We aim to provide a truly holistic experience to the transition from being looked after or a vulnerable young person to independence. The government has identified 5 core outcomes that all children and young people need in the ECM initiative, we believe that we can assist in achieving these important expectations as a minimum but also offer a host of other services we feel are paramount to fostering a firm foundation in life.
- Each young person upon admission will be provided with an introduction booklet which has been designed with the help of residents to give information, advice and a welcome to life at ABC and publishes a range of information booklets for Looked After Children which will be discussed with the young person upon admission.
- Each young person will have a personal care plan, which reflects an analysis of general and specific needs, and this will be regularly reviewed and updated.
- We ensure that young people are included in decisions about their lives. Regular children’s meetings are held to empower children to contribute to the happy atmosphere of the home.
- Young people at ABC will be encouraged and supported to take a full part in community life. They are supported to continue with or take part in suitable activities or hobbies. Family members and significant others will be welcomed to maintain regular contact, as well as to be supported to address difficulties within a systemic approach in order that the best outcomes for both child and their family can be achieved.
- Staff are committed to providing an environment within the unit, which facilitates the young person’s growth, maturation, self-respect and personal dignity. The young people contributed to the production of an anti-bullying policy that the unit is committed to subscribing to.
- Young people at ABC will be treated in such a way that ensures their culture, religion, ethnicity and gender are valued.
- Staff will access other professional networks where available and appropriate in order to meet the child’s needs as comprehensively as possible. These include Social Workers, the young person’s school and the Looked After Children Education Team, representatives of the Health Service and the LAC Health Visitor, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, and the Youth Offending Team
- Arrangements Made to Protect and Promote the Health of the Children Accommodated at ABC.
Being Healthy
We have a multi-disciplinary staff team and Consultants available to offer medical & sexual health advice by a Registered Midwife and a Health Visitor. We are able to provide a weekly drop-in clinic where young people can talk in confidence about all aspects of their health. Staff are also competent and skilled to identify and respond to early indicators of mental health issues such as self neglect, depression and self-harm.
Enjoy and Achieve
We work with young people in choices that they have made, whether it be the desire to continue in education or develop basic literacy and numeracy skills. We can offer advice or support via our On-line educational programme with a DfES qualified teachers. If it is the desire is for employment or to obtain some experience in a particular field, we have access to a number of local businesses who are able to assist. If it is a wish to develop or continue a hobby or leisure activity we are also small enough to support a young person to reach their full potential.
Enjoy and Achieve
We work with young people in choices that they have made, whether it be the desire to continue in education or develop basic literacy and numeracy skills. We can offer advice or support via our On-line educational programme with a DfES qualified teachers. If it is the desire is for employment or to obtain some experience in a particular field, we have access to a number of local businesses who are able to assist. If it is a wish to develop or continue a hobby or leisure activity we are also small enough to support a young person to reach their full potential.
We nevertheless expect Young People to be in either education, training or employment within 6 weeks of the start of the placement
Where English is not a Young Person’s first language, there is help and support available for Young People to learn English as their additional language by liaising with local colleagues.
Above Beyond Care has strategies in place to encourage Young People to try harder in fulfiing their potential, and therefore recognises and celebrates Young people’s achievements annually.
Enjoy economic well being
As soon as a young person is placed in our care, we immediately begin to prepare them for the task of living the full and independent lives that is their right. We have translated our successful work with our foster carers into workshop sessions in Preparation for Independence. The workshop sessions runs regularly giving the young people experiential learning and guidance in the following areas; registering for utility services, managing personal banking, shopping and cooking on a budget, bidding for LA properties, paying rent and council tax.
Stay safe
Our houses offer an excellent view on all aspects of a healthy home life. The homes are small enough to provide young people with positive social and emotional learning experiences so they can feel they belong. Each young person will have a mentor (a Support Worker for continuity if applicable) available to them for a minimum of 5 hours per week (more hours are available on request), to address their individual support needs.
Employability
Above Beyond Care will work collaboratively with a range of partners that will include, employers, training providers, colleges, career coaches, connexions and Job Centre Plus to support, develop and deliver programmes and initiatives that offer young people a future for success.
Improving the employability of young people has been the focus of public policy for a number of years. It is important that we at ABC support the initial work experiences of young people entering the job market who maybe in our care and to discover how these early months of work affect their long-term employability.
We at ABC aim to:
- Support young people’s expectations and listen to their views on qualifications and training;
- Guide them on their first experiences of work and support them throughout the jobs that they take;
- Raise their awareness on how employers recruit young people and the skills and attributes they most value;
- Listen to employers’ views on how young people could be made more employable;
- Identify examples of good practice in the recruitment and training of young people.
There is a real need to develop generic and transferrable skills for young people and concerns about the skills they require as new entrants to the labour market will be different to each individual, however we at ABC we will use the following skills to develop and improve the young person in readiness for entering the labour market.
- Communication
- Working with others
- Improving own learning and performance
- Problem solving
- Developing transferable skills.
Training
Sourcing training opportunities for young people, to make it easier for them to find employment will be a critical part of ABC’S core focus.
We are committed to ensuring that we provide opportunities for all young people to develop their skills and contribute to their personal and professional success.
It is widely recognised that despite the lack of formal training of many young people, it is believed that they learn a lot and more quickly in their first working years. The skills developed by young people often fall into one of three categories:
- general transferable skills – centred on understanding workplace procedures, and learning appropriate behaviour, assets employers hold in high regard
- occupational or sector transferable skills – which can have wide applicability, eg customer care, answering the telephone, typing and computer skills etc.
- organisation or job specific skills – eg understanding of an employer’s particular systems or products which may have limited transferability.
Employers often recruit young people to specific jobs (either because of their youthful attributes or because they are willing to work for low wages) or onto some form of traineeship (either with a specific end in sight or as a less specified development route).
ABC is committed to:
- reducing the number of young offenders not in education, employment or training (NEET)
- engage young offenders after the school leaving age to raise awareness of the training and employment opportunities available
- engage with training/employment providers to address their perceptions of these young people and ensure that young offenders can access opportunities
- take a holistic approach to reducing the number of young offenders who are NEET by addressing other related issues such as accommodation and health.
Volunteering
ABC will actively develop volunteering opportunities for young people through its network of partners.
Volunteering is a great way to help communities and enable individuals to develop job ready skills which enable them to make a difference to causes in which they believe.
There are many reasons why young people should consider volunteering and people’s reasons for taking part will vary. But if you are unsure as to whether or not you want to get involved, here are a few positive impacts:
- Your chance to make a real difference to someone’s life
- Builds a caring society of active citizens
- Widens participation and tackles social exclusion
- Makes an economic impact; volunteering contributes £4.8 billion to UK GNP and is the fastest growing job sector
- Opens up an exciting network of people and experiences
- Is a tool for personal development; improves many skills
- Enhances your employability
- It can influence your career choice
- Opens up a whole range of new opportunities
- Builds self esteem – giving something back.
ABC is committed to developing volunteering opportunities for young people and it is a core part of the delivery in enabling young people to develop a range of transferable skills which will open up new avenues for success.