Update : Redwood House - further information & inconsistencies

I received further documentation relating to Redwood House Children’s Home, provided by the Trust.

 

 

 

 

• The documentation confirms that an application was made to register Redwood House as a children’s home with up to three places.

 

• It also confirms that the registration was approved with a condition due to staffing arrangements, limiting the service to one place, three nights per week.

 

• Any increase in capacity will require the Trust to demonstrate that appropriate staffing arrangements are in place.

 

 

 

 

In addition to a review, through Freedom of Information, I have received confirmation that:

 

• The annual lease cost for Redwood House is £51,000 per year.

 

 

 

 

The above reflects documentation and FOI responses provided by the Trust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redwood House – Recap (Previous FOI Information)

 

 

 

As previously outlined, the Trust confirmed the following in response to an FOI:

 

“Barnardo’s had put Redwood to a high fire safety standard and, on initial viewing, it did seem very robust. Alongside the staffing model proposed (2 staff, one waking night and one sleep-in), it looked like it would meet the HTM 84 requirements.”

 

“On closer inspection by the Trust, it became clear that having children sleeping upstairs without a second staircase was not feasible unless each child had an individual waking night member of staff assigned to them, which was not financially viable.”

 

“The Trust then negotiated with Barnardo’s the terms of the potential lease to have a small two-bedded medium to long-term Children’s home.”

 

Also,

 

Q4. Copies of any board papers, business cases, reports, or meeting minutes where the decision was taken to change Redwood House from a short breaks/respite facility to a children’s home.

 

A4. Redwood House was initially identified by the Trust as a potential Home which could have delivered Short Breaks. However, through discussion with the Trust Estates Department, Redwood House was ruled out as a Short Breaks Home as it did not comply with the build and design requirements governed by the Northern Ireland Fire Health Technical Memorandum 84 (2010). There were a number of ongoing discussions between Children’s Services and the Estates Department which informed the conclusion that Redwood House would not have been appropriate as a Short Breaks Home, primarily because the property spanned over two floors with only one means of fire escape from the first floor. There are no copies of board papers, business cases, reports, or meeting minutes which reflected the decision-making process as the matter was not subject to Trust Board scrutiny, or captured in a business case.

 

 

 

 

This raises the question of how the service can operate as a three-place residential children’s home, given the previously stated safety considerations in relation to short breaks provision.

 

 

 

 

The Trust has also referenced value for money in relation to the change in service model, while also confirming that no financial or staffing assessments were carried out.

 

Q6. Any financial or staffing assessments that compared the projected costs of operating Redwood House as a short breaks service versus as a children’s home.

 

A6. The Trust did not carry out financial or staffing assessments that compared the projected costs of operating Redwood House as a short breaks service versus as a children’s home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenhill – Capacity (Recap)

 

 

 

Information provided in a meeting on 31 March 2026 stated that:

 

• A proposed 4-bed model at Greenhill would not proceed until the service was operating efficiently at two beds, 7 nights per week

 

 

 

 

This raises the question of why Greenhill is currently operating at one bed, six nights per week, despite previously operating at two beds across three nights per week with fewer staff.

 

JH