Three solo placement residential children’s homes to open in Bury St Edmunds and Lowestoft to be run by charity Break

Three solo placement residential children’s homes are to open in Suffolk – as the county grapples with a dearth of placements and soaring costs.

Suffolk County Council has announced that charity Break, which supports children and young people in care, has been awarded a tender to launch the homes.

The homes, two of which will be in the Bury St Edmunds area and one in Lowestoft, will provide specialised care for children and young people who require additional support.

It follows a SuffolkNews investigation which found that more than £17 million was spent on residential care placements for children in Suffolk last year up to November - nearly double the amount compared with the previous two years.

Hundreds of placements were out of county - with one in the USA between 2019 and 2022.

The authority said Suffolk was struggling with a dearth of placements for children in care and grappling with soaring costs for provision.

On the new homes, a council spokesman said that by expanding local resources, it aimed to ensure that children and young people received tailored support they require within their communities and reduce expenditure on costly out of county placements.

Councillor James Reeder, cabinet member for children’s and young people services, said: “We are thrilled to be working alongside Break on this important initiative.

“Break has a proven track record of providing exceptional care and support to children and young people.

“Together, we are dedicated to enhancing the lives of children and young people in care in Suffolk."

Rachel Cowdry, CEO from Break, said she was excited about expanding its services into Suffolk as they knew how important it was for young people who needed support to stay close to their local community.

“As a charity which has been working with care experienced young people for over 50 years, we are very well established in running children’s homes,” she said.

“We work through a trauma informed lens and our new homes will create safe and loving spaces for young people who are facing extremely difficult life challenges and will provide them with what they need to thrive.”

The charity is awaiting Ofsted registration and building completions.

Opening dates will be published in due course.