Many elements can contribute to a child’s progress and change does not happen overnight, as Tracey Hill, Manager of ‘outstanding’ graded residential children’s home High Peak House, tells us:

“Relationships are key to building successful outcomes for our young people. We believe in taking as inclusive approach as possible, building strong and trusting foundations on which we can build.

“That has been the case with one of our young people. When they first came to us, their family was quite distrustful of the whole ‘system’ and saw us as a part of that. Over time, we have supported both supervised and unsupervised family time, invited the parent to visit here, facilitated trips for them to enjoy together and generally helped build a positive rapport culminating in Christmas spent at home for the first time in many, many years for that young person.

“But it doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time to build to that. It’s about including the parent in things like parents’ evenings, PEP meetings, health appointments and trying to, where appropriate and safe to do so, including that parent in all aspects of the young person’s life.

“By helping the parent see that ‘they system’ wasn’t all bad, they have themselves been more open and trusting – which has helped them engage positively. The team engage with no judgement, they praise, they encourage. That’s so important because often parents feel they are not worthy.

“This positive engagement has really benefitted the child too. From a quiet and withdrawn young person, they have developed into a confident, busy and very, very engaged teenager! With input from our therapeutic team including occupational therapy and speech and language as well as our clinical psychologist, they have come on ‘leaps and bounds’. This has included work on boundaries and relationship building as well as decreasing anxiety and emotional regulation.

“One key factor in this young person’s progress has been the ability to link closely with school. Before coming to High Peak House, they were regularly out of education. But having that close link with High Peak School, and being able to encourage daily attendance, means their engagement with education has greatly increased.

‘They are working hard on their academic achievements even though they find it difficult and their independence skills are really developing too – from budgeting to independent travel and shopping and cooking, they are working hard to prepare for their future.”