A WELL-KNOWN children's home in Leeds that can provide care for up to six young people is to close.
Senior councillors have agreed that Iveson Approach in Cookridge, which cares for five youngsters aged between 11 and 17, can be shut.
The decision is part of new council plans to move away from group care for children and young people with the mo
st complex needs in favour individual specialised placements.
A report to the council's executive board said the home had received two consecutive unsatisfactory reports from Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) inspectors.
It said one of the youngsters was due to leave care, two wished to remain in residential care and two would be found new placements. Staff will be redeployed to vacancies in other homes.
The closure is expected to save the council £175,000 which will be used to support foster carers and buy placements from independent fostering agencies.
Coun Stuart Golton, executive councillor for children's services, said the council's new placements policy put the needs of children firmly at the top of the agenda.
He said: "We already have a good range of services for our looked after children in Leeds and these plans will ensure the range of placements available is even more flexible and targets the specific needs of the individual children.
"Although we can never replace a child's own parent, we have a responsibility as corporate parents to ensure that every effort is made to improve the life chances of our looked after children.
"We will do everything we can to bring them up in safe, happy homes, leading healthy lives in placements which are appropriate for them individually."
The full article contains 285 words and appears in EP Leeds First & County newspaper.
