We are proud to have re-launched our framework of care called ‘Stepping into Family Living’, which aims to enable young people to move back to family living as quickly and effectively as possible.
We decided to find out more about how this framework can lead to positive outcomes for a young person by hearing Elliot’s* story…
Having experienced a difficult early life, when Elliot came to a Kedleston provision as a young teenager, the full extent of the trauma he had experienced was not yet known. Sadly, it had left him with a difficult relationship with his family, with whom he now has little to no contact. He struggled within his foster care placement which ultimately broke down due to the foster carer perceiving his behaviour as “challenging and aggressive”. At this time, there was a lack of local foster carers and so a residential placement was required due to a lack of sufficiency, it was agreed that a medium-term nurturing, therapeutic residential placement was required to provide the good care and support he deserved. Elliot moved into one of our specialist residential schools.
The experienced team at the school set about putting together a highly bespoke programme to ensure he received the right level of clinical and pastoral input to best equip him with the skills to self-regulate and better manage his own behaviours. A tailored educational timetable was also designed and aligned to support an eventual return to a mainstream school. There was a focus on core National Curriculum subjects and sessions teaching essential skills for life, alongside subjects which he had a real interest in, such as music.
The onsite multi-disciplinary team worked in collaboration with him, teaching him about the impact of his “aggressive” behaviours, understanding his triggers and supported him to explore alternative coping mechanisms. Key-worker sessions also focused on how to build and maintain relationships with peers and carers and taught him to understand home/group dynamics.
He was part of a group of young people who had the fantastic opportunity to visit Disneyland Paris over a summer break, where he had a great time with his friends and the school team – something he would never have been able to achieve previously.
Where is he today? With the help of Kedleston and a supporting social worker, Elliot has successfully returned to a foster placement is now happy and settled living with a new family.
The team would be more than happy to speak to you about this bespoke service on 0800 024 6985 or [email protected].