Introduction and overall aim

Cross Lee House is a small children’s home, providing medium to long term care for up to five young people between the ages of eight and sixteen on admission. The aim of the service is to work with children and young people so that they can move to a family placement, return to their family of origin or into independence, having experienced a sustained period of stability.

Cross Lee House is an integral part of modus, an organisation which seeks to provide environments in which young people are nurtured, valued and empowered. In addition to the small group environment of Cross Lee House, modus has a fostering service which recruits and trains families where young people can be cared for. The two direct services for young people are closely linked, with staff and carers being trained together. Some young people will move from Cross Lee House into a family environment, when they are ready to do so.

In addition to the long term placements, Cross Lee House may also offer individually tailored periods of assessment and crisis intervention. Young people may then either join the main group at Cross Lee House or move on to another appropriate placement.

modus also offers consultancy and training services to other organisations and individuals.

Mission Statement

modus is a private organisation whose aim is to provide high quality, coordinated child care services within small groups and families for looked after young people from the ages of eight to eighteen. At its heart is a belief that with desire, awareness, opportunity and support, everyone will achieve their potential. This is shared throughout the organisation, where we recruit, train and support staff and families who commit themselves to offer environments in which young people are nurtured, valued and empowered.

Quite simply it is our clear intention to work alongside vulnerable young people, to help them reach beyond their strongest dreams and find greatness within their chosen communities.

Our Mission is to be the leading residential childcare agency of choice. We will achieve this by:

• Creating small group environments, which seek to stabilise and change through influence.
• Being prepared to promote the safety and well being of young people.
• Ensuring the non-alienation of young people by preparing them for, and supporting them throughout, mainstream education
• Offering a varied range of safe family placements in which young people can live.
• Supporting families and carers for as long as is needed
• Operating an ethical, profitable service.
• Establishing a highly competent, dedicated and fulfilled staff group.
• Delivering the vision together.

Key Objectives

• To create a small group environment for young people from the age of eight to eighteen, which seeks to stabilise and change through influence.
• To provide each young person with the care and control to which they are entitled, offering opportunities to relate to adults who are able to demonstrate emotional commitment combined with professional integrity and safe boundaries to behaviour.
• To promote children’s rights and ensure that young people’s views are represented and considered.
• To provide stimulation and opportunity through daily programmes which are tailored to meet individual needs.
• To carry out effective care planning and reviews and promote partnership with local authorities and parents.
• To promote the physical, emotional and sexual health of the young people in order to enhance their future quality of life, so that they are able to fulfil their potential.
• To ensure that educational opportunities are made available to young people which take into account their current needs and future potential, so that individual and personal education plans maximise life chances.
• To value diversity, respecting individuals’ ethnic origin, cultural background, religion, language, gender, sexuality and any disability.

Philosophy and ethos

The philosophy underpinning our intervention is to ensure that each young person who comes to Cross Lee House learns truly to value themselves and is empowered to take control of their own future. In order to achieve this, all adults will be provided with the skills and knowledge to become the conduit through which change takes place.

Admissions procedure

Our policy is to consider as a referral children and young people who have experienced disruption and trauma which is making it difficult for them to live within a family, but who is likely to benefit in the long term from living in such an environment.

Age on admission is generally between 8 and 16 although referrals outside of this age range may be considered if we believe that we can offer a programme appropriate to that young person’s individual needs. For example, if a young person is part of a sibling group or is emotionally or behaviourally younger than their chronological age, we would wish to consider the appropriateness of such an admission. Young people of both sexes are catered for and we do not discriminate on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, and cultural or religious beliefs.

Each referral is assessed on an individual basis. Because of the potential risk to other young people, we would not normally consider a young person showing significant sexually aggressive behaviour to live within the group. Cross Lee House is not able to consider referrals where the child or young person has a disability which leads to significant mobility problems.

The only other criterion for admission is that young people will be considered according to whether their needs can be met, a contribution made and benefit gained from membership of the group.

Admissions to Cross Lee House are on a planned basis. Where it is clear that a young person will benefit from a longer placement within Cross Lee House, placements can sometimes be arranged at short notice, where this does not compromise the safety and welfare of the young person being admitted or the rest of the group.

In addition to the mainstream service at Cross Lee House, we can also offer emergency and crisis placements, where the young person can live separately from the group for an initial period of up to 28 days. This can either be a pre-cursor to a placement within Cross Lee House or a stand alone period of assessment or crisis intervention. If the placement is to move on to one in the main group, this enables us to make the necessary preparations and plans.

Staff structure

Ownership

Cross Lee House is privately owned and forms part of modus communicandi, a Limited Company owned by Mike and Sue Hamilton. modus offers a residential child care service, a family placement service, training and consultancy in the field of therapeutic child care. The organisation’s Head Office is in Bolton.

Registered Provider:
modus
Highfield House
185 Chorley New Road
Bolton
BL1 4QZ

Sue Hamilton, the Registered Provider, holds professional social work and management qualifications and has thirty years' experience in the fieldwork sector, both statutory and voluntary, prior to her work in the residential sector. Prior to the establishment of modus, Sue worked as Director and then Chief Executive in an organisation which provided residential services for young people with challenging behaviour.

Qualifications and experience of staff

Operational Director

Coral Bury is a graduate and qualified social worker who has four years' previous experience as a senior manager in a residential setting, prior to joining modus. Before that she had twenty years' experience in field work settings, both statutory and voluntary. She has held specialised posts in child protection and family placement.

Residential Service Manager

Rochelle Hey has worked as a senior residential worker and deputy manager within children’s homes for over four years prior to her employment at Cross Lee House. She also has extensive experience within the criminal justice services with both adults and young people, as well as experience within mental health. She holds an NVQ level 4 in Child Care, together with management training.

Deputy Residential Service Manager

Luke Harris holds an NVQ level 3 in caring for children and young people and has 3 years’ previous experience in residential work with young people prior to being employed at Cross Lee House. Before that, he has worked as a manager in leisure services and has also been self employed as a trainer in Health and Safety and First Aid. He is currently working towards his NVQ level 4.

Residential children’s workers

These staff members are responsible for the day to day care of the young people and all associated tasks. We have recruited staff members with a range of experiences and skills but primarily in residential child care. We are committed to the employment of a fully qualified staff group and will seek always to recruit staff with NVQ 3 as a minimum. Those staff who have the potential but who have not yet achieved this qualification will be expected to work towards it by an agreed deadline.

We have a policy for recruitment and selection of staff which can be requested if required.

In terms of staffing, shifts begin at 9am, with a handover until 9.30am. There is a minimum of two RCWs on duty at any one time, though additional staff may be placed on the rota to cover particular needs. In addition, either the manager or the deputy manager will be present during the day, Monday to Friday. The shift runs until 23.30, followed by a sleep in. The same staff team work the following day from 7.30am until 9.30am.

Each young person has a key worker allocated – this is often shared by two RCWs to provide gender balance. Key workers have responsibility for carrying out regular one to one key work sessions with the young person. Key workers will also, in conjunction with the manager and / or the deputy manager, ensure that placement plans and risk assessments are up to date and will contribute to review reports and progress reports on the young people.

Bank Workers, extra to establishment (7)

We currently have seven consistent members of staff on our bank who work at Cross Lee House regularly. Two of the four have previously been a manager in residential care settings with young people and two have transferred from the substantive care team. Our bank workers have access to all of our training, team meetings and to the NVQ programme, although currently all except one holds NVQ level 3. This helps us keep our use of agency staff to an absolute minimum.

Sam Billington has an NVQ level 3 in caring for children and young people. She has been employed in the voluntary sector as a residential worker for a period of 3 years prior to her work at Cross Lee House. She carries key worker responsibility for one young person.

Wayne Codman has recently been appointed to the team but not yet taken up post. He holds NVQ level 3 and has four years’ previous relevant experience in a residential child care setting, including time spent as a deputy manager.

Michelle Dale is currently working towards her NVQ level 3. Prior to her appointment as permanent RCW, she worked as a member of bank staff at Cross Lee House and before that, she was a registered foster carer with modus.

Dawn Hartley has a degree in Outdoor Education and also holds NVQ level 3. She has seven years experience working with children and young people in both residential settings and in daycare/educational settings. Dawn is currently being supported by the organisation to develop skills in the area of counselling. Dawn works part time at Cross Lee House and part time within Fostering at modus.

Pete Hodgkinson holds NVQ level 3. He has a total of 4 years’ experience working with young people in residential settings prior to coming to work at Cross Lee House. Along with other members of staff, he is particularly interested in outdoor activities with young people.

Heather Rogers is currently working towards her NVQ Level 3 and has a qualification in nursery nursing. She has 8 years’ experience as working with children with special needs, within school settings, as well as other posts in social care. She carries key worker responsibility for one young person.

Simon Weldon was previously employed by us as a bank worker, prior to joining us on a full-time contract. Prior to coming to Cross Lee House, he spent over four years in the police in London and he also has experience as a lifeguard and activities co-ordinator. He is currently working towards his NVQ Level 3.

Teacher/Learning Co-ordinator

Jeanne McMahon has a role in preparing children and young people for mainstream provision, liaising with local educational provision and supporting children and young people in their placements there. She is also our NVQ Internal Verifier and Centre Coordinator. She helps train and support residential staff in their role in the education of young people.

Organisational Structure

The Residential Service Manager is directly accountable to the Operational Director. She receives supervision on a monthly basis.

The Residential Service Manager is responsible for providing supervision on a consistent basis for the residential children’s workers although this may be delegated to the Deputy Manager. This supervisory relationship provides the framework for annual appraisal and the identification and review of a personal development plan for each member of staff. The Operational Director also meets regularly with the staff group and the young people.

Because of the desire to provide consistent standards of care within a shared ethos, wherever possible staff are trained together, giving them the opportunity to develop as an effective team. All staff receive and attend regular group therapeutic consultation/training from a psychotherapist with specific experience in work with young people.

All staff have access to a comprehensive in-house training programme, which addresses both mandatory and optional training. In addition to this, Cross Lee House is committed to the provision of an NVQ programme for its staff and we have achieved and maintained approval as an accredited City and Guilds Centre.

The training and development needs of all employees are reviewed monthly in supervision and yearly in appraisals. It is an expectation of all staff members and their respective line manager that they will, in their preparation for supervision and appraisal, actively seek to identify training and development needs.

Facilities and services, including health, education and citizenship

Accommodation

Cross Lee House is a large stone built detached house in Todmorden. It has extensive private gardens, together with easy access to open countryside. The house is built on three storeys and provides spacious accommodation.

On the ground floor, there are two large sitting rooms, one of which is used for meetings and can be used for family contact. There is a further room, adjoining the kitchen, which is used by the young people for recreational activities. In this room, young people have use of a computer and can access the internet, under appropriate supervision. There is also a large breakfast kitchen and a cellar area for storage purposes. Also on the ground floor is a visitors’ toilet, a utility room plumbed for laundry facilities and a separate study with external access.

There are six bedrooms on the first floor, two of which are ensuite, together with a main bathroom for the use of the children and young people. One of the bedrooms on this floor is used as the staff sleeping in room, with the second provided on the second floor. A further room on this floor is set up as a laundry room, so that young people approaching independence can undertake their own washing.

The bedroom for each young person has space for private study, if this is appropriate. It is more usual for young people to undertake supported study time, in the kitchen or in the games room, where staff are available to supervise and advise.

The local sports centre is very close at hand and is used for physical education. Young people engage in a number of educational visits as part of their curricular activities. The area is well served in this respect, offering numerous attractions of scientific, historical and geographical interest. We have the local comprehensive school very nearby and our aim is to ensure that all our young people attend state educational provision. Where more appropriate, we have good contacts with alternative provision. Those young people, who are currently not yet able to do so receive education in Cross Lee House, until such time as they can be placed.

Cross Lee House benefits from the provision of CCTV on the outside of the premises, which provides an additional security measure.

Direct work with children and young people

We provide, for all children and young people, a menu of direct work services in order to meet their therapeutic needs. This will come from a combination of individual and groupwork programmes: as a minimum, young people have individual sessions with their key worker. We also have a qualified BACP registered therapist who comes to Cross Lee House once a week, when she can be accessed by the young people either informally or in structured sessions. Where appropriate and necessary, we also commission the use of external therapists and consultants.

Care services

Children and young people are cared for in the small group by the team of residential children’s workers and are expected to take part in groupwork activities as above, aimed at promoting change.

All the children and young people have their own room, which constitutes their private space. Children will only share a room, exceptionally, where it is their stated preference, they form a sibling group and it appears in the interests of both of them to allow this.

We will promote the emotional well being and safety of young people by the close supervision of contact personally, telephone or electronically in accordance with assessed needs, risk assessments and individual care plans.

Educational services

There is an absolute commitment to integrating young people into mainstream education as quickly as is possible. We recognise that this is a critical part of promoting inclusion within society. In order to ensure educational outcomes are maximised, modus employs a full-time learning coordinator, to facilitate and support this goal, prepare those young people not yet ready for that challenge, liaise with local educational provision and with the placing authorities’ education departments, and provide ongoing support.

Every young person at Cross Lee House will have an individual weekly programme, a substantial amount of which will be devoted to educational input. At Cross Lee House, we recognise that the emotional instability which has brought them to Cross Lee House may preclude them being able to withstand the emotional and intellectual pressures associated with a ‘normal’ school environment.

In the early stages we are far more concerned with gaining the young person’s interest in learning, than attempting to force them to participate in particular subject areas or cram them for exams. Each young person at Cross Lee House has a short term individual education plan (IEP) and we will work with the local authority to produce a medium term personal education plan (PEP).

Young people in Cross Lee House are encouraged to pursue recognised qualifications and to produce a Record of Achievement. We are an accredited ASDAN provider.

Health care

Each young person is registered with a local GP, dentist and optician. However, healthcare at Cross Lee House extends beyond these basic needs and young people are encouraged to think seriously about their health in a holistic way, paying attention to the quality of their diet, their daily routine and their physical and emotional well-being. As part of this commitment, we have engaged the services of a BACP registered practitioner who is available for direct work with young people and for advice to the staff team (see above.)

Psychological and physical well-being is seen as complementary to one another. Therefore young people are also advised and educated in respect of safer sex practices, as well being encouraged to assess their own risky behaviours such as substance, nicotine and alcohol abuse, anti-social and offending behaviours. A member of staff is also identified as the health education liaison representative in order to ensure that each young person enjoys full access to all local relevant local service provision.

Policy documents, giving full details of general healthcare provision, are available on request.

Citizenship

Our aim during placement is to ensure that each young person is facilitated along a pathway to adulthood that will enable her or him to participate socially and economically as a responsible citizen.

Registration

Cross Lee House is registered under the Care Standards Act 2000 by Ofsted.

Contact address:

Ofsted
North, 3rd Floor
Royal Exchange Buildings
St Ann’s Square
Manchester
M2 7LA
Telephone: 08456 404040

Fire and emergency procedures

Cross Lee House has a full and up to date Fire Certificate and we will have a fully integrated modern F1 fire precaution system. Building Control, the Fire Officer and the Regional Office of the Commission for Social Care Inspectorate have approved the fire system and checking mechanisms in place.

In terms of fire safety, the following procedures are in place:

• All staff, as part of their induction training, acquaint themselves with the fire escape routes and the location of the safety equipment.
• All staff are subject to mandatory fire training where they learn to operate available equipment.
• All staff are involved in the regular system checks, fire alarm and evacuation drills, with all children to ensure that everyone is fully conversant with the fire safety procedures.

We will have emergency lighting with its own back up. There are fire extinguishers on all floors and a fire blanket in the kitchen.

If a fire occurs, the following will apply:

• Sound the alarm and call the fire brigade
• Staff and young people will go directly to the identified assembly point, which is the side car park.
• If any individual experiences a mobility problem, they will be assisted
• If an injured or disabled person cannot be evacuated, he or she should be placed in a safe area and a member of staff will remain with her/him
• All individuals will remain at the assembly point until instructed otherwise by either the fire service officer in charge of the incident or the most senior staff member on duty
• If the house remains unfit for habitation, the staff and young people will be accommodated as quickly as possible in local bed and breakfast accommodation with adequate substitute clothing provided

These procedures are both taught and are on display in the property. The full policy documents are available on request.

Cultural and religious identity

At Cross Lee House, we ensure that positive arrangements are made to help young people observe and preserve their religious, racial, cultural, as well as their linguistic identity and heritage.

Contact

Many young people at Cross Lee House are experiencing, or have experienced, negative or abusive relationships within their family. However, contact remains vital, as for most young people, healing these damaged relationships or at least coming to terms with the reality of them will be an essential part of the child’s own journey towards emotional health. Cross Lee House is strongly committed to ensuring that safe and positive contact is facilitated.

Where necessary, home visits can be supported by a residential children’s worker. Cross Lee House also welcomes approved visitors to stay nearby.

Children and young people have private access to a telephone and are able to receive calls in privacy, at reasonable times of the day.

The Cross Lee House policy document ‘Contact with Families’ is available on request.

Methods of care and control

Cross Lee House’s approach to care and control is underpinned by our basic belief in the equal value of all human beings. Thus young people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, irrespective of their behaviour. Equally adults have the right to expect that they will be reasonably safe in the conduct of their work.

Sanctions permitted for use with children and young people are in accordance with regulation and are described in detail in the policy document "Sanctions and Measures of Control." Within these limits, however, individual needs will be taken account of when decisions are made about appropriate sanctions.

Our care and control policy is underpinned by our intervention principles. The techniques taught through training provide the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to manage vulnerable young people and to be in control of any given situation in order to bring about the maximum amount of lasting response.

We use physical intervention only when absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of the young person themselves, the other young people in placement and the staff. Restraint may, exceptionally, be used to prevent extreme damage to property, which might, in itself, compromise the safety and well being of the young people.

Positive methods of behaviour management are preferred, including the use of regular achievement charts for the young people, as well as behaviour contracts.

This subject is fully covered in the Cross Lee House policy documents ‘Methods of Care and Control,’ ‘Sanctions and Measures of Control’ and ‘Control and Restraint.’

Unauthorised absence

For many troubled young people, running away has been their primary coping strategy in situations where they find life unbearable. Young people who have developed a pattern of going missing without authority are likely to use it as a first resort when under any kind of stress; therefore we expect that this is a feature of behaviour, which may well be frequently encountered.

As each young person is an individual, the risks and responses may be very different in each case. A fuller statement on the principles and procedures which govern our response to unauthorised absence can be found in the Cross Lee House policy document ‘Unauthorised Absences’.

After an agreed period of time when a child or a young person is missing without permission, this will be reported to the police. The Residential Service Manager must be notified immediately as will the young person’s social worker or night duty team. The parents or other next of kin should be notified if this is agreed and appropriate. Where a young person is missing for an extended period of time or where the young person’s individual risk assessment indicates the need for this, the reporting to the police may be treated as a missing person report, rather than an unauthorised absence.

Representations and complaints

Cross Lee House accepts that at any time, despite our attempts to provide a high quality and person-centred service, any individual may feel they have cause for complaint against the organisation as a whole or individuals within it. Complaints may be made by young people, parents, or those with parental responsibility, or by the Local Authority. Cross Lee House recognises the right of any individual to make such a complaint and will treat any such representations seriously.

Details of our procedures can be found in the Cross Lee House Policy Document “Complaints.”

Children and young people have access to the full complaint procedure and are also provided with information about who they can contact outside the organisation, should they have concerns.

When a young person is admitted to Cross Lee House, he or she is provided with a leaflet explaining the way they can complain. This leaflet is accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope, which can be sent straight to Head Office without knowledge of the staff at Cross Lee House.

In addition to this, children and young people are involved in regular group meetings where they will be encouraged to discuss and raise issues about the general operation of Cross Lee House.

At the time of a young person’s admission to Cross Lee House, a leaflet is also sent to the parents of the young person, explaining to them their right to complain or make representation and who to contact.

On receipt of a formal complaint, the Operational Director will arrange for the complaint to be investigated by a manager at the appropriate level.

Child Protection and Prevention of Bullying

These matters are taken very seriously at Cross Lee House, where we are committed to the promotion of the safety and well being of all the children and young people. There is a clear policy advising staff as to their responsibilities and the actions to take if there are any child protection concerns.

Staff are all expected to undertake mandatory training in safeguarding and have basic knowledge about signs and indicators of abuse. Any allegation or suspicion of abuse will be referred promptly to local child protection services for independent investigation, according to internal policy and local Safeguarding Board procedures. This will be done through the residential service manager or the designated shift leader, after consultation with appropriate management.

Ongoing staff supervision is used to monitor and update adherence to these procedures.

Review and assessing the quality of our service provision

Cross Lee House conducts formal planning meetings on each young person in its care on a quarterly basis, as well as reviewing cases informally through regular management and team meetings. These are in addition to the statutory reviews, conducted by local authorities. We consider that this is an essential element of service delivery. Every young person is actively encouraged to participate fully in his or her care planning process.

Cross Lee House has developed care plan formats and review report outlines which are congruent with the Looked After Children framework.

Equal opportunities policy

Cross Lee House recognises that by encouraging and managing diversity in our workforce, we will meet the objectives of the organisation and therefore meet the needs of young people. We promote employment practices designed to eliminate discrimination and to ensure adherence to legislation and codes of practice.

Cross Lee House is an equal opportunities employer. The policy document, which all staff receive on commencement of employment, is available on request.

Availability

This statement of purpose and function is available to:

• Young people who live at, or are considering living at Cross Lee House
• All members of staff working at Cross Lee House, including any consultants and sessional workers.
• The parent(s) of any child or young person living at or likely to live at Cross Lee House, and any other(s) with parental responsibility for that child or young person.
• Any representative of a Local Authority who has placed, or may be planning to place, a young person at Cross Lee House, including representatives of departments of social services, education and health.

Further information

This Statement of Purpose and Function provides only a brief outline of our work. Further details are available and we welcome visitors who are considering placing a young person in our care. For receipt of any of the policy documents referred in the body of the text, please contact us at our Head Office, telephone no: 01204 399514

Signed:………………………………………………………………

Registered Provider
May 2008