Nottinghamshire County Council has confirmed the closure of Minster View children’s home in Southwell.
The decision to close the facility was approved by councillors during a meeting of the Children and Young People’s Committee.
Minster View, which looked after children and young people with severe learning disabilities and complex behaviours, was temporarily closed in November 2020 due to staffing issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the time of the temporary closure, there were five young people placed in the residential unit – four of whom were relocated to other homes in the external placements market, while the fifth was placed in another local authority-run residential home.
However, the temporary closure provided the county council with an opportunity to evaluate the suitability of the building and has concluded it is no longer fit for purpose.
• Plans revealed to permanently close Minster View children’s home
Minster View, which is a former isolation hospital and built in the 1930s as an annex to the Workhouse, has an institutional feel at odds with the homely atmosphere required for children’s full-time residence and home.
Its structure and size limits effective managerial oversight and, with a capacity of 12 bedrooms, the current building is far larger than is considered optimal for a modern-day children’s home.
And due to improvements in the support of families in the community, Minster View has been operating below capacity for some years.
Therefore, the county council intends to replace it with a smaller ‘far more welcoming’ children’s home or homes for up to four children with severe learning difficulties and complex behaviours.
Councillor Tracey Taylor, Chairman of the county council’s Children and Young People’s Committee, said: “This is a decision we haven’t taken lightly and one which has been made in the best interests of the children we look after.
“Minster View has been closed for more than 12 months because we had some staffing issues at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic which meant we couldn’t continue to care for children at those premises safely.
“We have had time to reflect on the suitability of Minster View as a home for children going forward.
“This is a huge 1930s building; it has a very institutional feel and on reflection we have become acutely aware that it really isn’t the best place to house vulnerable children and young people with very complex needs.
“We are not planning to reduce the capacity that the council has to care for these children but what we are doing is looking to do it in an environment which is far more comfortable and provides them with safety and stability and will be far more welcoming – which is the way we would want our children to be looked after.
“It has been a very difficult decision to come to today and now we are looking towards identifying a new building and a new home for the children that we will have in our care in the future.”
The majority of staff who worked at Minster View have temporarily taken up roles in other teams within the department and most within children’s residential homes.
More information about the replacement provision will be provided in a further committee report in January 2022.
