More children living in poverty, temporary accommodation or at risk of homelessness than before pandemic, report warns

The report, published last week (25 July), claims that promises to put children at the heart of “building back better” were never met, with systems “failing to identify or support vulnerable children”.

Looking at the education system, report authors warned that “lost learning” has worsened since the pandemic, with an increase in persistent absence, severe absence, suspensions and permanent exclusions, alongside an increase in the use of alternative provision. 

The report noted that in 2023/24, almost 1.49 million children were “persistently absent” from school – nearly double the amount since 2018/19. Meanwhile, there were 954,952 suspensions in 2023/24, an increase of 118% in 5 years.

Looking at issues relating to Special Educational Needs (SEN), the report observed that almost 1.3 million children with SEN do not have an Education, Health and Care plan, accounting for 73% of children with SEN – an increase of 25% since 2017/18.

Describing SEN support as a “postcode lottery” – report authors noted that children and young people living in the most deprived areas are less likely to have an EHC plan than in the least deprived areas.

The think tank said: “This implies that there is possible rationing of resources and the threshold for EHC plans may be higher than other local authorities”.

Turning to child protection, the report noted that despite an increase in children identified as ‘children in need’, and a slight increase in children experiencing neglect and abuse, there are now fewer on child protection plans.

Further, the report uncovered a 500% increase in children placed in unregistered and illegal children’s homes since 2021, with almost 1,000 children placed in these settings in 2024.

Earlier this month, the Government announced plans to create 200 places in council-run children’s homes for children at risk of being deprived of their liberty, after a significant shortage of placements in recent years has seen young people being placed into accommodation that is operating illegally by not registering with Ofsted.

Baroness Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said: “Government has set out an ambitious agenda to break the link between background and opportunity, but this report lays bare the scale of the challenges so many children are facing. It shines a spotlight on the millions of children growing up with vulnerabilities in England – and how the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis continue to cast a long shadow over the life chances of many of our children and young people.

“Identifying these children is vital to understanding not only the nature of reforms needed but also the scale of intervention needed to transform life chances. It is crucial to shaping and reforming the services they need to keep them safe and allow them to flourish requires us to know the scale of the problem and where resources would be best targeted.”

She continued: “Over recent years, a scattergun approach, driven by budget cuts and the decimation of early support and youth services in the early 2010s, has left us with a creaking care system, a postcode lottery of Special Educational Needs support, children’s Mental Health services unfit for demand or purpose, and an education system straining with the increased demands outside of teaching.

“The promises to “build back better” were broken, and the hope that children would be at the heart of post-Covid government thinking came to little.   

“Childhood vulnerability and need has risen sharply in recent years across a range of measures, and without further reform, investment and intervention, these trends may continue to rise.”

Responding to the report, Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “This important report highlights the urgent need for a cross-government strategy for children, young people and families to ensure we are all working towards a shared ambition. 

“Councils are seeing more children needing help with increasingly complex and challenging needs. By integrating planning and funding across departments, and ensuring services have the resources they need, we can make sure children receive the care they deserve. Increased funding for early intervention services will also help to prevent children reaching crisis point and reduce the numbers entering care. 

“The rising number of children with special educational needs and disabilities requiring support also reinforces our calls for comprehensive reform of the SEND system. The current SEND system is not working and is not meeting the support needs of children and families. Councils stand ready to work with government in tackling these challenges, but we have to ensure the voices of children and their families are heard and acted upon.”

The Department for Education has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson