Cabinet members will be asked to agree in principle to plans that could see the council establish and run its own children’s home, providing safe, local and suitable care for children and young people in care.
The proposal, which will go before Cabinet at a meeting on 1 October, is in response to increasing pressure in securing the right residential placements for children in care, particularly for older children and young people with complex needs and where the external market cannot provide a suitable, timely or local placement.
It will help strengthen the council’s ability to secure high-quality, local placements for children whose needs cannot always be met through family, kinship or foster care.
If agreed, the council would develop a detailed business case for a council-owned or leased children’s home, capable of accommodating up to four children. The business case would look at property or land that could be used for such a development as well as costs, value for money, timescales and staffing requirements.
Councillor Katy Cole, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “"I take my corporate parenting responsibilities seriously and therefore looking after our own children here in Peterborough, ensuring they thrive, is my top priority.
"Children in our care deserve to live somewhere safe, stable and close to the people and services that matter to them. By exploring the creation of a council-run children’s home, we are looking at how we can provide more local options, strengthen the quality of care and make sure decisions are driven by the needs of children and young people.
“This is not about replacing the important role of foster carers, kinship carers or other providers. It is about adding to the range of support available so that, where a residential placement is the right option, we have greater influence over the quality, location and stability of that care.
“The next stage will allow us to look carefully at the practical, financial and regulatory requirements before any final decision is made. Our priority throughout will be to improve outcomes for children and young people in Peterborough."
The council has a statutory duty to provide care and accommodation for children who enter care. The Cabinet report explains that operating a local authority owned children's home gives the authority greater control over local placement options, quality, staffing, costs and care planning.
At this stage, Cabinet is being asked to approve the principle of developing the proposal and to authorise further detailed work. A completed business case would return to Cabinet for a further decision before any children’s home is established.