Plans to close a children’s home and place more young people with families are set to be approved.
A new report published today (Thursday) by Leicestershire County Council recommends shutting Greengate House in Wigston, where there is currently one resident.
Consultation feedback show that 56 per cent of people back the proposal which would save £400,000 a year, helping the council to reduce its spend on residential care for children who require intensive support. Instead - and in keeping with national and local policy – it will provide family placements, supported by skilled staff.
A total of 164 responses were received from children in care, care leavers, former care home residents, local residents, staff and agencies during the six-week consultation which ended on 21 December.
Our priority is providing the best possible care for vulnerable young people and for most children, this is living with a family. This is why we want to recruit specialist carers and we’re keen for the staff at Greengate, whose skills we value very much, to contribute to this approach.
Person:Councillor Ivan Ould, cabinet member for children and families
“We also need to tackle the growing cost of care for children with very complex needs. Greengate is a large building with a very small number of residents, making it expensive to run, so this plan would help us to reduce this spend.”
If approved, the home would close after the current resident has moved into other accommodation.
The council’s cabinet will discuss the proposal next Friday (5 February) – the meeting can be watched online.
Consultation responses show that:
- 56 per cent of people agree with the proposal, generally because of the type of building or its running costs.
- 29 per cent disagree, mainly because of concerns about availability or suitability of alternatives provision
- 15 per cent gave no opinion
The proposal involves:
- Closing Greengate House from April 2016 – this would only happen after the current resident has moved into other accommodation. If it closes, alternative uses for the building, or selling it, would be explored.
- Continuing to recruit extra foster carers
- Recruiting and supporting specialist foster carers who can provide very specialist care required - the skills and expertise of Greengate House staff are valuable and it’s anticipated their experience will contribute to this