Ofsted ‘good’ for Doncaster children’s home which keeps families together
Ofsted has praised Doncaster’s new Children’s Services Trust for the way it is helping troubled young people turn their lives around.
Ofsted rated the Trust’s Cromwell Drive children’s home in Doncaster as ‘Good overall’ and praised the ‘highly focussed and practical support’ it provides to parents who are considering placing their children in care.
The home is the hub for a new support programme to help families who have asked for their children to be taken into care because their behaviour is too difficult to manage.
Named ‘Edge of Care’, the programme was designed in response to research showing young people placed in care by their families can suffer from rejection leading to long term life problems.
The Cromwell Drive team helps young people to make a fresh start at home and school. Team members work for up to eight weeks with parents and carers to help them set boundaries and manage behaviour. At the same time they support young people to tackle issues such as drug-taking, drinking and aggressive behaviour, and can offer one night a week at the care home. The overnight stays relieve the pressure on families and create more time for young people to receive one-to-one support.
Over the past four months 14 of the 15 young people referred to the project have succeeded in staying with their families.
Among those who have been helped is a Doncaster grandmother Sarah* who looks after her four grandsons and suffers from chronic health problems.
She said: “I had been struggling for a long time but then things really came to a head and I didn’t think I could carry on. The team from Cromwell Drive did some wonderful work. They really made a connection with the boys and helped them think hard about their behaviour, as well as giving me a break.”
Doncaster Children’s Services Trust is the first children’s social care organisation in the country to be run independently from a local authority. It was set up last year following an agreement with the government and Doncaster Council and its remit is to pioneer new, dynamic ways to provide outstanding care to local children and families.
Chief Executive of the Trust Paul Moffat said: “I’m so pleased that Ofsted have recognised the amazing job our Cromwell Drive staff are doing. We are confident that this new approach will help the young people involved to flourish and reach their full potential.”
*This name has been changed to protect the identity of the young people.
ENDS
Editor's Note:
Doncaster Children's Services Trust is a new and independent organisation - the first of its kind in the country - set up following an agreement with national government and the local authority. We are developing and pioneering innovative and improved ways to provide social care and support services to children, young people and families in Doncaster.
We believe that every child and young person in the borough deserves the best start in life, and support when they need it, to reach their full potential. We will support children and young people of all backgrounds, races, disabilities and cultures at times of need or crisis in their lives. www.doncasterchildrenstrust.co.uk
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