Why we're bringing children's residential care closer to home

Last night, at Mayor and Cabinet, we took an important step towards creating a council-run children’s home – the first in decades. 

The home will provide a safe space for up to six young people with complex needs to feel supported and thrive. 

For me, this is about more than a new building. It is about the responsibility we have to children who need us most.

Every child deserves to feel they belong

When a child comes into care, they may already have experienced huge uncertainty and upheaval. The last thing we should want is for them to be moved miles away from their family, friends, school and support network.

Yet that is what can happen when there aren't enough suitable local placements.

There are currently 51 Lewisham children in residential care but only around a quarter are placed within the borough.

Wherever it is right for the child, we want to do everything we can to keep those important local connections.

Bringing care closer to home

For too long we, along with countless other councils across the country, have had to rely on private providers for residential care.

Sometimes that is necessary but I believe some responsibilities should remain firmly in public hands.

Looking after children who need our care is one of them.

By running a home ourselves, we can have a much more direct role in safeguarding, staffing, the culture of the home and, most importantly, the experience and outcomes of the young people who live there.

An investment in children

There is a strong financial case too. Residential care currently costs us almost £30 million a year, with some individual placements costing more than £10,000 a week.

We have a responsibility to use public money wisely and build a more sustainable system.

But this decision isn't simply about saving money. It is about investing in our children.

I want this home to be somewhere young people feel safe, listened to and cared for, with stable relationships and the opportunity to build a positive future.

We have a responsibility to be a good corporate parent. That means asking ourselves what we would want if these were our own children.

I know I would want them to be close to the people and places that matter to them, surrounded by adults who genuinely care about their future.

There is still work to do 

There is plenty to do before the home can open. We need to make sure the building is right, recruit an excellent workforce, secure Ofsted registration and get the culture right from day one.

We owe it to these young people to get that right.

Ultimately, this is about what children in Lewisham deserve.

Every child deserves to feel safe. Every child deserves to feel they belong. And every child deserves adults who believe in their future.

This home is an important step towards making that a reality for up to six young people and I am proud that we are taking it.