Care for children has nosedived
Rev John Travell says the level of support he received during his years in care aren’t available to children today in a crumbling, privatised sector
Reverend Dr John Travell was born in a workhouse in Britain in 1930 and spent 17 years moving between different National Children’s Homes across the country.
His young life was peppered with experiences that moulded the man he became – being evacuated during the war; moving to a smaller home where carers lived with children and formed lasting bonds with them; and being trained as an apprentice in a printworks when he was 14.
And while he is candid about the challenges he faced growing up in care, and the fact that “I didn’t know what love was until I got married”, he also credits the people who looked after him and the lessons he was taught with setting him on a path toward happiness and success.
An ordained minister, Rev Travell now has children of his own and a large, loving extended family.
His is a remarkable tale and one he decided to document in an autobiography, As I Remember It, aged 94, to both shine a light on the critical role played by charities that support children, and sound the alarm about the worrying state of care today.
“The important things I received during my childhood are what kids these days don’t get,” he tells The i Paper. “Aged 16, 17, they’re chucked out without any skill to earn a living and no place to live. They end up on the streets or in prison which we’ve just taken for granted happens to kids in care these days.
“Whereas I had professional training, I got a first class City & Guilds [vocational qualifications for practical industries] running a big printing machine, and all the foster families and carers kept in touch and helped you out if you were in trouble.”
Today more than 50 per cent of children in care are placed outside their local area. Only 14 per cent go on to higher education compared to 47 per cent of children who haven’t been in care.
“There are so many sad stories these days,” says Rev Travell. “Care for children has gone into nosedive. The kind of care that I received in the 30s and 40s made a difference to my life and it’s not available to children today.”
Action for Children, which The i Paper is supporting with its Happy Childhoods appeal, supports thousands of children in care and care leavers across the UK.
The charity has 11 family-style children’s homes, for children and young people who have experienced neglect, abuse and trauma. Its fostering services help hundreds of children find safe and loving foster homes each year and its children’s rights and advocacy service supports young care leavers to reach their full potential.
Alice Woudhuysen, head of campaigns and public affairs campaigns at Action for Children, said: “We need more, high-quality homes across the country – in both foster and residential care – so every child can grow up in a home that meets their needs.
“We’d like to see a bigger focus on recruiting and keeping brilliant carers that are well trained and properly supported to provide the excellent care that children deserve.
“Both of these will require more investment from the Government.
“Action for Children is also calling for an urgent rebalancing of the system away from crisis intervention to early help services – to prevent more children being taken into care in the first place.”
Action for Children does not make any profit from its care homes but many others are privately run.
Rev Travell said: “I think the big problem is that councils are pouring thousands of pounds of their money, paying colossal sums, to private-equity [owned] homes that are exploiting children and making their shareholders rich at the expense of the children while not being run by people trained in childcare.”
A survey by the Local Government Association found 1,510 placements that cost more than £10,000 per child per week – exacerbating many councils’ financial difficulties.
Rev Travell added: “The Care of Children Committee was set up to investigate childcare and their report in 1946 became a Childcare Act in 1948, and one of the things that it said was institutions and foster carers were entitled to claim money for clothing and feeding the kids, but weren’t entitled to make a profit out of caring for kids, which is the absolute opposite of what’s happening now.”
He adds: “The most important thing is a loving environment in which children can grow up. Action for Children’s got it all right. They’re trying to keep families together in their homes, helping vulnerable children, teaching parenting and so on.”
Happy Childhoods Appeal
The i Paper has launched its Happy Childhoods Appeal to help more children have safe and happy childhoods. Action for Children offers vital family support, including children’s centres, family hubs, and early-years support across the UK, and we are urging generous readers to donate here:
What your money could buy:
- £3 could provide a weekend’s worth of nappies for a newborn baby
- £7 could provide a teddy bear or other toy to comfort a child in poverty
- £10 could provide lunch for a week for a child living in poverty
- £15 could pay for books or toys to help a child in poverty to learn
- £25 could pay for a new pair of shoes for a vulnerable child
- £50 could provide a bundle of warm winter clothes for a child who needs them
- £75 could provide a pushchair for a toddler whose parents could not otherwise afford it, helping them get out and about
- £100 could pay for a large emergency food package for a struggling family
