Springboard funds private school places for children in care as NEET crisis grows

A charity is paying for children in care, or at risk of going into care, to attend private boarding schools in an effort to improve their life chances and cut the number who become NEET.

Springboard has placed 2,000 children into the boarding school system, according to the figures. The scheme provides bursaries for children who might otherwise enter care. It is backed by personal funding from the entrepreneur John Roberts, who helps fund places at Bolton School.

Julian Andre went to boarding school at 10 instead of going into care. His mother fled the family home due to abuse after his first birthday, and mother and son were homeless for more than a year. When Julian was five, his mother developed psychosis. By the time he was ten, he faced being removed from her home. He said the school gave him the ticket to go to the next stage, helping him get GCSEs, A levels, university and a job he enjoys. He also said the support helped him support his mother rather than become disconnected from her.

The figures set out the scale of the problem:

• One in eight young people are not in employment, education or training.
• For children who have gone into care, the rate is three times as high, with two in five NEET by the age of 21.
• One in four homeless young people have been in care, and one in four prisoners have also been in care.

John Roberts said the outcomes for children in care are unacceptable. He said about a third of those children will never be in employment, education or training, and about 13% of teenagers in the cohort try to commit suicide. He said politicians who resist a solution that works for ideological reasons have blood on their hands.

The children's home market also came under scrutiny. Local authority spending on residential care rose from £1.6 billion to £3.1 billion in four years, a 96% jump, while the number of children rose by only 10%. Private equity owns 13 of the 15 biggest children's care homes, and the Competition and Markets Authority has said operators enjoy a 92% profit margin. A critic said the landscape has excessive profit making and argued that government should avoid the market failures driving huge spending on children's home provision.

Supporters of Springboard say emotional support is central. They say vulnerable children need access to the kind of support all children should have.

The Department for Education said it has provided funding to Springboard's education placement programme for vulnerable children and is working to help secure its long-term sustainability. It also said it is increasing mental health support for children across the country so they are supported beyond school. The Chancellor has said it is his moral mission to help young people find opportunities, but many inside government are wary of aligning with private education because of what it would mean for the state system.