Behind the Inspection Rating: Home adopts parental methods

Parents, not friends. That is the philosophy at Swanwick Lodge, a secure children’s home, and it is meal times when that idea most often gets put to the test.

“Food is really important to young people in a closed environment, where they can’t go and buy what they want,” says Rachel Walker, the registered manager of Swanwick Lodge. “We have children whose tastes are such that our menus and their taste don’t always match, so food is a massive area of complaint. We do try to respond, but not necessarily by giving the young people what they want, just as you would if you were a parent. My own children would eat chocolate all day long if I would allow them, but that’s not what responsible parenting is about.”

Ofsted has rated the Hampshire unit outstanding across the board. The judgment recognises the home’s efforts to include the voices of young people and its commitment to improve standards, exemplified by visits to other homes to share best practice.

Everyday chores
The home also gets the young people to take on everyday chores. Walker says that momentum is crucial to making this work in a home where the average stay is 66 days and residents have difficult or traumatic backgrounds. The culture of the home reinforces from day one that everyone is expected to muck in as well as attend the on-site school. “There’s a lot of positive peer pressure from the other young people,” she says.

There is also an incentive scheme that offers the teenagers perks such as extra pocket money, trips outside or access to TVs and game consoles, in return for completing housework or attending school. As far as possible the home tries to link incentives to each young person’s interests.

“We talk to the young people about what’s important to them,” says Walker. “For example, some of the children love fishing so we take them out to a nearby lake.”

Aside from the of fishing trips, takeaway nights and household rotas comes the additional challenges that secure children’s homes often face.

Self-harm is one of those challenges and one that Ofsted said was well addressed with “intensive and proactive practice”. Walker believes it is important to involve the self-harming young person in the discussions. “We had one young person who was self-harming very regularly. We involved him in his plan and asked him what his triggers were rather than trying to second guess them and had continual dialogue with him,” she says.

Staff also developed a way to monitor his behaviour. “This young person didn’t have a particular methodology. He would make himself sick, cut himself, swallow things, and hit his head against the wall,” says Walker.

“Staff found that very worrying and draining because he had to be watched all the time. So we developed a system where staff discreetly wore a bracelet and whoever had the bracelet was responsible for watching that young person and then every half hour someone else took the bracelet.

“That way someone was always watching and staff got a break, which helped them manage the anxiety.”

Helpful Hints