ST CHRISTOPHER’S FELLOWSHIP – LAST HOME FOR CHILDREN SET TO BE CLOSED

Published: 20 August, 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

WESTMINSTER’S only remaining children’s home will close for good at the end of the month.

The St Christopher’s Fellowship home in Maida Vale has been a safe haven for children taken into care since the 1960s, but dwindling demand for the service due to the rise of fostering means the council is no longer prepared to pay to keep it open.

City Hall bosses announced this week that they will not renew the home’s £700,000 annual grant.

Only five children, aged between 11 and 16, currently live at the home in Shirland Road, and arrangements have been made to find them new placements.

An Ofsted report earlier this year revealed the children reacted badly to news of the possible closure and there has been some criticism of the council for the manner in which the decision was made.

The report stated: “Staff and young people are presently coming out of what has been a difficult period in the home. Initially young people were upset and angry and their general behaviour deteriorated.”

Gina O’Connor, assistant branch secretary at Westminster Unison trade union, said: “I don’t think it’s been handled well, especially if there are going to be redundancies.”

Councillor Nickie Aiken, the council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “We know that the best place for a child is with a supportive and loving family and this is no different for children who come into our care, so this is why we have moved towards placing children with foster families. 

“A foster home will invariably be a better option than a residential care home for children in our care. 

“The decision is about improving the care we provide and the needs of the young people who are currently at the home will be better met at their new placements. We will ensure that the five children who are currently at the home receive all the help and support they may need.” 

The council will move part of its children’s services department into the building when it closes for good on August 31. Over the past 10 years around 100 children have lived there, most of whom have attended schools in the borough.

A spokeswoman for St Christopher Fellowship said they hoped to redeploy staff into other areas. She added: “St Christopher’s Fellowship is a charity that runs a variety of children’s services – from children’s homes to after-care services – on behalf of local authorities. When contracts come to an end – as they inevitably sometimes do – it is always our prime aim to redeploy staff in other projects wherever possible.

“Now Shirland Road children’s home is scheduled to close, staff have been consulted and, where possible, are being interviewed for suitable posts within the organisation.”