| AdminHistory | Shenley Fields Cottage Homes were opened on 31 August 1887 to provide separate accommodation for children who would previously have been housed in the workhouse of the Kings Norton Poor Law Union. The first report of the Shenley Fields Cottage Home Committee reported that the homes had been built 'for the purpose of furthering the desire to separate the children whose unfortunate circumstances placed them under [the Board of Guardians'] care, from contact with the adult paupers in the Workhouse and the influences attaching thereto, and of placing them under conditions much more favourable to the development of their physical and mental powers.'
Initially the site consisted of four homes, the superintendent's lodge, workshops, stabling, and school buildings. 80 children were transferred from the workhouse, but it was quickly realised that the accommodation would be too small to meet demand. In 1890 two more homes, another schoolroom, and an infirmary were added, and in 1893 a further two homes, along with extensions of the workshops, were also opened. A probationary home was built in 1902, which allowed children to be admitted directly to Shenley Fields without passing through the workhouse first. Two further homes were opened in 1905, an assembly hall was built in 1924, and a twelfth house was added in 1935.
During the period of administration by the Poor Law Union the lives of children in the Cottage Homes were heavily regulated and isolated from the outside world, and mealtimes and activities were regimented. Having a school on the premises meant that the children did not have to attend the local schools, and visits from friends and family were restricted (the Committee's first minute book states that visits from the children's parents were only allowed on one day every two months). After the responsibility for the Cottage Homes passed to Birmingham City Council in 1930, and particularly after the Children Act of 1948, policy moved towards greater integration of the Cottage Homes' residents into the community and a stronger focus on creating 'family' groups within the individual homes. The children began to attend local schools and efforts were made to encourage them to join local groups, apparently with some success. In 1949 the homes were given names instead of numbers: Ferndale, Suncrest, Rosemead, Jasmine House, Merriland, Greenways, Lilac View (later Cherry Garth), Melplash, The Trees, Ryedale, Elmdene, Bythorne, and Pinewood (which had originally been the infirmary and was later used as a home for children with disabilities).
Shenley Fields School came under the control of the local education authority in 1952, becoming a primary school used by local children, not just those in the homes.
In 1966 Shenley Fields, by now known as Shenley Fields Drive, ended its centralised administrative system under a superintendent and matron, giving each cottage autonomy and responsibility in line with the individual homes elsewhere in the city. By the mid-1960s some of the homes served different functions, with, for instance, one serving as a reception centre for children going into care, and two others being used as "short-stay" homes where children were not expected to require a place for more than six months.
By the 1980s childcare policy had shifted away from caring for children in group homes and towards an increased emphasis on foster care and closer integration into the community. Shenley Fields was by this time seen as out of date and isolated, and in 1981 the first house was closed. From then on the houses closed one at a time; some were then used as office accommodation, while Melplash and Cherry Garth moved to a new location in St Vincent's, Moseley. The final Cottage Home to close, in 1987, was Pinewood. The buildings were later demolished and replaced with new housing.
Administration
Shenley Fields Cottage Homes were originally administered by the Kings Norton Guardians of the Poor, under the supervision of the Cottage Homes Committee. The Committee were responsible for appointing and dismissing staff, monitoring the running of the homes, inspecting the homes regularly, and reporting their findings to the Board of Guardians. (See Cottage Homes Committee minutes, GP/KN/2/6.)
Following the amalgamation of the Kings Norton, Birmingham and Aston Unions in 1912, Birmingham Union became responsible for three cottage homes sites at Shenley Fields, Erdington, and Marston Green. (See Children's Committee minutes, GP/B/2/6/6; Shenley Fields Sub-Committee minutes, GP/B/2/6/9.)
The Boards of Guardians were abolished by the Local Government Act 1929, and thereafter responsibility for the cottage homes passed to Birmingham County Council. Between 1930 and 1948 the responsibility for children in care belonged to the Education Committee, which set up sub-committees for the homes under its control, including the Cottage Homes and Residential Homes Sub-Committee, within which was the Shenley Fields Homes Sectional Sub-Committee. (See Cottage Homes and Residential Homes Sub-Committee minutes including Shenley Fields Homes Sectional Sub-Committee minutes, BCC 1/BH/5/5.)
The Children Act 1948 required local authorities to establish a Children's Committee and Children's Officer, and responsibility for children in care was passed to them. The Homes Sub-Committee was set up to oversee residential care, including the cottage homes. (See Homes Sub-Committee, later Homes and Nurseries Sub-Committee, later Homes Sub-Committee, later Homes and Hostels Sub-Committee, later Homes Sub-Committee minutes, BCC 1/CT/3.)
The Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 amalgamated councils' social work services, and responsibility for children's homes passed to the Social Services Committee and its Residential Homes Sub-Committee. (See Social Services Committee minutes, BCC 1/DJ/1; Residential Homes Sub-Committee minutes, BCC 1/DJ/4. After 1974, see the public Social Services Committee minutes in the Local Studies section.) |