An Open Letter on Systemic Failings and the Need for Change in Child Permanence
To Social Workers, Social Care Managers, Service Leads, Service Managers, Directors, and all those in charge of policy,
We need a new approach — a PA+TCH way — built from plans for sur*thrival, stitched together from what children have endured and experienced, not a plan that ignores the harm they’ve already suffered.
If there’s one thing I believe strongly, it’s this: systemic failings are harming children. Despite efforts and policies, the truth remains that many children in our care and permanence systems are not receiving the support they need to heal, recover, and thrive. It’s time we face this reality and ask how we can push for meaningful change.
The core issues are clear. A child’s experience of trauma and harm is often overlooked when planning for their future—whether they are in care, kinship arrangements, or even those who haven’t been removed from their families but have suffered significant harm. The system too often fails to fully consider what these experiences mean for their development, health, and future stability.
Recent national statistics for 2023 paint a stark picture:
• Approximately 50,000 children were subject to child protection plans, identified as being at risk of significant harm.
• Around 164,000 children were living in kinship care.
• About 82,000 children were in foster or residential care.
• Nearly 400,000 children had involvement with services for children in need.
Beyond these figures, there are children with complex medical and psychological trauma—many with health issues that remain unquantified in official data. Overall, nearly a million children are affected in ways that too often do not consider the long-term implications of harm, trauma, abuse, neurological damage, or their effects on functioning, health, and wellbeing.
Yet the care plans for children—whether in care, adoption, or kinship—rarely reflect the harm they have experienced, nor do they address what might be needed to repair that harm. The world around these children is often ill-equipped to hold a safe space for their healing journey. There is too little emphasis on pathways to recovery and resilience. Instead, the system tends to overlook whether children can truly recover from trauma and go on to thrive. The consequence? Many risk becoming statistics in mental health crises, involvement with the justice system, or facing lifelong barriers to employment and stability.
The blame often falls on adopters, foster carers, kinship carers, parents, residential providers, and schools. But this blame is misplaced. If our systems were more evidence-based, scientific, and outcome-oriented, the results for children would be vastly better. Children are not problems to be managed—they are individuals with complex needs that require understanding, compassion, and targeted support.
PATCH initially started as a voice for adopters in crisis, but closer reflection reveals a deeper truth: children who have been traumatised are being failed, along with their families and carers. We need critical, tailored planning that prioritises healing, repair, and pathways designed specifically for traumatised children. Without this, we continue to fail them. Currently, there’s a tendency to over-diagnose children rather than treat symptoms, to label or judge rather than truly understand and address their needs.
The reality is that many children are not given the chance to heal and rebuild. Trauma manifests in behaviours, crises, and placement breakdowns—sometimes leading to children living in unfamiliar environments like care homes, secure units, or even temporary spaces such as Airbnbs. These outcomes are rarely the fault of families or carers but are rooted in systemic failures: lack of transparency, insufficient sharing of honest information, and a failure to see children’s needs clearly.
Unconsidered harm can have lifelong repercussions—mental health issues, involvement with the justice system, and barriers to adult success. Love and permanence are vital, but they are not enough if initial needs and traumas are ignored or misunderstood.
It is frustrating to see the government and policymakers overlook these issues, despite clear evidence that systemic change is needed. We need a pathway that centres on a child’s journey—one that emphasises recovery, repair, and healing. We must build a system that understands the complexity of trauma and actively works to address it, rather than simply managing symptoms or assigning blame.
And let’s be honest—if we approached the needs of families and children with more humanity, with less blame and shame, many would fare better. Just as in domestic abuse, where survivors are often shamed and blamed, the cycle continues unless we choose to build a different way forward—one grounded in understanding, support, and compassion.
At PATCH, we want to be part of that change. We believe in a future where every child’s story is heard, their trauma acknowledged, and their pathway to healing prioritised. It’s a long journey, but it’s a journey worth taking.
Thank you for your time and for considering how we can all work together to create a system that truly supports children and their families—one built on understanding, honesty, and hope for a better future.
Yours sincerely, Fiona Wells, PA+TCH Founder