Tracey Taylor, chairman of children and young people's committee at Nottinghamshire County Council offers Minster View closure reasoning

Last week, myself and children and young people’s committee colleagues agreed to permanently close the Minster View children’s home in Southwell.

It isn’t a decision we’ve taken lightly but one we believe is in the best interests of children, both those who lived at Minster View before it temporarily closed in November 2020 and those with similar needs who will need our future support.

I must stress, it is not about money.

Minster View, as a facility for a residential children’s home, is simply too large, has an institutionalised feel and limits the ability to deliver the quality of care we want to provide our children.

Before its temporary closure, five young people were living at Minster View. Four were relocated to private homes and one in another council-run home.

Now, we will be moving forward to identify other premises to provide a home or homes for up to four children with severe learning disabilities and very complex behaviours.

When Minster View originally closed on a genuine temporary basis, it was because we simply couldn’t safely staff it due to the pandemic.

However, the last few months have enabled us to evaluate the suitability of the building and we’ve concluded Minster View — built in the 1930s — is no longer a place we would like the children to call home.

Despite its closure, we do have an ever-increasing number of locally-based residential home provision at our disposal.

In the last year, the council established two new homes and is progressing the purchase of another as part of the first phase.

These three two-bedroom homes are designed to accommodate young people who might require more complex care than, for example, is catered for by our existing mainstream children’s homes.

One has been open a year and was recently inspected by Ofsted and found to be good in all areas. The second is due to open this month and, if all goes to plan, the third home should be operational by next summer.

We recognise that for the small number of children with severe learning difficulties, it’s better we have our own provision for them. So, we want to find a new home that caters for young people with very particular needs and make that into a much smaller and suitable home.

What we want is children to feel at home where they live. Therefore, the best thing we can do for the future care of children is not to put them in Minster View.