UK Children's Minister Visits Denmark Amid Care Crisis as english does work Examined

The British government is examining international models as it attempts to address a severe crisis in its residential care system. UK children’s minister Josh MacAlister recently travelled to Copenhagen to study Danish facilities, including the 140-year-old Josephine Schneider’s House. While wondering if english does work practices can be adapted for the UK, officials are confronting a mounting shortage of regulated spaces.

Last year, 669 children lived in illegal, unregistered children’s homes across England, with local authorities spending more than £125m in taxpayers' money to maintain them. Overall spending on children’s homes across the country rose by 96% over a five-year period to exceed £3.1bn in 2023-24. Meanwhile, standards have dropped, private equity firms have profited, and growing numbers of children are placed in facilities hundreds of miles from their families.

English children’s residential care faces severe challenges as costs soar and standards decline.

The Danish approach contrasts sharply with the current English system. Josephine Schneider’s House accommodates 12 residents aged six to 23 in a setting designed to replicate a traditional family home. Staff members are degree-level professionals in social pedagogy, focusing on psychology, child development, and ethics. Unlike in England, where teenagers must leave care immediately upon turning 18, young people in the Danish home can remain until age 23 and are encouraged to return afterward.

MacAlister has expressed strong support for removing rigid age limits that force care leavers to move during critical periods like examinations. He also aims to import the Danish emphasis on personal growth, wellbeing, and maintaining family connections, noting that English residential care often focuses excessively on adult anxiety and risk containment.

Why it matters

The findings from the ministerial visit could reshape future policies for English children's social care, potentially altering how residential homes are funded, staffed, and regulated. Addressing these systemic issues directly affects vulnerable young people who rely on state support for safe housing, education, and long-term independence.