UK children's minister visits Denmark to study its children's homes
Josh MacAlister, the UK Department for Education minister for children and families, visited Denmark earlier this week to see how its children's homes operate, The Guardian reported. The trip is part of a Department for Education review into how the children's homes sector in England can be improved.
According to the British Embassy in Copenhagen, MacAlister visited three children's homes in Denmark: Josephine Schneider Hus, Nexus and Godhavn.
Josephine Schneider's House in Copenhagen is 140 years old and houses 12 children and young adults aged six to 23. Apart from the head chef, its staff are all degree-level professionals in social pedagogy, a field of training focused on working with young people in daily life.
The visit comes as the British government looks at Danish children's homes while seeking a route out of what The Guardian describes as a crisis in England's children's home system. The government's aim, as the newspaper reports it, is to build a roadmap for change.
The scale of the problem in England is set out in the same report. Last year, 669 children were living in illegal, unregistered children's homes, meaning homes not registered as the law requires. English councils paid more than £125m to keep children in such homes.
Spending on children's homes across England has risen sharply. According to The Guardian, overall spending soared 96% in five years, to more than £3.1bn in 2023-24.
