Children with complex needs who are deprived of liberty: Interviews with children to understand their experiences of being deprived of their liberty

Thousands of children in the United Kingdom are currently deprived of their liberty. They are confined in young offender institutions, mental health wards, or secure children’s homes, but a growing proportion are being deprived of their liberty outside a secure setting, through the use of High Court deprivation of liberty orders. These orders, which are currently being made at a rate of well over 1,000 per year, are imposed when children are deemed to be at exceptionally high risk of harm to themselves, from others, or occasionally towards others. 

Restricting liberty is one of the most significant interventions the state can make into a child’s life. A deprivation of liberty order may include authorisation for children to be supervised at all times, prevented from leaving their accommodation at will, denied phone and internet access, and restrained by professionals when this is deemed necessary. Although these children are living in the community, they are often, by virtue of their restrictions, extremely isolated, and largely hidden from view.

The vast majority of children subject to deprivation of liberty orders are in the care system. Some are living in specialist therapeutic children’s homes or settings that have been created specifically for them. However, many children live with these restrictions in places that are highly unsuitable, including illegal children’s homes, Airbnbs, or on hospital wards while awaiting discharge. Far from providing the environment they need to help them with the behaviours that have caused concern, this leads to children feeling unsafe and uncared for, further adding to their trauma. My office has supported many children subject to deprivation of liberty orders, most of whom describe experiences we would not wish on any child. I have become increasingly dismayed by the number of children in this situation, particularly given the lack of suitable therapeutic foster carers or residential settings available for them. This concern is very often shared by the local authority and health professionals supporting the child, and by the judges imposing the orders, which are seen as the last resort to keep them safe.

In recognition of the scale of the problem, the Department for Education and NHS England have set up a task and finish group to look at how these children can be better supported. In order to ensure that children’s voices are at the heart of any reforms, my office has spoken to children with experience of deprivation of liberty orders, to understand from them how it feels to live under these conditions, what more they believe could have been done to help them, and what they think needs to change.

Children felt let down by the system, often questioning where the support had been for them and their families before the situation escalated beyond their control. Many children also described adverse experiences in care; moving between multiple children’s homes, where they had no sense of commitment or genuine concern from their carers, with their behaviour labelled as challenging and risky, instead of being recognised as a response to trauma.   While children understood that the deprivation of liberty order was intended to keep them safe, they felt that the restrictions had taken an undue toll on their mental wellbeing, education and relationships. Some children, particularly those with an autism or mental health diagnosis, had experienced multiple episodes of restraint, which is distressing for any child, and even more so for those who are living away from home, often alone with their carers.

Not all experiences described by children living with a deprivation of liberty order were bad, but the impact and effectiveness of the order very much depended on the quality of care and professional support they had received, their access to education and appropriate therapy, and the priority given to maintaining their positive relationships and including them as far as possible in the decisions made about their lives.

The fact that we have so many children living under these circumstances is one of the strongest arguments that can be made for the urgency of reforming children’s social care. When a child is effectively imprisoned for their own safety, it means that many opportunities for intervention have been missed. We need more support for families and children early on, and a care system that is fit for purpose so that children do not reach crisis point.

For the very small number of children where controls on their freedom are necessary in order to keep them or others safe, we must make sure they have not only excellent, individualised care, but also full protection under the law, which is why I am calling for their rights, and the responsibilities of others to promote their welfare, to be clearly set out in a new statutory framework under the Children Act 1989.

There is also a clear and urgent need for more specialist children’s homes, with integrated support from social care, health, and other agencies where necessary, and a trauma-informed, child-centred approach, so that children can be kept safe and supported for as long as they need.

I am so grateful to the children who contributed to this research. The lack of data about the experiences of children living with deprivation of liberty orders, particularly from children themselves, has been a barrier to addressing their needs and considering how best to provide care. As this report shows, they can offer a critical insight into the problems with the systems currently in place and ideas about how these can be improved for a better way forward. What is more, as professionals and as a society, we have a moral obligation to ensure that children at risk of harm are not simply contained and kept out of the community, but are seen, heard, and given the care and support they need to thrive.

Read the report here.