Plans press ahead for new children’s home in Hartlepool

Plans have been unveiled for the next steps for a new children’s home based in Hartlepool after it was opened and officially registered.

In March 2016 the council children’s services committee first gave the approval for the development of St David’s Walk Children’s Home in Hartlepool.

It’s now been confirmed Ofsted approved the registration of the site on St David’s Walk as a children’s home in March 2019. In approximately six months’ time it will have its first Ofsted inspection.

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It was also in March this year when councillors on the planning committee approved the plans, stating at the time it was important to support children in need of care.

The home has been registered to care for two children aged between seven and seventeen years old and who display challenging behaviour categorised as ‘mild to moderate’.

A report to go before the council children’s services committee, from the director of children’s and joint commissioning services Sally Robinson, said the children have settled in well so far.

It said: “The children have been assessed and carefully matched with each other and introduced to the staff team over a significant length of time, both children appear to have settled into their new home and established positive routines.

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“This home has benefited both children in that they have both been able to remain in their home town and continue their education without disruption.

“There is a small discreet staff team who provide consistent, nurturing, stable and personalised care for the children.”

The report also presented the ‘statement of purpose’ for the children’s home, to be approved by the committee next week, laying out how it will be run.

The statement said: “This unit will allow a much more bespoke service tailored to the individual young person on a residential basis, with only two young people accessing the unit at any one time.

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“With regards to a residential placement, the home will accept referrals only from Hartlepool Borough Council in consultation with senior management and the unit manager to assess the impact on the home of a residential young person who is new to service.

“The service is available to young people of either gender, aged from seven years, ordinarily up to the young person’s eighteenth year.

“However the young person may remain in service post 18 under the staying put arrangements.”

Sylvia Lowe, who works for the council is the registered manager for the site, while Danielle Swainston, council assistant director of children’s and joint commissioning services, is listed as being responsible for the site.

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Originally the plans were for the St David’s Walk site to be a satellite unit of Exmoor Grove Children’s Home, however due to a change in the Ofsted approach it had to be registered as a site in its own right.

Nic Marko , Local Democracy Reporting Service