Secure children’s home

What is a secure children’s home?

A secure children’s home is sometimes known as ‘secure accommodation.’ Or as a ‘secure unit’.

A secure children’s home is a type of residential home that can be used where a child is:

• Looked after in the care system, and
• Needs to be deprived of their liberty to keep them safe.

The child may be looked after in the care system under a court order. Or under a voluntary arrangement.

Why may a child need to be cared for in a secure children’s home?

This may be because the child:

• Poses a risk to themselves, or
• Is a risk to others.

There are different ways children’s services can arrange for child to be cared for in a secure children’s home. It will depend on the precise situation:

Who runs secure children’s homes?

Secure children’s homes may be run by local councils. Some are run by voluntary organisations. And some secure children’s homes are run by private firms.

Children remanded or sentenced to custody by a criminal courts

A secure children’s home is also a type of youth detention accommodation. There may be reasons why a secure children’s home is the appropriate type for a child to be in. For example, because of the child’s young age. Or because their needs can be better met in a secure children’s home.