Displaying items by tag: vulnerable children

Vulnerable children in homes run by Calcot Services for Children were abused when staff should have prioritised safeguarding them. Calcot runs eight homes, four schools, and supported living accommodation, making huge profits of 36%, double that of other care providers. Calcot said profits were high because it built up investment. A dozen current and former employees said the company accepted high-risk children because they came with increased funding levels, but did not meet all their needs or keep them safe. Children were groomed for sex, given alcohol, or assaulted by staff. Allegations of child-on-child sexual abuse and suicide attempts were not reported to Ofsted despite an obligation to do so. Employees said vulnerable children were failed. Foster caring is often inappropriate for those who have suffered the worst abuse and neglect. Children's homes are the last resort for young people. Local councils no longer manage care for children with challenging behaviour. Most homes are now run by private companies.

Children as young as six are being forced to carry and sell drugs far away from their homes. They are made to skip school, sleep in drug dens, and keep secrets from their loved ones. They are treated as criminals when they often feel trapped in a hopeless situation. Prayer is needed to break these cycles of crime, abuse, and exploitation. The Children’s Society helps children affected by criminal exploitation, and works hard to stop it and make sure it doesn’t define a young person’s future. Young people who have been exploited who come to the society are treated as victims, not criminals. They are helped to rebuild their trust and provision is made so that they are not targeted by criminal groups again. Pray for the success of the Disrupting Exploitation Programme which makes children safer, gives them a better understanding of exploitation, and improves their relationships with family and friends.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Early childhood education is critical for all children, particularly during a crisis like the Covid pandemic. For children who have experienced war and displacement - many of whom have lived their whole lives as refugees - it can be a lifeline, healing emotional and developmental wounds caused by years of trauma. The pandemic has hit displaced and vulnerable families the hardest, as in-person programmes have been put on hold for safety concerns. Now the IRC has adapted and uses digital tools to reach children and their families directly in their homes. It equips parents to create a nurturing and predictable home learning environment that fosters children's resilience during times of crisis and provides caregivers with ways to manage their own stress.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children goes far beyond any health risks. Across Europe and Central Asia, everyday services essential for their safety and well-being - from ante-natal care and home visits for new parents, to child protection and education - are grinding to a halt as entire populations go into lockdown. For millions of children and their families, this is a time of anxiety and uncertainty. For those children who were vulnerable before this crisis, the pandemic heightens the risks they already face, particularly children from the poorest families, children with disabilities, those from ethnic minorities and refugee and migrant children - especially unaccompanied children, separated from their families. Now that schools are closed and home-based quarantine has become the ‘new normal’, parents have become frontline responders to the pandemic, needing comprehensive support to safeguard their children’s health, wellbeing and development.