No redundancies as Notts children’s home closes to make way for new provision

Minster View, Southwell, has been closed by Nottinghamshire County Council. (Picture: Google)

By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter


Staff who worked at a care home which will not reopen will not be made redundant, a council has confirmed.

Children with learning disabilities were moved out of Minster View in November 2020 due to an “emerging picture of lacking best practice” at the home.

In December 2021, it was agreed the facility in Southwell would close for good due to its “institutional feel”.

Nottinghamshire County Council has confirmed there will be no redundancies as part of the permanent closure – as many staff who worked at Minster View had already temporarily taken up roles within the department.

On January 17, the Children and Young People’s Committee will be asked to approve the disestablishment of a number of jobs from Minster View.

If approved, from April 30 2022, five managers, 21 residential social care workers, six residential care workers, cooks, domestic assistants, and a laundry assistant will be “disestablished”.

Council papers state that the closure of Minster View and the disestablishment of the roles leave £1,685,000 a year for reinvestment.

The funds will be used in part to purchase four more two-bed children’s homes – one of which will be at Hagg Farm Cottage, near Ilkeston.

A committee will also be asked to approve 44 new roles for West View Children’s Home and two new two-bedded children’s homes in the county.

West View Children’s Home in Mansfield has been earmarked as suitable for replacing Minster View as a four-bedroom home by April 2022.

The current provision at West View will then be replaced with two smaller homes for children with histories of experiencing trauma.

West View will then be used to “mirror that of the former Minster View home taking children with a learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder and additional complex behaviour”.

Any vacant posts which are not filled by former Minster View staff will be recruited externally.

Around £1.4m will also go towards staffing and running costs for the two new
two-bedded children’s homes – one has been purchased and a second has been “identified”.

Both homes are expected to be run by not-for profit company ‘Homes2Inspire’.

Councillor Tracey Taylor, chair of the Children and Young People’s Committee, said: “The closure of Minster View will allow us to look at reinvesting those savings into delivering a residential estate which will provide suitable accommodation to house children and young people, some of whom have complex needs and require the best possible care.

“What we want is our children to feel at home where they live and having a portfolio of two-bedroom homes, which are fit for purpose, will help us to achieve that vision.”

Plans for children’s homes in Nottinghamshire

West View, Mansfield – It is proposed that the four-bedroom home mirrors that of the former Minster View home taking children with a learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder and additional complex behaviours

New Home 1 – Purchased and will be run by Homes2Inspire. It will ‘open imminently’

New Home 2 – Property identified and under offer. Upon opening,
this home will be run by Homes2Inspire

New Homes 3 & 4 – Two smaller homes proposed to replace the current Statement of Purpose of West View

New Home 5 – Proposed to be Hagg Farm Cottage

New Home 6 – Location and operating model to be decided

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