Who can apply

Find out if you are eligible to apply, a list of children's homes and definitions of abuse relevant to the scheme.

Who can apply?

A support payment will be made to those who:

  • were placed in a Islington Council owned children's home by the council,
  • between 1966 and 1995,
  • suffered qualifying abuse during the placement.

Unfortunately, an application cannot be made in respect of a survivor who is sadly deceased.

Children’s homes

The list of homes which the scheme relates:

Islington

  • 17 Ardilaun Road, Highbury N5
  • 14 Conewood Street/Park Place N5
  • 1 and 3 Elwood Street, Highbury N5
  • 114 Grosvenor Avenue, Highbury N5
  • 71 Hemingford Road, Islington N1
  • 11/12 Highbury Crescent, Highbury N5
  • 18-20 Highbury Grove, Highbury
  • 29 Highbury New Park, Highbury N5
  • 80 Highbury New Park N5
  • 75A Mildmay Park, Islington N1
  • 26/28 Northampton Park, Islington N1
  • 11 Sheringham Road, Islington, N7

Greater London (outside Islington)

  • Ashbrooke, 103 Park Avenue, Enfield EN1
  • 36 Ashley Road, Crouch End N19
  • Colgrain, 1 Dukes Avenue, Muswell Hill N10
  • Copthorne, 16- 18 Village Road, Enfield EN1
  • Holmleigh, 35 -37 Solna Road, Winchmore Hill N21
  • Oak Lodge Children's Home, 32 Alexandra Road, Wood Green N8
  • 13 Torrington Park, North Finchley N12

Essex

  • 2 Collins Meadow, Hare Street, Harlow CM19
  • 158 Collins Meadow, Hare Street, Harlow CM19
  • Gorsefield Nursery, Stansted
  • 60 Hare Street Springs, Hare Street, Harlow CM19
  • 342 Northbrooks, Hare Street, Harlow CM19
  • 13 Northbrooks, Hare Street, Harlow CM19
  • 56 Ryecroft, Hare Street, Harlow CM19

Hertfordshire

  • 36 Angle Ways, Leaves Spring, Stevenage SG2
  • Dixton, Hadley, Hertfordshire Common, Barnet EN5
  • Gisburne House Children’s Home, Gammons Lane, Watford WD24
  • 66 Hydean Way, Leaves Spring, Stevenage SG2
  • New Park House, 1 Hanyards Lane, Cuffley EN6
  • 26 Pear Tree Way, Leaves Spring, Stevenage SG2
  • 39 Pear Tree Way, Leaves Spring, Stevenage SG2
  • 17 The Muntings, Leaves Spring, Stevenage SG2
  • 28 The Muntings, Leaves Spring, Stevenage SG2
  • Residential Nursery, Widbury House, Ware SG12

Qualifying abuse

Sexual, physical, emotional abuse and/or neglect committed by, or aided, abetted, counselled or deliberately procured by:

  • a person who was at the time employed by Islington Council,
  • a person who was providing childcare services to children on behalf of Islington Council on a voluntary basis,
  • a visitor introduced into the council's children’s home/s and/or to the applicant by a person who was employed by, or provided childcare services on behalf of, Islington Council. This includes abuse outside or away from the council's children’s home/s, as well as peer on peer abuse, racial abuse, the separation of siblings, and use of restraint techniques such as ‘pindown’ where this falls within the scheme definitions.

Applicable definitions: 

Emotional abuse

The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capability, as well as over-protection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (including cyber bullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

Neglect

The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

  • provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
  • protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
  • ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers)
  • ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Physical abuse

A form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

Sexual abuse

Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

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