Designing a Secure Children's Home
Surika Carvalho, Corstorphine & Wright Architects, Associate Director & Architect

Designing a secure children’s home is not just about creating a safe building, it is about embedding security, safeguarding, therapeutic care, education and domestic life into a coherent and carefully balanced environment.Unlike a standard school or residential scheme, safety underpins every design decision. When security, trauma-informed practice, sustainability and operational understanding are integrated from the outset, architecture becomes a powerful tool in supporting recovery, resilience and transition. By sharing experience and lessons learned, we can refine the model for secure children’s homes, ensuring these highly sensitive environments truly serve both the children and the staff who rely on them.

Inclusive design for complex needs: insights from Secure Children's Homes
James Elliment, Willmott Dixon, Senior Operations Manager, Dave Clarke, Lincolnshire County Council, Service Lead of Secure Estates

Every child deserves a safe, calm and supportive environment, and Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs) sit at the extreme end of this challenge for young people with complex behavioural, neurodiverse or safeguarding needs. The new generation of SCHs offers important lessons for those who procure, design or operate education buildings. Using the Lincolnshire pathfinder as the primary case study, and insights from the West Midlands and Exeter projects, this session explores how the right spaces support safety, dignity and positive behaviour. Speakers will share learning on designing for complex needs, aligning multi‑agency requirements and creating inclusive environments where children can thrive.