The latest data tracker from the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory reveals foster care (kinship and non-kinship) remains the mainstay of homes in England’s care system.
Nuffield’s analysis reveals the number of approved foster carers in England fell 12% between 2020/21 and 2024/25, alongside a 9% reduction in available fostering places. Over the same period, the number of children’s homes grew 50% while the overall number of children in care increased only slightly (up 1%).
The research also shows that two thirds of children in care in England were in foster placements in 2025, with 12% in children’s homes and the remainder either in supported accommodation (9%), placed with parents or another person with parental responsibility (6%), in other placements (3%) or placed for adoption (2%).
The number of children living in foster care fell in the last year of available data (down 1,140 to 54,820 between 2023/24 and 2024/25), while the number living in children’s homes increased (up by 770 to 9,480 children). Since Nuffield Family Justice Observatory collected the data, the number of children’s homes has continued to rise, reaching 4,747 by March 2026, according to Ofsted’s most recent release – a 20% increase in a single year.
“Beyond the headline growth, the shape of children’s homes provision is also shifting”, Nuffield said. “Homes are getting smaller – average capacity has fallen from 4.7 places in 2012/13 to 3.4 today – and the sector is increasingly privately owned, now accounting for 86% of all homes.
“Together, these trends point to a changing landscape: more children’s homes but ones that are smaller and increasingly commercial in character.”
Nuffield Family Justice Observatory’s analysis of this year’s Ofsted data explores the shifts in more detail.
“It is worth noting that foster care and children’s homes remain very different in scale – living in foster care is still over five times more common than living in children’s homes – but the direction of travel raises questions about the future capacity and shape of the care system”, the organisation added.
“Trends also raise questions about matching, quality and costs as well as the lives and outcomes of children living in foster care and in children’s homes.”
The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory Data Tracker collates data about children and families in the family justice system and presents it in a visual, easy-to-use dashboard. The dashboards are available at https://www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/data-tracker
