New Residential Care Home For Disabled Children In Brighton

Monday, 25 November 2024 11:24

By Dominic Kureen @WriteOnDom

Brighton & Hove City Council are developing a new residential home for disabled children and young people in the city.

The home will be created by converting a vacated wing of Ireland Lodge, a 24-bed dementia specialist care home in Woodingdean.

The new facility, Rainbow Lodge, will be separated from Ireland Lodge and is due to open in spring 2025.

The home will provide full-time care for up to 5 children with complex needs and will sit alongside Ireland Lodge’s existing residential service for people with dementia.

Creating this new service will allow the council to improve its residential care offer within Brighton & Hove, keeping children close to their friends and families and enabling them to attend our Ofsted rated Outstanding special schools.

Rainbow Lodge will be managed in-house by council staff to provide a safe, comfortable, homely and stimulating environment for disabled children and young people, enabling them to lead positive and fulfilling lives in a setting that best meets their needs.

Building work, which is planned to begin in December, is scheduled to take around 3 months to complete.

The council says the work required should not impact nearby residents, but has apologised for any disruption caused during the development of the new facility.

Councillor Emma Daniel, Cabinet member for Children, Families and Youth Services, said:

“One of our key missions for children and young people is to ensure that they are cared for and educated in their home city. To do this, we need to have adequate provision to support their needs.

“Rainbow Lodge is going to provide a truly amazing new home for disabled children that families will be able to access much more easily to spend time together.

“We thank nearby residents in Woodingdean for their patience and understanding during the required building work, which is scheduled to begin next month.”