In 1930, following the abolition of the Sheffield and Ecclesall Bierlow Poor Law Unions, the Sheffield Corporation took over responsibility for the administration of poor relief in the city. This included the children's homes previously run by the two unions, which now came under the management of the council's new Public Assistance Committee.

The homes initially operated by the council are listed below.

Former Fulwood Cottage Homes, 2006. © Peter Higginbotham

"Scattered homes at 71-73 Scott Road, c.1903. © Peter Higginbotham

By the start of the Second World War, all the scattered homes had closed and children were no longer being housed at the Smilter Lane site. The Fulwood cottage homes provided the bulk of the council's children's accommodation, supplemented by Thornseat (or Thornsett) Lodge, a remotely situated house near Bradfield, at the edge of the Peak District.

Thornseat Lodge, Higher Bradfield, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham

Following the passing of the 1948 Children Act, councils were required to provide care services for all needy children in their area, especially those who lacked a normal family home. In common with other local authorities, the council established a new Children's Committee, whose responsibilities had previously been spread across separate Health, Education and Social Welfare Committees. As well as the Fulwood cottage homes (by then renamed Blackbrook Mount) and Thornseat Lodge, the new Children's Department also became responsible for the Boys' Remand Home at Shirecliffe Lane, the Girls' Remand Home at 'The Dene', 104 Upperthorpe, a residential nursery at Moss Limb Lane, Dore, and a Reception Centre at 23 Broomgrove Road.

By 1956, new homes had been established at 99 Halifax Road, Grenoside, and 94 Stradbroke Drive, Sheffield. In 1959, a further home had been opened at 35 Broomgrove Road.

The conversion of Blackbrook Mount to the Moorside Approved School for Girls in 1960 was accompanied by the opening of around a dozen new small homes around the city. These were located at:

172-174 Reney Avenue, Sheffield, 2014. © Peter Higginbotham

In the 1960s, a number of changes took place in the other types of accommodation run by the Children's Department. By 1964, a Mother and Baby Home was opened at 19-21 Hucklow Road, Sheffield. 'The Dene', at 104 Upperthorpe, became a boys' hostel. A girls' hostel was opened at 35 Broomgrove Road, later moving to 'Barncliffe', on Redmires Road. A mixed hostel was opened at Eastcliffe Lodge, on East Bank Road. The former nursery on Moss Limb Lane became a second Reception Centre, known as Rye Croft Glen. A Children's Centre was established at Todwick Grange, Sheffield Road Aston.

Sheffield was relatively unaffected by the local government reorganisation that took place in 1974, although the council did take over the home at 230 Lane End, Chapeltown, previously run by the West Riding County Council. Its provision for children and young people continued to expand, with its accommodation stock in 1977 listed below:

By 1983, a number of closures had taken place including 33 Blackstock Road, 6 Broomhall Road, 5 Richmond Park Close, 46 Richmond Park Drive and Thornseat Lodge. Provision for mentally handicapped children had expanded, however, with additional homes: Rushey Meadow on Bannererdale Road and Stratford House on Guildford View.