There are currently 14 Secure Children’s Homes across England and Wales providing placements for vulnerable young people aged 10 to 18. These homes deliver highly tailored care in environments that prioritise safety, wellbeing and therapeutic intervention, ensuring that each young person’s social, educational and health needs are met. Placements are made directly from the courts, either through the Youth Custody Service or via the welfare route.
The Lincolnshire Secure Children’s Home—Millennium Lodge—is a pathfinder scheme designed to set a new benchmark for innovative and therapeutic secure accommodation. Its concept has been shaped through extensive engagement with exemplar Secure Children’s Homes, education providers, operational staff, visiting professionals, stakeholders and, critically, young people themselves. Through structured client engagement and specialist collaboration sessions, we identified the principles required to create an environment that normalises access to education, healthcare and therapeutic support within a homely, nurturing setting. These principles underpin the ambition to improve rehabilitative outcomes and support future employability and life prospects.
The design narrative is anchored in the ethos of exploration and possibility: “Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Recovery is understood as a journey, not a fixed destination. This idea threads through the building’s identity—from the name Millennium Lodge to the wayfinding strategy that celebrates curiosity and progression. Each residential house carries its own identity—Pioneer, Opportunity, Discovery, Atlantis and Explorer—while the Health Hub and educational zones similarly reflect themes of discovery and varied learning pathways.
In delivering this vision, the project team has worked collaboratively with end users and the contractor team to push the boundaries of product specification, identifying solutions that achieve high levels of safety and security without compromising the homely, therapeutic character of the interior environment. This collective problem-solving culture has enabled innovation in materials, finishes and spatial planning that directly enhances young people’s experience.
Integration with the surrounding landscape has been central to the design approach. The building sits within a natural setting that supports clear separation between public and secure areas while maintaining a calm, restorative character. Staff breakout areas and walking routes weave through green zones that encompass sustainable drainage systems, offer opportunities to decompress in nature. External spaces have been designed to meet differing therapeutic, social and educational needs—from social courtyards associated with residential houses and communal social areas, to outdoor learning and sports areas adjacent to education spaces, through to sensory gardens and quiet intervention zones linked to the Health Hub. Each space fosters a strong connection to the outdoors, supporting wellbeing, safety and emotional regulation.
Sustainability and energy efficiency are embedded throughout the design. A fabric first approach maximises thermal performance to reduce energy demand, while a combination of circa 4,000 m² of photovoltaics with battery storage enables the building to operate offgrid when required. Airsource heat pumps and low energy electrical systems further support a highly efficient, low carbon solution that aligns with the Department for Education’s Net Zero in Operation requirements.
