The Department for Education’s announcement on Monday that its steely gaze is now falling on “exploitative children’s care providers” and particularly the profits they make, will be music to the ears of education leaders everywhere.

Indeed, for many of us within education, the most dissonant aspect of looking after our most vulnerable young people is that it has become increasingly easy to turn a profit from them.

According to the NPSCC, there are approximately 107,000 children in care, an increase of 8 per cent over the past few years.

Furthermore, nearly 40,000 children enter the care system every year - or one every 15 minutes. Usually by the time children are taken into care, months, if not years, of work has been invested in their families in a bid to prevent this course of action.

Huge demand

Those of us working in schools know this could be significantly higher, too. Thresholds have shifted, social workers are thin on the ground and overworked, some parents have become skilled at saying the right things at the right times; and then, of course, there are targets.

As the need for safe and secure homes for vulnerable children increases, availability has struggled to keep up. Local authorities have a statutory obligation to find bed and board at an alarming rate that still shows no indication of slowing down.

It is perhaps unsurprising a gap in the market was spotted, and filled; and like a much a sought-after concert ticket, this is another commodity subject to dynamic pricing. It’s happened to special schools and alternative provision.

For schools, it is a bittersweet relief when a child is taken into care; it is a trauma, something that may define them for life and can significantly damage their mental health and educational outcomes - yet, it is clearly only done when the alternative is far worse.

Schools do their best to make this transition as gentle as possible; often these young people just want to get their heads down and continue as if nothing has happened, seeking normality with friends and routines.

Finding a home close to their school, making this possible, can be critical. Unsurprisingly, this can put the cost up.

Cutting costs

Yet, you don’t always get what you pay for. If your child had to be taken into emergency care, what would you hope for them? A decent bed, nutritious food, clean clothes, someone to talk to, contact with authorised friends and family, and an ability to keep something with them that makes them feel safe? None of this is guaranteed.

We see children turn up in the same dirty uniform every day, their shirts grey with grime; some arrive starving hungry, not even knowing who to ask for a snack.

I’ve seen children at risk of exploitation arrive by bus because they didn’t get up in time for the care home manager to drive them in. I’ve been told by a child’s key worker that if I thought it was important for them to have a haircut then the school should take them and pay for it.

Not every provision is heartless, exploitative and only in it for the money, but at a time when local authorities are not exactly rolling in cash, that so much does go into the pockets of business owners is immoral.

Time for action

Visiting some care homes, it is clear that the costs being charged are not being directed at staff wages or maintaining a welcoming home, either. I once visited one where the front door had been booted in and it was secured with a screwdriver through a latch - it had been that way for weeks.

I welcome Bridget Phillipson’s determination to ensure our vulnerable children have their physical and spiritual needs not just taken care of, but nurtured and cultivated.

The profits currently being made from the distress of children could so easily be redirected to preventative actions and holistic support for those who do need to enter the care system. As a society, surely this is what we should be measured on, not whether a few people got rich.

Keziah Featherstone is an executive headteacher in The Mercian Trust, which serves the Black Country. She is co-chair of the Headteachers’ Roundtable and is a co-founder and trustee of WomenEd.