Question marks over UK care providers used for Jersey children

Tuesday 19 March 2019

Millions have been spent sending Jersey children to two care homes in the UK found to have put children’s safety and welfare at risk.

Over the past decade, the government has spent over £4.5million on sending children to Keys Group and Cambian Group – private care providers with over 200 homes across the UK between them, which have both had question marks raised over their ability to care for vulnerable children.

Jersey children are usually sent off-island as a last resort – either because the island does not have adequate facilities and staff to care for their complex learning or behavioural needs, or because a suitable home placement is not available due to a lack of foster carers.

Pictured: Jersey children are not often sent to the UK, but can be if they require help for complex needs.

But now it’s emerged that over the last decade, millions has been spent sending such vulnerable young people – exact numbers cannot be disclosed to protect the children’s identity – to two care home chains in the UK that have faced allegations of putting profits over those they care for, although they have denied this.

Express FOIs have revealed that £4,555,282.81 has been spent with Cambian Group since 2012 to provide care for 10 or fewer children, with overall expenditure peaking at £1.06million in 2015.

Despite being the UK’s largest provider of “specialist education and behavioural health services”, media investigations uncovered evidence of inadequate staffing, with those available poorly trained.

An undercover documentary by ITV in 2017 also showed teen boys given money for tobacco, hounding of a young teen, and a serious use of restraint on a young person being recorded as a less serious intervention. 

Some of the group’s homes were even temporarily closed prior to inspections by regulator Ofsted in order that they wouldn’t be failed.

Pictured: £4.55million was spent with Cambian Group between 2012 and 2018.

At the time, the group pledged that it would “urgently” act on any failings uncovered in the documentary, which also touched upon Keys Group and prompted an official inquiry. One year later, an investigation by Buzzfeed reported “decrepit conditions” – including rooms “marred” by bodily fluids and broken furniture – and “violent assaults”. Improvements have since been made.

The government declined to reveal the exact amount of money spent with Keys Group over the last decade, stating that doing so may identify the five or fewer individuals that have stayed in one of the chain’s institutions. However, weekly fees reportedly stand around £5,000.

Buzzfeed also investigated Keys Group, which was taken over by new owners in 2017, and documented homes generating profits in excess of £1million while serious safeguarding issues persisted.

While the figures weren’t made available for Keys Group, spending by Jersey’s government on Cambian significantly dropped from £365,378.97 to £78,173.59 between 2017 and 2018. It is unclear whether this was linked with the revelations about the groups.

A Government of Jersey spokesperson told Express that there were no children placed with Keys Group and fewer than five with Cambian at the present moment.

Pictured: A breakdown of expenditure with Cambian.

They said that each UK care home Jersey children are sent to is carefully reviewed in advance of any child being sent there.

“A contracts officer carries out due diligence on potential providers for placements. This includes considering previous inspection reports.  If an issue comes up while a child is on placement, the department will examine the issue and implications, consider what actions need to be taken to address any issues and to promote the safety and wellbeing of any child placed.  They take into account the issue, its seriousness, the action taken by a provider, along with the child’s needs and views,” they said.

“All contracts state that the Provider is to share any changes in status. If this falls below ‘good’ they are asked for the plan they have to make the improvements required.”

The revelations come just as an independent review into care provision for children in Jersey has been published.

Entitled ‘Listen Louder’, it was commissioned by the Director of Children’s Policy, and recommended an investment of £250,000 into the creation of a charity called ‘Jersey Cares’ to help those who are in or have recently left care.

Pictured: A new report has suggested spending £250,000 to help Jersey children in care.

It involved the input of various children with experience of the care system, but not those sent away from Jersey.

When asked whether the government would engage with children staying off-island, the government said that they had not had any direct consultation with them to get their views recently or had any planned, but that there were various avenues available to them to report concerns.

A spokesperson said: “Children who are placed off-island are being recognised on a number of fronts:

1. The new Children’s Commissioner draft Law (debated in the next few weeks) gives specific provision for the Commissioner to remain a conduit through which local children living off island can register a complaint about the provision they are receiving.

2. Plans are being developed to bring forward an independent participation and advocacy service that will consider all children in care, including those off-island. 

3. The establishment of a Children’s Rights Officer Role has a key focus on ensuring children with care experience have their right to be heard met in a consistent and meaningful manner.”

They later added: “Getting to know all looked after children is a priority, including those who have been placed off-island.”