Kingston Council is facing challenges in ensuring long-term placement stability for children in care, according to the Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2024-2025, which was discussed at the People Committee meeting on Tuesday 23 September 2025.
While the report noted generally good placement stability with a low percentage of children experiencing three or more moves within a year, it raised concerns about the 67% of children in care for over two and a half years remaining in the same placement for at least two years.
The report identifies that placement stability is significantly affected by a lack of suitable local placements. This can result in children experiencing multiple moves before finding a suitable long-term home, and increases the likelihood of placements outside the borough, away from crucial family, social and support networks.
To address this, Achieving for Children's Placement Sufficiency Strategy outlines actions to improve the situation, including:
- Recruiting and retaining foster carers
- Developing in-house residential care
- Creating semi-independent accommodation
The majority of Kingston's children in care reside with foster families. Of these, 34 fostering households are supported by Achieving for Children's fostering agency, while 44 are placed with independent fostering agencies. Efforts are underway to recruit more foster carers for Achieving for Children, including enhanced financial support. Enhancements have been made to the local foster carer offer, including financial support. The Mockingbird Family Model, which provides advice, support, and respite for foster carers, has also been implemented to improve foster carer retention.
Recruiting and retaining foster carers presents several challenges. Analysis by Ofsted shows that, since 2021, there have been year-on-year decreases in the number of approved mainstream fostering households in both independent and local authority fostering agencies. Reasons for this include negative public perception of fostering, lack of financial support for foster carers, and lengthy application, assessment and approval processes. In Kingston, there are other specific barriers, such as the higher number of adults in full-time employment, and the relatively high cost of housing meaning many families do not have the spare bedroom needed to foster. Furthermore, the recruitment of foster carers also cannot be divorced from the need to retain existing carers. There is a high rate of attrition among existing foster carers due to factors such as insufficient support, particularly when caring for traumatised children, perceived lack of respect, and burnout.
As of 2024-25, 26 children in care were in residential care, often due to more complex needs. A local residential children's home is planned to open in Surbiton in 2026, providing care for up to three children.
Adoption services are managed by Adopt London South, a regional adoption agency. While this has facilitated faster matching of children with adoptive families, challenges remain in providing post-adoption support due to reduced government funding.
Educational attainment among Kingston's children in care is better than the national average for children in care, but still lags behind their non-care peers both locally and nationally. The Virtual School is focused on maintaining school stability, particularly for Key Stage 4 students, through initiatives like a transition hub.
Health support is provided by Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust, with initial and annual health assessments. Actions to improve the experiences and outcomes of children in care are developed and monitored by the Corporate Parenting Panel, which includes councillors, officers, and partner organisations. Priorities for 2025-26 include placement sufficiency, school attendance, timely health assessments, access to specialist mental health services, and pathways into permanent housing for care leavers, including implementing the guarantor scheme for care leavers who would like to move into their own privately-rented housing.
The People Committee resolved to note the outcomes achieved for children in care in 2024-2025.
