Once a young person has been referred, individual strategies pertinent to the young person’s case history can be put into place before their admission into any home. This can ease conflict and disruption. It gives the message to young people that the staff are prepared for their admission and they have been welcomed and accepted by the home.

If at all possible, staff visit young people before admission to reassure them and answer all their questions about their impending admission. This reassurance minimises the fear and anxiety that young people often have before another move in their lives.

The planning, therefore, begins before the admission. Minimising the difficulties and challenges of four or six young people in one home demands individualised care/education programmes for each young person. This practice has a successful track record within the homes and is nationally recognised for effectively addressing the complex needs of individual young people within a group.

Each plan reflects the individual needs of each young person and they are by definition unique to that individual. It is readily accepted that all young people feel much more comfortable in their new placement if they have an understanding of why they are there, what needs to be done, how long that might take and where they are moving to. Young people without the safety of a plan feel abandoned and forgotten and are far more likely to display challenging behaviours. Our strategies are designed to minimise such behaviours.

To make a referral for any of northerncare’s homes please contact Tony Wood, Referrals Manager on freephone 0800 040 7870 or alternatively email the information to enquiries@northern-care.co.uk