Doors open to new Fife children's home

A new residential care home for children has opened in Cupar more than 200 years after the charity behind it was founded.

Tarvit Cottage, in Pitscottie Road, is the newest facility to be opened by Carolina House Trust, established in 1815 to care for vulnerable children in and around Dundee.

And the homely surroundings of Tarvit Cottage are in stark contrast to the original home, then known as the Dundee Orphan Institute.

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The official opening of the cottage was carried out by Les Lumb, a previous resident of Carolina Trust’s purpose-built property in Broughty Ferry Road, Dundee, which closed in 1983.

He said: “Tarvit Cottage is very impressive. The home in Broughty Ferry Road was good, we were looked after, safe and well fed.

“Tarvit Cottage feels homelier, less regimented and more relaxed”.

Tarvit Cottage is a five-bedroom property that provides accommodation for three young people.

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It also has living and dining areas along with indoor and outdoor creative spaces for the young people and staff.

The home aims to provide a stable, nurturing and homely environment which will meet the needs of a wide range of young people.

House leader Gary Moore explained: “Tarvit Cottage is a family home and the young people are part of our family.

“For some this may be for a short period, others will grow with us into adulthood.

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“The staff work closely with the young people, local authorities and significant others to create unique, person-centred packages of support to help them to move positively into independent living”.

The first residents of the original orphanage – in Paradise Road, Dundee – were nine boys and 12 girls.

As demands for refuge for young orphans grew, the orphanage relocated to Small Wynd before eventually moving to Broughty Ferry Road in September 1870.

From May 1970, in line with Government legislation, all children admitted to residential accommodation became the responsibility of the local authority.

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A greater emphasis was placed on providing smaller, less institutional residential units for children, which led in turn to the home’s closure.

Since then, the charity has continued to provide care and support to young people within a range of services which include foster care, supported accommodation and supported lodgings.

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