Havering SEND parents call on councillors to protect vulnerable children in the borough.

Ruth Kettle-Frisby, London Green Party Disability Officer today writes on behalf of SEND parents in Havering.

Vulnerable children from other local authorities are believed to be living in unregulated care homes situated here in Havering, and Havering must take its share of responsibility. For vulnerable children on the front line of the social care crisis, buck-passing will not protect their rights and wellbeing on a daily basis. 

A resident posted on a local community forum on 28 September that:

“The children’s home can house up to 3 youths with six carers working shift patterns. Since then life has become hell for my young family. We endure loud screaming and shouting, swearing, excessively loud repetitive banging, hostile behaviour and loud music. Fires have been started. Burnt materials and litter thrown in our garden. Emergency services (police, fire and ambulance) have attended numerous times. I’m seriously concerned for the safety and wellbeing of the youths in the children’s home. My young children are terrified and cannot sleep. I’m scared for their safety. This is having a huge detrimental impact on our mental health.”

We call on Councillor Oscar Ford to ensure the protection of vulnerable children and young people by putting a transparently communicated stop to unregulated care homes situated in Havering, and actively lobbying the government for investment in safe, fully OFSTED regulated, suitable care.

We find it extraordinary that in response to Labour Cllr Mandy Anderson’s concern on September 4th about ‘complex situations’ in unregulated care homes in Heaton Ward at the recent Full Council, Cabinet member for Children and Young People Cllr Ford claimed to be ‘keeping an eye’ on the situation.  The glibness of this response mirrors the inadequacy of the provision in question; the whole point is that unregulated children’s homes are never checked or inspected by independent regulator, OFSTED.

On 19th September 2024, HRA clarified to residents that “Havering Council do not have any of our children in unregulated care homes”. In this case, what did he mean by ‘keeping an eye’? Cllr Oscar Ford assured residents that “as soon as we heard about the unregulated placements, Children’s Services contacted OFSTED the regulating body and the relevant local authorities.” 

This begs the question of when Cllr Oscar Ford was made aware of these, and whether this was prior to, or after Cllr Mandy Anderson raised the issue at Full Council when he said he was “keeping an eye”.

Councils get away with using unregulated care homes on the basis that ‘support’ takes the place of ‘full-time care’. This is manifestly irresponsible when you take into consideration why children are in care in the first place. The need to love, nurture and protect vulnerable children is long overdue, many of whom carry deep injustices of heartbreaking traumas, abuse and unmet complex needs.

How confident can we really be in HRA when earlier this year, OFSTED reported a decline in Havering Children’s Services from ‘Good’ to ‘Inadequate’? Local children and families were found to be systemically failed from the top down. 

While we welcome Cllr Oscar Ford’s declaration that “We cannot see any child in an unregulated placement, as their safeguarding is so important”; we need to know:

• Did Havering approve these care homes in the first place?

• When will all three unregulated homes be inspected by OFSTED and given accreditation for vulnerable children’s safety?

• Exactly what is being done and by whom to safeguard these children while their homes in Havering remain unregulated?

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