Somerset children who are currently in care placements hundreds of miles away will soon be able to be looked after much closer to home.

Somerset County Council made a pledge in June 2021 that it would open ten new children's homes by 2026 in a bid to prevent a sharp rise in costs and improve the lot of children with the most complex needs.

The council has entered into a partnership with Homes2Inspire, which will run the homes under a £70M ten-year contract, and was awarded just over £1m in May from the Department for Education (DfE) towards the purchase of these new homes, on top of a £3m commitment within the council's own capital programme.

Officers have now confirmed two homes have been purchased with a further two expected to be finalised shortly, with the first of the new facilities expected to be fully up and running in early-2023.

Daniel Moncrieff, the council's strategic manager for the project, provided an update on the progress being made when the council's children and families scrutiny committee met in Taunton on Monday afternoon (September 5).

In May 2022, there were 49 children aged 16 or under which were in residential placements – the cost of which is placing the council under significant financial strain.

The majority of these children were housed either in Somerset (27 children), Devon (five), Wiltshire (two), Dorset (one) or North Somerset (one).

However, a significant minority had to be housed many miles away from their families – including two in Lancashire, one in Cambridgeshire, one in Staffordshire and one in London.

Mr Moncrieff said in his presentation: "We need to do something different to ensure there are enough high-quality homes for our most vulnerable young people

"Costs are rising, and outcomes aren't improving. The lack of choice results in children living far away from home, family, friends and school."

The new children's homes being purchased in Somerset are designed to provide a more home-like environment, based around two to three children living with staff members who are permanently based on-site.

Mr Moncrieff confirmed: "We have exchanged contracts on two home, and offers have accepted on two further homes. The planning and building work is being prepped."

In addition to the new homes, the former Misterton Church of England Primary School near Crewkerne – which closed as part of the council's school reforms – will reopen in September 2023 to provide "therapeutic education" to up to 15 vulnerable children and young people at any one time.

Councillor Leigh Redman, who chairs the committee, welcomed the update, stating: "I was here when we closed our last children's home in Somerset, and I'm pleased to be here when we open our first new one."

Councillor Jason Baker concurred: "It's a fantastic project, and I think the therapeutic education side of it is amazing."

Councillor Andy Hadley asked whether the homes would be evenly spread out across Somerset, ensuring that children in rural areas wouldn't be housed too far from their families.

He said: "This is an excellent addition and I'm all in favour, especially since the homes are more home-like, rather than an institution.

"I hope you're having a spread across the county so children can stay in their local area?"

Mr Moncrieff responded: "We are aiming to spread these homes across the county, though we will have a cluster of two or three homes closer together.

"When we've gone out to the market to buy five-bedroom rooms, we haven't always been able to buy them where we wanted.

"What we're trying to do is set up a family home, with two or three young people and members of staff living there like parents."

The council has not divulged the precise locations of the homes which it has acquired to date due to safeguarding reasons, and is adopting the same policy for all future children's homes it delivers.

Councillor John Hunt asked to be involved with any further discussions surrounding children's homes in the Taunton area to ensure the public had the full picture and to prevent any local backlash.

He said; "We've had a couple of cases in my division where we've had homes wanting to be set up by private companies and the local push-back has been enormous.

"I've been involved in both of these heavily – we're talking dozens of people, very upset by the whole thing, clearly not seeing the wider picture. If we can be consulted, it would help us to put the right side of the argument to the public."

Mr Moncrieff responded in his presentation: "We want to invite local elected members and the immediate neighbours to the homes.

"We will speak to local leaders, including the area beat officer and PCSO, the local school headteacher, and the fire and rescue service.

"We want to explain the rationale and context of the strategic partnership – that these homes are purely for Somerset children."