Southwark Council has announced it will set up three new children’s care homes to stop youngsters being sent to the north of England.
The new five-bedroom properties will enable the council to care for kids in the borough, rather than being forced to find them alternative homes 75 miles away.
Fifteen children have been indicated by the local authority as living outside of the borough who could be looked after in Southwark.
“The majority of children in our care are placed over 20 miles away from Southwark,” said Cllr Jasmine Ali, cabinet member for children, young people and education in a council document.
“We are trying to support more children in care by recruiting local foster carers, and developing more local housing,” she added.
Southwark council currently cares for 456 children in total, with 578 more working towards independence.
“Location is an important factor which needs to be balanced with children’s other needs.”
Cllr Ali revealed that the first new home would be in Nunhead.
“We are looking at provision in Nunhead for five bedrooms for children in care, but with enough space so residential social workers can be on the premises as well,” she said at a cabinet meeting yesterday.
“This is a bit of a tip of the iceberg because most of our support for children is within foster care because we want to support children and families. But foster care is not always right for every child we support. By having children’s homes, it’s only right they should be in or as close to the borough as possible.”
Placing children near their local area is vital to ensure they can remain in contact with loved ones, friends and relatives, as well as access education, health care and mental support services they are familiar with.
Yet this is not always possible as residential care for children is a very specialist form of care for a small number of children. Sometimes children need to be placed elsewhere as places are not available or their needs cannot be met by existing facilities.
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Out-area-placements can occasionally be necessary to safeguard some children from gangs and sexual exploitation.
“However, placement at a distance makes it difficult for children to maintain relationships with their family and their peers, and for some children placement at a distance can increase risks,” said the council in a report.
Last year Southwark Council won £1.85 million from the Department for Education to pay for a new children’s home in the borough.
Huge obstacles remain to caring for vulnerable kids in the capital, with children from London more likely to be placed at a distance compared to any other region in the UK.
A council document reads: “Costs, which are higher in London and the south, have distorted the market with more capacity being available in the Midlands and north where property prices are lower.”
“Areas like London have relatively fewer suitable properties available at commercially viable prices.”