Revealed: scandal of England’s ‘inadequate’ private children’s homes
More than 100 privately run children’s homes in England with serious failings have been branded inadequate by inspectors, with several found to have links to private equity firms, an Observer investigation has found.
Poorly trained staff, chaotic management and a series of incidents that left children’s safety in danger were cited in official reports by Ofsted, which inspects children’s homes, as it concluded they were providing inadequate care. Several have closed since inspectors raised concerns.
The Observer examined the most recent Ofsted inspection of private children’s care homes. It found that 114 homes were given the lowest “inadequate” rating, which triggers further investigations. Of those, about 20 were run by providers with links to private equity. It comes amid continued frustration with the “broken” provision of children’s care homes.
Private firms now play a large role in providing care, with more than three-quarters of homes in England run by the sector in 2021. Local government figures have also pointed to the growing role of private equity, warning that the pursuit of profits and debt that can follow is not a sound basis upon which to run care homes.
Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, said: “The Competition and Markets Authority has confirmed our own findings that private equity providers are making extremely high profits and carrying concerning levels of debt that risks the stability of homes for children in care, which is paramount if they are to thrive.”
Graphite Capital, which has a stake in the Hawksmoor restaurant chain, currently has a stake in three companies which managed six homes with inadequate ratings. All have closed since their
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