By Isabel Kaner, Policy & Campaigns Officer at the Shared Health Foundation
The Shared Health Foundation has released a report, titled ‘Children Living in Temporary Accommodation: An Absolute Scandal’, exposing thirteen violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) caused to homeless children.
The temporary accommodation crisis unfolding across the country is ensuring that increasing numbers of families are being placed in unsuitable accommodation that is likely to be out of their local authority area and away from support networks. As a result, the impacts to a child’s wellbeing are far-reaching, impacting every aspect of their life. This report highlights the realities of living in temporary accommodation for families, particularly in relation to the detrimental effects on children’s’ health and education.
An area of concern includes the growing reliance on extended stays in B&Bs and shared accommodation, without safeguarding measures to protect families mixed with single adults. This includes the placement of families fleeing domestic abuse into mixed accommodation, having additional severe consequences on their mental wellbeing. Additionally, we are alarmed by the rising rate of child mortality where temporary accommodation has been listed as a contributing factor to a child’s death. Shared Health, in collaboration with the National Child Mortality Database, uncovered in January 2025 that seventy-four children have died since 2019 with temporary accommodation as a contributing factor. Fifty-eight were babies under the age of one.
Within the report, examples of good practice are highlighted that show the great work already being done to mitigate the impacts of living in temporary accommodation on families. Some include: dedicated play areas for young children in temporary accommodation, where there is not enough space in rooms; a school working collaboratively with the local authority to better support families experiencing or at risk of homelessness; and temporary accommodation providers stocking cots for families with babies.
Using the collective experiences of families across the country, we uncovered thirteen violations of the UNCRC. While it is unlikely that a child will experience all thirteen violations, we have found they are at an increased risk of being subjected to several of them while homeless. These violations are caused by the impacts of poor quality accommodation, the extensive use of nightly-paid accommodation, barriers to accessing healthcare and educational services, and discriminatory treatment. Some of the rights that are violated include: the right to life; the right to be protected from discrimination; the right to an adequate standard of living; and the right to leisure and rest.
On the back of this, nineteen recommendations, aimed at local and national government, are made. One of these recommendations is the implementation of the SAFE protocol, campaigned for by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Households in Temporary Accommodation. This protocol requires local authorities to notify a child’s school and GP when they are placed into temporary accommodation, with guidance given to these services to enable them to best support homeless children. As co-secretariat to the APPG, Shared Health are working with Parliamentarians to ensure this protocol is enshrined in the new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Other recommendations include: a commitment to reducing child mortality; support for parents remaining in or returning to employment; better data collection and sharing; no mixing of families and single adults in shared accommodation; and taking a children’s rights-based approach to tackling homelessness. The adoption of these recommendations would alleviate some of the immediate impacts that living in temporary accommodation has on children.
With the Government’s cross-departmental homelessness and child poverty strategies being formed, the 165,510 children trapped in the temporary accommodation crisis should be at the forefront of policymaker’s agendas. The cyclical nature of homelessness means these children are at an increased risk of experiencing it again as adults so it is vital that we take measures to prevent this. The Government’s strategy for ending homelessness starts with children.
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This article is featured in our 18 June newsletter.
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