In brief: Improvements to Greenfields secure children’s home are on track for completion by the end of 2026, more than six years after inspectors called for the “prison-like” building to be demolished. Work began last year and includes replacing doors and windows, with the facility continuing to operate throughout the refurbishment.
A Long Time Coming
It has taken the best part of a decade, but the Government of Jersey says the long-overdue improvements to Greenfields secure children’s home are finally within sight of the finish line. The Children, Young People, Education and Skills Department (CYPES) has confirmed that work remains on schedule for completion before the year is out, the Jersey Evening Post reports.
The improvements, which include replacing doors and windows, were described by Children’s Minister Richard Vibert as “critical”. CYPES added that the work had been “carefully phased” to allow Greenfields to continue operating safely throughout the construction period, which is no small logistical feat given that the facility houses some of Jersey’s most vulnerable young people.
Originally built as a youth detention facility, Greenfields was later repurposed as a secure children’s home. During the pandemic, it also took in children experiencing mental-health crises, stretching a building that was already struggling to meet modern standards.
Years of Criticism
The criticism of Greenfields is not new, and it has not been gentle. A 2020 report by the Independent Children’s Homes Association described its bedrooms as “cell-like” and characterised the way the centre used its resources as “chaotic”. Inspectors at the time said the “prison-like” building should be demolished outright.
Improvements to the surrounding environment followed, but inspections by the Jersey Care Commission the following year identified further shortcomings in care. Among the most serious findings was that staff were being “placed at risk” because they were unable to adequately deal with threats of violence. That is not a minor administrative quibble; it speaks to a facility that was, for a period, failing both the young people in its care and the professionals working there.
The fact that it has taken until 2026 to reach the completion of what are described as critical improvements to doors and windows will raise eyebrows. Six years is a long time in the life of a vulnerable child.
The Bigger Picture: “Loving Homes”
Funding for the current work was earmarked in the last Budget under the Government’s “Loving Homes” strategy, which CYPES describes as part of “a wider whole-system change intended to significantly expand and modernise Jersey’s residential care capacity”. The strategy also includes creating new residential homes and supported accommodation for young people.
In the longer term, other buildings on the Greenfields campus are to be repurposed to provide emergency accommodation. A CYPES spokesperson said: “The wider programme of improvement aims to create a more sustainable residential care system by expanding and modernising care provision and strengthening early intervention and family support services.”
Whether the ambitions of the “Loving Homes” strategy translate into timely, well-managed delivery is a question Jersey taxpayers will be watching closely. The track record at Greenfields, where problems were identified in 2020 and basic physical improvements are only now reaching completion, does not inspire unbridled confidence in the pace of change.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
