Children's home set for axe

A successful children's home near Cannock is facing the axe due to a lack of cash at Staffordshire County Council, it has emerged.

Watling House Secure Children's Home, at Gailey, is the only facility for children with behavioural issues in the West Midlands. But the pupil referral unit has been earmarked for immediate and indefinite closure.

This is despite a successful Ofsted report - to avoid paying out a "significant investment" to keep it going.

The closure will mean paying back £2.4 million of central government grants - which would come from selling the site - and almost £400,000 could be paid out in redundancy to existing staff.

Watling House provides care for up to 12 "vulnerable" children between the ages of 11 and 17, from across the country.

But there has been a decline in referrals from other local authorities to the south Staffordshire home, which means less money is coming in to pay for staff and facilities.

Its fate will be considered at a meeting of the cabinet next Wednesday and the recommendation is to close it indefinitely.

Vulnerable children from Staffordshire and the West Midlands will then have to travel further afield for care, with councils forking out to send them to other parts of the country.

The council will also explore other options, including working in partnership with other local authorities in the region.