Barnardos to open children’s home in the Inverness area

Highland Council is linking with charity Barnardos Scotland to open a children’s home in the Inverness area that will stop youngsters having to be “farmed out” to other local authorities.

The move, which will involve children who have had difficulties in their lives, will save Highland Council thousands of pounds and mean the children will be cared for nearer their home areas and families.

Barnardos is currently looking at two properties on the outskirts of the city with a view to leasing one of them and adapting it to accommodate about five children, in a project called Northern Lights.

It currently can cost more than £2million to send five children to the care of another local authority with specialist centres, whereas, with Northern Lights, it would cost £1.465million, saving the council about £750,000 a year.

It costs between £2,700 and £4,600 per week to send children outwith the area.

As well as the financial benefits, Bill Alexander, Highland Council’s head of children’s services said that, when children are placed in specialist provision outwith Highland area, the links with their home communities and networks are inevitably fractured, and they often find it difficult to re-establish relationships and networks when these placements come to an end.

He added: “In addition, there are obvious challenges for social work, health and education staff in sustaining close and effective support for young people when they are placed at a considerable distance. This also makes planning for the return more difficult, and sometimes it takes longer than it might as a direct consequence of this.

“These various factors impact on many of the young people and their communities when they do eventually return. Unless young people can be reintegrated back with their families, or supported in more independent settings, with prospects of ongoing education or learning, there is a strong likelihood of offending and other problematic behaviours.”

Jim Wallace, assistant director of Barnardos Scotland, said they were awaiting a letter from the council asking them to proceed and lease a building.

He said Highland Council was the first local authority to collaborate with them in helping these children, but other authorities who also send children into care outside their area were also looking at setting up similar schemes.

“The idea of Northern Lights is to bring these children back and provide a locally-based service.”