Research and analysis Children’s social care questionnaires 2022

Summary of findings

• We received a total of 43,580 responses from all audience types to the survey this year. Of these responses, 5,749 were from children. This was slightly less than the previous year.

• Eighty-seven percent of all children rated their mental health as either ‘very good’, ‘good’ or ‘OK’. However, in secure children’s homes, over a quarter of children rated their mental health as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’.

• A third of all children who responded thought that they did not see enough of the people who were important to them.

• Around a fifth of children in boarding schools and in residential accommodation in further education felt that, if they were worried or upset, they had an adult to talk to only ‘sometimes’ or ‘never’.

• Overall, most children said their relationships with the adults and children where they lived or stayed were positive. Children in foster care were more likely to be happy about their relationships with other children than children in group-living arrangements, such as children’s homes or residential special schools.

• Only 41% of children living away from home in residential settings said they had done something fun with their friends away from where they lived or stayed.

• Children in boarding schools and further education colleges were less likely to say that they felt well cared for than children living elsewhere.

To read the full report, click the link - Children’s social care questionnaires 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Credit - OFSTED