Gone Too Far – the Impact of Regularly Moving Children in Care

A film shown in the House of Lords last week highlights the detrimental impact of children in care being moved far from the people, schools and places they love. Entitled ‘Gone Too Far’, the film is part of an ongoing campaign by Become, a charity for children in care and young care leavers, which is urging the Government to stop children from being placed miles from home. Become is also calling on the Government to develop national and local strategies to increase the supply of appropriate local options.

Gone Too Far includes interviews with a number of young people talking about their personal experiences of going into care. Lamar, one of the young people featured, has lived with ten foster families in the past eight years and was moved from Portsmouth to Luton just before her GCSEs – a move which she wasn’t aware of until the day it happened.

Lamar said, “I didn’t realise things like this actually happened to young children in care and until it actually happens to you, you don’t really understand how scary it is and how alone you feel. It was crazy, it’s not a moment I want to relive and I don’t wish any child to relive what I went through as well.”

James Townend, Managing Director, Fitzgerald Fostering commented, “Unfortunately, a lack of foster carers in a local area has resulted in children being moved to places they don’t know, away from family, friends and their local community. This can severely impact their education, their relationships and their mental health. According to Government data, the number of children in care being moved away from their local area has gone up by 62% in the last decade and currently one in five children are moved more than 20 miles away. This situation is unlikely to change without an increase in the number of foster carers. If more people choose to become foster carers, there’s a greater chance of children in care remaining in their home locality.
“At Fitzgerald Fostering, we are focused on recruiting more foster carers in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas, working alongside our local children’s services to keep children and young people from these areas in their home communities. The more local carers we recruit, the more local children we can help, reducing the need for children living locally to move to foster homes outside the area.”

If you can provide a safe, nurturing environment for a child needing a local foster placement, we would love to hear from you.
Please contact Fitzgerald Fostering on 01753 550031

At Fitzgerald Fostering, we are with you every step of the way.