Innovation in residential care

If the philosophy of the Witherslack Group’s Beech Tree House children’s home could be summed up in two words, those words would be stability and challenge.

The home, which Ofsted included in its Outstanding Children’s Homes report last year, caters for eight- to 16-year-olds with emotional and behavioural needs. Most of these young people come to the home after a history of placement breakdowns, says Howard Tennant, director of care at Witherslack.

“We’re not the cheapest provision, so we’re taking youngsters who are at the extreme of the spectrum, who failed in many other placements before coming to us,” he says.

This sense of being a last resort drives the home’s willingness to challenge its residents. “We’re not just a babysitting service. Our task is not about containment or trying to make a home run smoothly or trouble-free,” says Tennant. “Perhaps it’s easier to do that, but we believe that for many of our youngsters this is their last chance and we would be doing them a disservice if we didn’t do everything possible to help them prepare for adulthood.”

Being challenging, he notes, is not about being confrontational or aggressive but “setting the boundaries, and sometimes saying ‘no’ and following through with actions”. But for this approach to work, the young people need to feel emotionally secure and that is where stability comes in. “We have low levels of staff turnover and a high level of staff stability is a key factor in helping the young people feel safe and secure, as they have often been let down in their lives ?by the transient nature of adults,” says Tennant.

Tennant says Beech Tree retains its staff by offering competitive salaries, investing in training and making the work rewarding. “We often talk about making an environment attractive to young people but we believe we also need to make it attractive to staff,” he says.