requires improvement rather than adequate. We're working

with them to see how quickly and swiftly we can bring that about.

it's not good enough? It's not because there are room for

improvement. We want to see good quality care across children's

homes, whoever provides that care. The care vulnerable children receive

can have a significant impact on their lives. Jordan Hampson was

taken into care at the age of four. Now 19, he's moving into his own

flat, getting it ready for his girlfriend and baby to join him.

I've had my ups and my downs with moving out of care. It's just hard.

Jordan was with the same foster parents for ten years but problems

with him led to the placement breaking down. Lancashire Council

was forced to move him, so aged 14, he went to a children's home in

Stockport. They said right, we've packed your clothes in a black bag.

Put them in the boot and said you're going it a care home. I were kicking

off, saying, you're not taking me. I stayed there about 20 minutes. I

said I'm not staying here. Care home staff have limited powers to stop

children. Jordan left and walked 11 miles through the night. You managed

to get all the way to your foster parents. I knocked on the door and

they said, " What are you doing here? The council had to remove him

again and sent him back to Stockport. They said, " You need to

go back. We can't do nothing." I just wanted to cry, but I couldn't

cry. Jordan was then moved to another home in Liverpool, where, he

says, staff didn't even know his name. Sat in an office just talking

to each other and making phone calls and they never used to come out.

They didn't know our names. They used to forget our names because it

were different people all the time. Jordan got himself deeper into

trouble with the police. Drinking, smoking drugs, and robbing cars and

breaking into people's houses. I just wish I was never moved there

and met them people I did. Lancashire County Council says it

can't comment on the specifics of a particular case. It says the welfare

of children is paramount and when it does place children out of county,

its social workers maintain regular contact with them. There can be good

reasons for moving children away from areas they know, but for Jane,

like Jordan, things got worse. She says the staff in the Devon home,

she was sent to by Oxfordshire County Council, were too easy going.

They used to spend quite a fair bit of money each week to go shopping.

We used to go to buy French lingerie and -- clothes that were too small.

They used to help you pick out the colour you were going to get. It

made me put myself in a situation where I felt I was an adult and I

wasn't. It wasn't secure accommodation, so there were few

restrictions placed on Jane's freedom. Before long, she and

another girl got into serious danger. This children's home was

ments to be a rural -- meant to be a rural setting. That was a selling

point, that it was almost impossible for young people absconding to get

very far. Well, within half an hour or so, they'd found this man. He --

He was this creepy man. He gave us underwear to wear. Sorry, he was

horrible. He paid us for it. I mean, we looked like children. He'd taken

naked or semi-naked photos of them, which he'd E-mailed or whatever up

to London and put them on a train. And sold them essentially? Yes.

got �500 each off him and made our way to London. Other things

happened, like with men, did more drugs. Then I made my way back to

Oxford to see my mum because I wanted to go home. Jane didn't tell

her mum they'd be -- been sold for sex. She did try to tell a member of

staff at the home. I think he felt uncomfortable talking about it. If

he'd listened, for me, it wouldn't have happened later, again, because

that was my cry for help, trying to tell him, but they didn't listen.

All the while, Jane's mum was writing to the council, the police,

even the Prime Minister. She, too, felt no-one was listening. I've got

nine files of correspondence. No-one wanted to help. No-one could get off

their professional high horse for long enough to stand beside us and

say - this is awful. We've got to get something better. This could

have been a chance to break the cycle of abuse. Instead, back in

Oxford, Jane was targeted again by the grooming gang whose exploitation

intensified. It would be years before the men who abused her were

brought to justice. An independent review of the abuse scandal is under

way. Oxfordshire County Council told us it will implement any

recommendations. It says it has taken action to improve safeguarding

and only places children outside its area if it's in their best

interests. So how many children like Jane are placed away from their

area? We asked every council in the UK with Children's Services. From

those that responded, we found half of all their children were in homes

outside the area. That's more than 2,500 vulnerable children. That was

Haxted, Kent. Here's Somerset.Yeah. Linda Thomsett's granddaughter Zoe

was sent by Westminster City Council to 13 children's home around the

country in the space of two years. Is this another one in Taunton?

Yeah, that's another one. Linda kept a note of every address. She visited

Zoe wherever she went. I used to go every week. I never let her down,

never. Here we are, here's one. Welsh home. That's it.Zoe had

complex problems when she was taken into care. Her grandparents feel the

constant moves didn't help. As soon as she was happy and contented and

settled down... They seemed to move her. Move her.ive still don't know,

to this day, why they keep on moving. I don't know. You never got

an explanation? No, I think they thought she wouldn't run away if

they moved her. Ridiculous idea. When she ran away, where did she run

to? Here. Here. Within this area. She would make her way here. When

the police come here to pick her up, she was fast asleep on here. But she

wasn't allowed to stay. Zoe was sent it a home in Hereford, a three-hour

journey from London. Linda remembers the last time she saw her. I thought

she was on drugs. When I came home here, I said, I wished I had brought

her home. It don't feel right.ive found the home and I said -- right.

I found the home and I said, " Is she in now? No she wasn't in. I

said, listen, it's 10. 30pm at night. She should be in. They said,

she'll come in when she wants. I said, " You're supposed to be in

charge of her. You'll have her sent home in a bloody black bag, you."

Just days later, aged 17, Zoe was found in a house dead from an

overdose. She'd been missing from the children's home for three days.

They call young people in Zoe's position looked-after children.

they're not looked after. definitely not. They're not looked

after at all. . A Serious Case Review after Zoe's death found the

council had provided extraordinary levels of human and financial

resources but that her constant moves meant there was a lack of

consistent, coordinated support provided to her.

Trying to reduce the number of children in care placed outside of

their own home local authority is a fight that those of us in the

children's sector have been waging for many years. We're not cracking

it because there aren't enough places to put children in their own

areas. Every more children are being taken into care, as council budgets

are being squeezed. Many are sent here to Margate on the Kent coast,

not for the sea air, but because there's lots of children's homes.

What sort of area is it? It looks like it might be a lovely area, next

to the sea. But actually there's huge unemployment here and poverty,

released prisoners into the community, including paedophiles in

this area and a large number of children's homes as well. I think to

place the most vulnerable children in our society in one of the most

deprived parts of England, which this is, seems, to me, to be insane.

Local head teacher thinks vulnerable children sent here could be at risk.

I don't think we, as a society, have learned adequately about what

happened in Rochdale not long ago, where you found out there was a

significant problem with grooming. I don't know that's happened here. I

fear greatly, if it isn't already happening, it will happen in the

future. So why do councils send children here? Primarily because

it's cheap, according to Paul Luxmoore. It clearly is market

driven. Property here is large and very cheap. It's a great place to

open a children's home, if you want to make a profit. It's in the a

great place to open a children's home if you want to care for

looked-after children. Costs �1 billion a year to look after

children in residential care in England, where most homes are

privately run, but trying to find out about the care they offer isn't

easy. We wrote to ten of the bigger private companies asking for their

Ofsted ratings. Six didn't answer our questions. One company did. It's

a family-owned chain of seven homes, all kurnly rated good or outstanding

-- currently. Nice to see you. Come in. Family Care Associates invited

us to look round one home in Blackburn. It's a three-bed unit.

We've got one young man in at the minute. Although this home halls the

highest Ofsted rating, children aren't being placed here any more.

When this young man leaves next month, it will close for good.

We have reduced and reduced our price over the last three years. We

cannot operate any longer by reducing it because it just isn't

going to work. The company has tried its best to advertise what we are

and who we are and what we do and what we'll provide and still, we've

had nothing. Lies ahead for you? Redundancy. We have made such cut

backs as we're prepared to do, but there are some things we've not been

prepared to sacrifice. We're not prepared to give up providing

therapy for children, for example. If the residential care market, for

want of a better expression, is price driven, inevitably local

authorities are going to go to somebody who can provide something

at a cheaper price. The biggest private chain is a company called

Advanced Childcare. It now runs 155 homes across England. The company

won't give us a full break down of its job stead grades -- Ofsted

grades. It told us more than three quarters of their services were

rated as either outstanding or good. Ofsted can't confirm that because

the law prevents them from doing so. The Government told us it's now

changing the law to make Ofsted ratings for companies public.

Advanced Childcare has the multimillion pound backing of a

private equity firm GI Partners, and tells potential investigators that

Advanced Childcare are paid 100% by the UK Government. The UK's biggest

chain of private children's homes is now owned ultimately here in

Delaware, an American state that takes pride in its financial

seekericy which can -- secrecy, which can make following the money

virtually impossible. Is a tax haven, while Advanced Childcare

Limited publishes its financial accounts in the UK in a normal way,

the accounts of the parent company, based in Delaware, are not available

for public scrutiny. I'm looking for Advanced Childcare... This is its

registered address. There's no sign of Advanced Childcare, only their

corporate agents, who don't even want to confirm Advanced is based

here. It all sounds secretive. I don't

know if it's secretive or discreet. It's a company that represents

children's homes in Britain, so it's fully funded by public money.

surprised it's a British company, but I can't tell you much more than

that. Advanced Childcare said its parent

company being based in Delaware has no bearing on the running of the

company and the services it provides, that financial information

is disclosed to all the local authorities that buy its services

and that it complies with all statutory requirements under English

law. It says annually every pound of profit has been reinvestigated into

the business. -- reinvested into the business. The trouble at the moment

is that the market decides, isn't it, where the children go? Well, the

quality of the care is key to any placement that a local authority

makes for a child in their care into a residential home. That has to

always come first. But the practicality is that they end up

sending the children where the homes are and the private companies decide

where the homes are. And that's why, with the information that local

authorities now have, which they haven't had before, it will help

them make informed choices as to where they should be sending

children to children's homes which will best meet their needs.

research suggests that one child in four is currently in a home that,

according to the minister, is not good enough. However good some

company practices may be, critics believe using private providers

isn't always the way to drive up standards. I think what we're seeing

is a very small number of companies coming to dominate the market and

having a small number of providers is never healthy. I have concern

that if the provider is dominated by the profit motive, that will come

above the children's interests, particularly when times are

difficult, as they are now. Back in Nottinghamshire, the family remain

unhappy about their son's care in a private children's home. He's gone

missing from there at least twice. A few weeks ago he pulled out of a

meeting at the last minute. They've now not seen him for six months.

It's just heart wrenching. I just want to see him. We just want him

back living with the family again, like before. We don't want him in a

care home. We want him home. Earlier this month, Nottinghamshire County

Council finally moved their son to a new home, closer to his family. He's

since been moved again. The council told us it can't discuss the

circumstances of individual cases, but says when they're made aware of

specific concerns, they will take all reasonable measures to ensure

the situation is resolved sats factually. -- sat is fabbing tore.

His mum -- satisfactorily. We can't be the only people being let down by

the system. I believe them people out there will watch and go, we are

having the same problem. I encourage other people to push harder. We are

doing this to get a better future. About the future for others in

children's homes? If their situation is to improve, the young people we

spoke to have some advice. Just to listen to children more, speak to

the kids and see what they feel about it and think about how it's

going to affect their life and affect their circumstances.

recent cases of child sexual exploitation have taught us

anything, it's surly that children's homes must, above all, be a place of

safety. They're meant to be responsible for so many lives of

innocent children and vulnerable children. To then put them in a