Children's homes

We operate 16 children’s homes across the city. These children's homes are open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. They are staffed by appropriately trained and skilled members of staff.

All the children’s homes are tailored towards children and young people’s needs -

• longer term homes for children who are likely to need to stay in a children’s home until they reach an age when they are able to move on to independence with support or return to their extended family networks
• children’s homes which offer support, respite and full-time care for children with disabilities
• children's homes which care for younger children under the age of 14 years, when the plan is to support them to live in a foster placement
• children’s homes which offer support to older children aged 15 to 18 years of age. It often works with children who have spent some time out of the Hull area in specialist or commissioned agency placements to meet their needs
• children’s homes which work specifically with children on the edge of care and those families who need more respite support to continue to care for their children within their family network and community. This service works closely with the short breaks fostering service. It provides extra support to families outside of normal office hours

Children’s Rights Director for England (CRD)

The Children's Rights Director for England (CRD) is Roger Morgan. With his team, Roger spends lots of time listening to what children and young people who live away from home have to say about how they are looked after.

Children -

• living in a -
  • children's home
  • family centre
  • boarding school
  • residential special school
  • further education college
• with foster carers
• who are adopted
• getting any sort of help from social services or a care leaver

can contact Roger to find out about their rights and a way for them to be heard.

About residential care

Children's homes are there to ensure that the needs of children are met when they cannot live with their own family.

Children's homes look after children with many different needs. They are a place for children to develop and grow, providing food, shelter, and space for play and leisure in a caring environment.

When children and young people come to live in a children's home, they will have a care plan. Their care plan says -

• why the child is living there
• what is supposed to happen while they are living there
• what is supposed to happen at the end of their stay

Most children will go home afterwards but a few go to live with other families and others go to live in other homes. Older children who are not planning to return home are given help to prepare them for living on their own. This is called aftercare.

Education is important. Children go to their own school if they have a school place. Or we help to get them back into school. Some other young people may attend college, for example.

It is very important that children and young people stay in touch with their family and friends. It is only when they might be hurt or a Court Order says that contact is not allowed, that some children will not be able to visit or have visits from their family.

Children and young people are respected as individuals. By providing for their religious and cultural needs, children are encouraged to keep their sense of personal identity and community.

Eligibility for the service

Children and young people must live away from their own families for all sorts of reasons. These include -

• their parents are unwell
• they have problems with their family and need to spend some time away from home. For example, behaviour problems or educational difficulties
• they may have a disability and need a break from living with their families
• they are in the care of the local authority and are subject to a Court Order or an Interim Care Order
• generally, when children and young people need to live away from their families, they will stay with foster carers. This is unless foster care is either not possible, undesirable accommodation, or may not be what the young person chooses