We are a specialist therapeutic service that supports young children who have experienced complex trauma. Our team around the child are extensively trained to support the children in our homes, therefore, they are in an environment where every interaction they receive is therapeutic in nature. In addition to this we have a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians who can offer direct therapeutic work to the children using a range of therapeutic models. Staff are supported through clinical supervision, reflective practice and regular on-going training.
We do not see the children as simply "existing" in our homes. Once they begin their time with us, they are on a therapeutic journey of healing from their past and learning new ways to cope. The aim is to allow the young person to improve in their social, education, psychological and general well-being abilities to achieve a sense of recovery from their early negative life experiences, to progress such from our service to live in a family setting.
We are pleased to recognise that ‘Hopscotch’ a complex trauma home has been rated as Outstanding by Ofsted in their last 7 consecutive inspections.
As a company and with our staff we have over 20 years experience in working with children who have suffered significant complex trauma. The environment itself is homely and welcoming and every interaction we have with a child is therapeutic in nature and underpinned using PACE Model (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) which includes therapeutic parenting.
The age of the children in our care is usually between 6 – 12 years and we work with these children typically over an 18 month period, in order that they can go on to have successful lives within a family environment.
We have 11 homes based across Shropshire and the Midlands which can support up to 55 children. Our main aim is support children in order to prevent the cycle of placement breakdown by providing them with a set of skills to live successfully within a family environment. This is achieved with three teams.
Our Clinical team who are part of the homes core staff team, our Education team; we have two dedicated SEMH schools supporting the children to meet their education needs and our Care Team of Therapeutic Parents.
Our complex trauma services work with young children from ages 6-12 with an aim at breaking the cycles of trauma by stabilising the psychological effects derived from child sexual abuse, domestic violence, neglect and physical harm. Below you'll find a list of questions and answers to help you understand how we achieve this and how children benefit from our work.
Children in our care are typically under 12 years old and have often already experienced significant complex trauma. They may struggle with attachment and find it difficult to form positive and trusting relationships with adults. As a result, some children can display aggressive behaviours. Additionally, they may exhibit inappropriate or problematic sexual behaviours, including a lack of understanding of appropriate touch, healthy relationships with adults and peers, and the concept of consent. Many of these children have a history of foster placement breakdowns, reflecting the challenges they face in forming stable and secure connections.
The children that come to our Complex Trauma service have often suffered such significant trauma that they find it increasingly difficult to form positive and trusting relationships with adults. This means that it is very difficult for them to settle and function within a fostering environment.
Many of the children that come to us have often been isolated and research has shown that they can thrive from group living. Our homes create a normal family life environment, which is underpinned by a clear therapeutic framework, supported by highly skilled care and clinical teams, where our children can learn how to form appropriate and positive adult attachments.
Ultimately our aim is see the child progress so that they can safely and positively transition into a foster care placement when the time is right for them to do so, knowing that we have enhanced their lives and that they will go on to have a more positive life experience.
Our homes managers and key carers look after the child’s day to day needs both physically and emotionally. As one of our key carers said “The role is not about ‘ticking boxes’, the role is about caring for and nurturing the children within the home environment. We understand that it will be a traumatic time for a child being away from family and/or their usual surroundings, on top of the trauma they may have already experienced.
Being a key carer is about putting a smile on that child’s face first thing in the morning, ensuring that they feel safe in their environment, interacting in play and tucking them into bed at the end of the day.”
Our homes have a sense of family and within this it is natural that children and staff fall into general family roles. The children themselves often form sibling type bonds within the home and it is very inspiring and rewarding to see them develop and progress with a sense of respect and self worth.
The Cambian Assessment of Progress (CAP) is a scoring system marked out of 100 which is used to determine the progress of each young person in our care. On coming to us in theory the young person will have a relatively low CAP score and this will be based on assessing how the individual functions within 4 key areas (domains).
How they function psychologically
How they manage their social and emotional skills
How they manage their educational needs
How they manage their general health and wellbeing
This scoring system is reviewed on a monthly basis on all four domains. We will then look at how to progress each child within these four domains, with the end goal of preparing them for the transitional phase.
We recognise that our staff will require as much understanding as possible on the types of children we work with. Our children will come to us with a range of unique challenges and we ensure that our staff are trained and supported to offer the very best care to these children.
We typically engage in a 6 month cycle of training including DDP, PACE, Therapeutic Parenting, Risk Assessments, Reflective Practise and Play. The latter may sound strange, however it is important that our staff know how to interact in play as many of our children may have missed out on this important early years experience.
One of the key areas to us is our Therapeutic Parenting and our House Model of Parenting. We believe that this encompasses the whole journey for the child within our homes. We look at how children form attachments with adults around them and we support the adults to manage that attachment. We look at reflective practise and the clinical team provide support to the children and the adults that take care of them.
It is a key carer’s role to develop a significant, healthy, personal attachment to the child. Through this attachment a key carer will learn about the child’s likes and dislikes and can help them to express themselves and work through their trauma by getting them involved in hobbies and interests that they enjoy being part of.
A key carer in residential care will be the ‘go to’ adult for the child and will help with a child’s daily routine, schooling, looking after themselves, maintaining their general wellbeing – making sure that they eat well, get enough sleep and generally ensuring that their day to day needs are being met.
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