Chiefs have signed off on a £3.2 milion new care home for children with disabilities after a watchdog and fire service found the current home posed safety risks to its vulnerable residents.
Members of Tameside’s executive cabinet have agreed a plan to create an ‘innovative’ new build home for nine children to provide long and short term care, transition accommodation and step down support. It would replace the Boyds Walk children’s home, based in Dukinfield, which has been used to look after vulnerable young people aged between 11 and 17 since 1983.
These include residents with autism and severe learning and communication difficulties. Some children are under deprivation of liberty orders. The home is owned by Jigsaw Homes but is leased by Tameside council.
READ MORE: Plans for major £10m revamp of Ashton-under-Lyne market square to go to consultation
While councillors were told Ofsted had praised the service at Boyds Walk in a recent inspection, a report to cabinet stated that if a ‘firm plan’ was not in place for a new premises by autumn, the home would be rated ‘inadequate’ by the watchdog and potentially ordered to cease operating.
This is as a result of the layout of the building presenting health and safety risks to the children and staff within it, due to narrow hallways and corridors.
“The emergency services have raised concerns about accessibility across the home when required to utilise medical equipment, such as a stretcher, and the most recent fire service inspection has raised concerns about the speed and effectiveness of fire evacuation,” officers state.
Consequently the home manager has had to spend a ‘significant’ amount more money on staff to mitigate the concerns. It has also meant that the availability of short stay bed nights has been restricted by the property not being ‘fit for purpose’.
“Some families who require preventative short stay respite cannot access or don’t want to access due to the poor physical environment and are therefore heading quickly towards crisis and ultimately high cost out of borough placements,” the report adds.
Officers say there are examples of children with disabilities who need two carers being unable to access the service due to the ‘ineffective’ functioning of the property and its inability to cater for intensive staff numbers.
This has led to children having to go into costly out-of-borough placements with private companies, which are an average of 42 miles away from their Tameside home. One child was placed 120 miles away, the report adds.
Chiefs have now agreed to replace Boyds Walk with a purpose built new building on the former Flowery Field Infant School site on Old Road in Hyde.
The total cost of the project would be £3.265m, but the local authority is aiming to get half of the funding from the government’s Children’s Home Capital Programme 2022-25.
If this is unsuccessful, the town hall will have to pay for the whole amount through prudential borrowing.
However the report states that the ‘state of the art’ home will create ‘significant’ savings from its external placement budget, from an average of £6,300 per child per week up to £327,600 a year.
Ali Stathers-Tracey, director of children’s services told councillors: “Our current provision at Boyds Walk was inspected by Ofsted only two weeks ago with comments that the quality of service that operates within the existing building is good and outstanding for our children with incredible quality of care for children who live in that property.
“However they have stated that Tameside needs a new long-term plan that is ambitious and innovative and transformational for our children. This proposal offers that.
“The cost of external placements for children would be eye-watering. Equally it would break that connection with home, family and community – things that are really important to these children.”
READ NEXT:
- 'It's disgusting' - Volunteers feeding breakfast to the homeless were slapped with parking fines
- 'Monstrous' metal structure 'The Rocket' that plagued angry homeowners will be ripped down
- Oldham headteacher steps down after historic tweets emerge containing racial and derogatory comments
- New £20m link road opens connecting M62 with Greater Manchester's 'Atom Valley'
- Everything you need to know as second report into Manchester Arena terror attack is published today
