Fall in use of secure children’s homes comes amid ongoing rise in the number of applications by councils for High Court orders to deprive young people of their liberty in other settings.
The number of children in secure home welfare beds in England and Wales has hit a 15-year low, Department for Education figures have revealed.
Just 68 children in care were placed in welfare placements across the 14 secure children’s homes (SCHs) as of 31 March 2026, down from 80 the previous year and an average of 88 over the previous 10 years, and the lowest figure since 2011 (62).
In England alone, the number of secure children’s home welfare placements fell from 72 to 60, the same as the number recorded in 2011.
The news comes amid an ongoing rise in the number of applications by councils for High Court orders to deprive looked-after children of their liberty in settings other than SCHs.
Legal framework for secure care
Under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 and section 119 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, the family courts may place a child on a secure accommodation order, if either:
- they have a history of absconding, are likely to abscond from any other type of accommodation and, if they do so, will likely suffer significant harm, or
- they would likely injure themselves or others if placed in a different type of setting.
It has long been understood that the need for secure accommodation has far outstripped supply, with Ofsted saying in 2022 that there were 50 children waiting for a secure home place at any one time.
Number of available places falls to lowest level
Despite this, the number of approved and available places fell to their lowest levels since records began in 2010. The number approved for use in England and Wales dropped from 235 to 218, while the number available fell from 211 to 195.
Approved places may not be available due to home refurbishments or improvements, or because of the need to maintain minimum staff ratios.
These falls were accompanied by a drop, from 102 to 93, in the number of beds contracted to the Ministry of Justice’s Youth Custody Service for use by young people in the criminal justice system.
However, as this nine-bed reduction was less than the 16-bed fall in overall available capacity, it likely means there was a drop in the number of placements available for local authorities, either for welfare purposes or, in rare cases, criminal justice reasons.
Increase in number of deprivation of liberty orders
The latest contraction in secure bed capacity comes with the number of High Court applications to deprive children of their liberty in England having risen from 1,280 in 2024 to 1,439 in 2025, though this only translated into a small increase in the number of orders (from 1,167 to 1,184).
These placements – which are often unregistered settings – are designed to safeguard children at high risk who cannot be placed in SCHs, either due to ineligibility or unavailability.
The latest rise follows a huge spike in the number of such cases over the last several years, with Cafcass having recorded just 103 in 2017-18.
Over the same period, the number of applications by councils for secure accommodation orders has fallen, though less steeply, with 272 made in 2025, compared with 518 in 2017, according to MoJ figures.
It is not clear how far these trends reflect a response to falling capacity in SCHs or increases in the number of children at high risk for whom secure homes are unsuitable.
A new placement type and investment in increased capacity
Under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, the government has legislated to create a new type of regulated placement under which providers would be able to deprive a child of liberty if required.
The previous government allocated capital investment to maintain the existing network of SCHs and develop new provision. Projects underway or under consideration include:
- The development of a 20-bed home in the West Midlands, where there is currently no provision. The West Midlands Safe Centre, which is backed by £61.8m in DfE capital funding, would be owned by local authorities in the region.
- The planned development of London’s first secure children’s home, also owned by the region’s local authorities.
- A plan to build a new SCH in Devon to replace the existing Atkinson home, which Devon County Council says is “no longer suitable for meeting the diverse therapeutic needs of the vulnerable young people placed there”.
- The planned replacement of the Swanwick Lodge SCH in Southampton, which is 30 years old, with a new home that would increase place numbers in the area from 10 to 18.
