Services

Safeguarding

Our commitment to safeguarding underpins everything we do.

From the moment we assess an incoming referral, right the way through to young people moving on to independence, we work in partnership with multi-agency professionals to ensure that our young people's welfare is always being promoted and they are protected from harm.

All of our staff are vetted according to Safer Recruitment standards prior to their employment.  Once with us, they undergo a robust induction, periodic enhanced DBS checks and regular training and supervision to monitor and review their practice.

Our policies and procedures are reviewed annually to ensure they align to any changes to the Working Together Guidelines and provide staff with clear guidance on our processes and protocols in the event of an allegation or other safeguarding concern.

Support

As a non-regulated service, our staff are not able to offer 'care' to our young people.

​Our role is to support them by encouraging them to plan for positive and constructive activities that will promote their independence.  Our young people are all individuals and have their own unique needs and desires.  Likewise, their support is tailored to their specific needs.

Our young people:

  • are free to come and go without the need for staff permission;

  • have full control of their own finances;

  • have control over what they wear and of the resources to buy clothes;

  • are in charge of meeting all of their health needs, including such things as arranging GP or specialist health care appointments;

  • are in full control of their medication;

  • can choose to stay away overnight; and

  • are mainly independent and don't need direct staff supervision for long periods of time.

Signposting

As well as supporting young people with basic life skills, we also help them to access and maintain education, training, and employment.  We source work experience opportunities and look at alternative education provisions if they don't want to go into mainstream colleges.

Some of our young people need support from more specialist services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, (CAMHS) substance misuse or Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) workers.  In these cases, we work with professionals to make referrals on behalf of young people if they want this support.

One of the key areas we support young people with is applying for housing benefits and registering for accommodation once they become 18.  This is one of the most crucial steps towards independence before they move on.