Number of children in care falls as Rotherham expands housing for care-leavers
Rotherham Council says the number of children in care has fallen over the past year as it pushes ahead with plans to expand local homes and housing options for care leavers.
A report to the Improving Lives Select Commission (4 Nov) shows 467 children in care in October 2025, down from 506 a year earlier. The council lists 77% of children in family-based settings and 79% living within 20 miles of home. There are 344 care leavers, with 98.2% in appropriate accommodation; 65% are in education, employment or training, and 111 are living independently.
The update tracks delivery of the borough’s Looked After Children Sufficiency Strategy (2023–27), which aims to keep more young people safely within families and communities, increase in-house options, and stabilise placements.
On residential capacity, the council has an in-house programme for 15 beds with 14 occupied, and says all properties for phases 1–4 are identified. Further openings are scheduled through Q3 2025/26 and Q1 2026/27, subject to Ofsted registration. The report notes challenges in achieving full occupancy, particularly in a four-bed home, due to matching needs and solo placements.
Pressure is expected to shift towards care-leaver housing. As of September, 141 children aged 12–15 are likely to need accommodation from age 16, and previous modelling suggested care leavers could reach around 551 by 2027 if demand patterns hold.
Councillor Victoria Cusworth, RMBC’s cabinet member for children and young people, told today’s (Nov 4) meeting of the improving lives select commission: “The bulge at the moment is in care leavers, and that is partly part of contributions that is our unaccompanied asylum seeking children who we welcome into Rotherham. They usually come in the late teens and sort of quickly become care leavers.”
Foster carer recruitment remains a priority. By July 2025 there were 106 approved foster families, with 73.8% of available in-house places in use. The council says its offer to foster carers is being benchmarked and “remains competitive” against neighbours and independent agencies.
The report, which was discussed during today’s (Nov 4) improving lives select committee meeting, recommends councillors note progress against the delivery plan and ongoing work to meet future demand.
Cllr Cusworth told the meeting that there are not always enough local placements available, leading to some children being placed farther away.
“About 70% of our children are placed within 20 miles of their their home,” added cllr Cusworth. “That does make it more difficult. It’s more time consuming for social workers to do their visits. We don’t have we don’t always have agreements with other authorities that children will get prioritised…for certain services.”