Our young people are adolescents boys who have experienced early years trauma, and who consequently manifest complex emotional, psychological and behavioural difficulties, usually targeted at other vulnerable children. They will often hold attitudes and beliefs that reinforce their behaviour and will exist on a continuum of vulnerability and risk.
We recognise fully, the need to create a sense of belonging within a residential and educational environment that values the power of relationship, of boundaries and of nurture so as to underpin the therapeutic journey that our young people must travel.
Our team is comprised of highly trained and experienced residential, therapeutic and educational practitioners, working together to provide an integrated and diverse programme of assessment and intervention designed to promote and enable the development of pro-social attitudes and behaviours, interpersonal and independence skills and other attributes key to maturation and life quality.
Our resources include two residential Homes, located within a strong and thriving urban community and a school, which is in walking and cycling distance of the Homes. A number of our young people also attend College and vocational training within the locality. We also have a number of flats, which are incorporated into our Aftercare Service, and also offer an opportunity for independence training for young people transitioning from our homes.
Our work is undertaken within the context of a deeply shared belief in the possibility of change through relationship and the need to underpin the therapeutic task by creating a sense that our young people are valued and are valuable. Our young people are helped to feel safe themselves, in order to be able to begin the work entailed in reconfiguring the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that have led them to our door.
Our model of intervention centres on the G.E.T. I.T. framework, which is a contemporary, research led approach designed to ensure that treatment plans are continually relevant to the young person's individual needs and development:
The G.E.T. I.T Approach
G stands for the Good Lives Model
E stands for Evaluation of Risk
T stands for the Thrive model of integrated, multi-departmental support and intervention
IT stands for Integrated Treatment
Working closely with Social Workers and other key Agencies we offer each of our young people an Individual Programme bespoke to their changing needs. The Programme includes:
- Individual and Group Therapy
- Educational and Vocational opportunities
- An exciting and varied programme of activities including holidays and Challenges
- Bespoke independence and interdependence programme
- Support with family contact and reconciliation
- Aftercare Services
Our Safeguarding Process is a cohesive, robust and inclusive tool that provides a foundation for all our endeavours to keep vulnerable individuals, particularly children safe from harm. Centred on weekly, multi-disciplinary, multi-agency Case Discussion/Safeguarding Meetings, this process is owned by all members of our team, and by our young people.
Reinforced by monthly training events, incorporating support from agencies such as Kidscape, and through Supervision and comprehensive systems of communication, we work with our young people to develop incremental Mobility Plans designed to offer opportunities for social inclusion within a strenuously monitored framework of assessment, reflection and evaluation.