Council homes 'faster and better for children'

Somerset Council has opened its eighth "family style" children's home for some of the most vulnerable children in its care.

Each one houses between two to three young people and has been designed with help from young care leavers.

Excluding set-up costs, the model has saved Somerset Council £5.2m over the past two years, as it hasn't needed to pay for more expensive placements in private or unregistered children's homes.

Heather Shearer, Somerset Council's lead member for children, said: "We're matching children together, getting them together to live in homes that feel like homes, and getting that therapeutic support in as soon as we can".

Called Homes and Horizons, the project is a partnership between Somerset Council, the charity Homes2Inspire and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

The council has spent £8m on purchasing and setting up the first eight homes, two annexes and a pod, and has £2m allocated for two further homes.

Richard is the manager of one of the new children's homes for Homes2Inspire.

He said being able to fast-track referrals to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is "a new and better way of looking after children".

"I've had it twice now where I've identified a child who needs extra support; I've picked up the phone and the next morning the child is sitting on the sofa, in our home - their safe space - talking to a clinical psychologist.

"That's nothing short of amazing. When a child is in crisis they need help now so that's fantastic."

He said a child who was in care outside the county for around a year is now so settled in one of the council's homes that he is able to have unsupported time with his friends and family.

He said another child who has had dozens of placements is now back in her home county and has been living in one of their homes for the past 18 months - the longest she's stayed anywhere in her whole care journey.

The first home opened in February 2023 and now seven are fully operational and home to 15 children who cannot manage in foster or other residential placements.

The young people may be verbally aggressive or have mental health issues or self-harming behaviours.

They are supported round-the clock by a team of staff with experience in mental health, therapy, and social work.

It is a departure from what has been the trend across the sector in the past few decades, which has seen fewer council-run residential children's homes and more reliance on private providers - which can often mean young people are sent far away from where they live.

Chloe, 21, has been in care most of her life and has been involved as a volunteer in developing the project.

She said it was important the atmosphere of the homes was right.

"When a young person comes in they want to make this their home, they want to feel safe in this house - if I can't say I would want to move in here, it's not going to work."

She said: "It's about what you get out of the house - what you learn, what you take on from the experience."

Somerset Council said excluding set up costs, the new children's homes have saved so much money because they haven't had to pay for as many external placements in private or unregistered children's homes.

But despite the new homes coming on board, Somerset Council still went £11.8m over its £45.9m budget for external placements in the past financial year (2024/25).

It said the reason was a lack of foster carers which meant it had to fund 101 external placements, 28 more than expected.

According to the council a "significant" part of the overspend was on placing children in unregistered placements, which are not overseen by Ofsted.

They are sometimes used when registered homes or foster carers refuse to accept a child into their care.

Ofsted has previously said that any home that was not registered, and therefore not inspected and rated by Ofsted, was "illegal".

As of the end of March 2025, Somerset Council had five children in unregistered children's homes - up from three the previous year - costing an average of £15,000 each per week, the equivalent of £3.9m a year in total.

Somerset Council said it plans to open a further three more children's homes over the next few years, taking the total to 11.

Ms Shearer said the scheme has won awards because the partnership and the outcomes for children has been so successful.

"We're doing the right thing for children," she added.

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.