Children with disabilities in Suffolk could benefit from a residential care home catering specifically for them.

Councillors will decide tomorrow whether to build a residential care home for children and young people with disabilities at the Felixstowe Ferry Centre building in Felixstowe.

The home would be used for shared care as well as residential care; shared care is when the young person spends a portion of time living with parents or carers and the rest at the home.

Felixstowe Ferry Centre (Picture: SCC)

Just three of the ten residential children's home providers in Suffolk can care for disabled children – two of which are privately-owned and one that is commissioned by the county council.

According to the officer's report, there are seven children with severe and profound needs living at residential homes outside the county.

There are approximately 68 children in residential placements in Suffolk, with 25 more waiting for either full time or shared care placements.

The Felixstowe Ferry Centre to be replaced in the plans is on council-owned land off Ferry Road. It is used for short breaks for disabled children, which is expected to continue on the new site.

The proposed cost of construction is £2 million, which would be funded through borrowing.

A speculative bid for match funding towards this project through the Department for Education's capital bid fund was turned down but the council plans to bid again.

A design and planning application will need to be drawn up if the cabinet approves the recommendation; the target for the site opening is Spring 2024.

The decision will be made at a meeting of Suffolk County Council's cabinet tomorrow, and the officer's report recommends approval.

A Lowestoft school for children with special educational needs was rated inadequate in all areas by Ofsted last month, with criticism directed at teachers' frequent use of physical restraint on children with very complex needs.