How looked-after children excel at Avocet House

Project
Avocet House

Funding
Costs £244,500 a year per child

Background
In 2005, residential care provider Specialist Education Services launched Avocet House in Norfolk to cater for some of the most vulnerable young people in the care system. Managers were determined to show that with the right mix of care, support and high-quality education, they could get good results for those with complex needs who have “run out of options”.

Action
Avocet House is an eight-bed children’s home and special school for boys aged eight to 14 when they arrive. “Generally, children come to us after multiple placement breakdowns,” explains John Lees, principal of Avocet House.

“We say there are no limits to achieving what we want to achieve,” he explains. “It is the accepted mindset of the team and that filters through to the children.”

The setting has a policy of not serving notice on young people – no matter how challenging – and will turn down referrals if it does not think a placement will work. It uses restorative principles to deal with problems and young people chair regular “community meetings” to discuss any issues.

The emphasis is on creating a comfortable, homely environment. “Home has to mean home,” says Lees. “When you come in, there are flowers on the table, children’s bedrooms are personalised – it is immaculate but lived in.” Each child gets a tailored curriculum based on their interests with a lot of one-to-one teaching by highly qualified staff. Personalised timetables include core subjects such as maths, English, ITC and science, but also sports and creative activities. Each child also has several 24-hour learning plans to help staff support their development.

They attend regular “Portfolio of Achievement and Need” meetings with key adults, chaired by Lees. “The idea is that we grow the achievement and reduce the need,” says Lees. Young people work towards targets they set themselves. One young man recently completed a coast-to-coast cycle ride he had planned himself.

Outcome
Avocet House has been judged “outstanding” by Ofsted for all criteria in education and care since 2009, including in its most recent inspection last year, which highlighted the “outstanding progress” made by young people “from their various starting points”. The average length of stay is three years and nine months. Transition data shows that in all but one out of 10 cases, young people successfully moved on in a planned and supported way, with four reunited with their families. One went into foster care as part of their transition plan, one to independent living and three to supported lodgings.

Of those who made a planned move, none have gone to prison or are homeless. Half made that transition before they were 18, saving councils an estimated £2.2m in fees alone.