Achievements
Turnaround empowers children and young people by helping them to celebrate and recognise their own personal achievements by:
- Recording detailed and focused care-plans that identify each individual young persons needs and aspirations, outlining how these will be met.
- Regularly reviewing progress, identifying positive outcomes and encouraging young people to recognise their own personal development and achievements.
- Staff offering support, guidance and counselling for our young people so they can move forward and set personal goals that are challenging and create an opportunity to experience success.
- Using the outdoors where the children can make constructive use of their talents and energy, develop interests, achieve, succeed and gain new experiences.
- Developing an individual education plan through consultation and discussion with each young person and using recognised assessment tools.
- Using ASDAN, AQA and Arts award schemes to accredit individual project based work and link learning to National Curriculum targets.
- Fostering links with mainstream providers of education that can include our young people and help them to work alongside their peers.
- Working towards increased independence and self-reliance in our semi-independent home (Sunnydale Cottage), so our young people increase in confidence and gain important life- skills.
- Young people leaving our care move on to further education or specialist provision and many continue onto access or long term home provision.
Testimonial for Turnaround
Sean’s history in care was one of numerous placement breakdowns. Sean would frequently abscond from placements and often place himself at risk of serious harm. Additionally, Sean’s complex needs required considerable support from his carers which often resulted in carers finding it difficult to manage his behaviour and placements being ended at the carers/placement’s request. This contributed to great instability and him having very low self esteem and confidence. Sean would frequently have aggressive outbursts and would actively develop strategies to challenge his placements in the hope of ending them; he was displaying extremely challenging behaviour. Sean was an extremely distressed and unhappy young man who had developed a negative self imagine.
Sean moved to Turnaround and within a short period of very intensive support and being engaged in highly structured activities served to help Sean to settle and contain his behaviour to manageable levels. For the first time he began to achieve and succeed in activities which developed his self confidence and self-esteem. Turnaround’s Care Plan that was developed based on his needs and abilities challenged Sean but he received the support and encouragement to meet these challenges. A key feature to this success has been the staff’s commitment to Sean and the building of positive relationships where he feels safe. Sean has overcome many of his anxieties, in particular his health needs; Sean overcame his phobia of dentists to have treatment and undergone some invasive investigative treatment that had been attempted for several months prior to going to Turnaround. Sean no longer needs to take medication to manage his behaviour. Sean attempts to abscond has significantly reduced as staff have supported him to develop strategies to help him manage his anxieties. Sean has developed new interests and now actively participates in activities that he enjoys; he talks with pride about his achievements and has been nominated for two awards.
Turnaround staff have actively worked in partnership with me as Sean’s Social Worker and kept me informed through regular contact and monthly written progress reports, enabling Sean to have a smooth, thoroughly planned transition onto his next placement.
*Name has been changed to protect the young person’s identity.
