Member News from St Christopher's: New children’s home shaped by young voices opens in Croydon

​Croydon Council has opened a new children’s home in partnership with St Christopher’s Fellowship, a charity that helps create brighter futures for children and young people in care.

The Council’s Children in Care Youth Ambassadors have been involved throughout the project, from co-producing plans and helping to choose the service provider, right through to influencing the look and feel of the home.

Across the UK, and particularly in London, there is a critical shortage of high-quality, affordable residential homes for children. To address this, the Council secured government funding from the Department for Education to convert an existing property into a children’s home, which will relieve pressure on budgets.

This new home will increase capacity for children with complex needs, making sure children in Croydon have the best possible chances. This supports Executive Mayor Jason Perry’s priority to make sure Croydon’s young people have opportunities to thrive.

The home will mainly provide short to medium-term support for children and aims to focus on helping children return to family life or move into local foster care, working closely with families and professionals to avoid long-term stays in care. It is part of a wider effort to keep children connected to their communities and support them close to home.

St Christopher’s provides children’s homes across London and various regional services including a significant fostering footprint, so that young people in care can maintain vital links to their community, instead of being moved to unfamiliar cities and towns. Many children are unhappy living away from family, friends and can have better outcomes when placed closer to home.

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