Nearly fivefold increase in children in unregulated social care settings in England

Exclusive: Vulnerable children being placed in caravans and Airbnbs when Ofsted-inspected homes cannot be foundMinisters must get to grips with the “national scandal” of England’s shadow child social care system, the children’s commissioner has warned, as a report reveals the number of children in unregulated settings has increased by more than 370% in five years.Some of the most vulnerable children in England are being temporarily placed in unregulated caravans, Airbnbs and holiday camps, which risk the “accumulation of increasing levels of harm for children who have already faced enough distress for several lifetimes”, according to the report.