MC Information Booklet

For Our Young People

2016

INFORMATION YOU NEED

TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR HOME

CONTENTS

PageContent

2Hello!

3-4About MC

5-6 Moving In

7Rules

8Routine

9Education

10Health

11Family & Friends

12Religion

13Money & Activities

14 Missing

15Security

16Fire

17Child Protection

18Bullying

19Anti Discrimination

20Consultation & Recordings

21Comments, Compliments & Complaints

22Useful Contacts

Hello and Welcome!

This is a guidance booklet which will tell you all about your new home, the staff that will care for you and all the information you will need to make the most of your stay with us.

We want the very best for you and want you to be comfortable in your surroundings so we will consult you on all of the decisions which involves your comfort and

Well- being.

We want you to feel able to have an active say in what goes on in the home and the quality of care and support that you receive from us.

We will work in partnership with you, your families/significant others, carers and other professionals to enable you to progress towards a confident and secure adulthood.

MC; Staff Team

About MC

MC is a Home for young people aged 12 to 18th birthday; it is owned by the London Borough of Barnet. The home is based on the edge of an estate and backs onto a large field; it has local shops and it is about 15 minute walking from Barnet High Street. There are good local transport links- Buses, London Under ground & over ground.

At MC there is a Manager, Deputy Manager, Assistant Managers, Support Workers, Administrator, Housekeeper, Domestic Assistance and a Handy Person. Staff at MC come from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, and have a variety of skills and knowledge – and they are here to support you to develop your skills and to help you prepare to “Live a successful adult life”

We provide residential Care for 6 young people who are unable to, or who are experiencing difficulties living with their own families or carers, and for who a period of positive residential care is in their best interests.

We plan for young people to stay with us until they are ready to live independently, they are stable to live in a family home such as foster home or back to their family.

We aim to:

  • Ensure we have a safe environment
  • Build positive relationships within an atmosphere of trust and respect
  • Promote positive behaviour, education and achievements
  • Ensure Young People are accessing recreation and leisure activities
  • Have a non-judgemental approach to your struggle, value diversity and celebrate your difference.
  • Help young people to build and maintain healthy relationships and gain a clear understanding of their background.

Moving into MC

Before a decision is made that you will come and live with us, your social worker will talk to you about this. Then a senior staff from MC will visit you to tell you about or youmay choose to come and visit us.

If it is agreed that you will move in there will be a placement-planning meeting with your social worker & parents/carers. At the meeting it will be discussed what expectations we will have of you and what you can expect from us.

You will be allocated your own bedroom that has a bed, wardrobe, a desk, a chair, and a lockable safe. You will be asked and encouraged to decorate your room as you like, and may buy items such as lamp, rug, picture etc to personalise your room.

We will ensure that you have everything you need for the day you move. Your Link Worker will discuss when you receive your own key to your room.

On week you move in an Inventory (list) will be done of your belongings and will be kept in your personal file. It is important to add new personal belongings to your inventory when you buy it so that staff can help you to account for your belongings should they go missing.

You will be allocated a link worker who takes the lead on your care; however we are all here to support you on your daily needs.

Your Link Worker will meet with you on a weekly basis to discuss:

  • Health
  • Education
  • Allowances you may want to request i.e. clothing, toiletries
  • Behaviour
  • Contact arrangements.
  • And any other issues
  • To ensure you are doing what you should and that we are doing all we should to support you.

Your Link sessions will be recorded in your personal file and the information will be shared with people who you have consented to being part of your care plan.

HOUSE RULES

We try not to have too many rules, but the ones we have are very important….

No alcohol, drugs/substanceor smoking at MC

Verbal abuse, violence and threats of violence will not be tolerated

No pets are allowed.

Be considerate of others i.e. staff, young people, neighbours etc. No loud music to be played after 10pm

Respect others privacy

Wilful Damage to property is not tolerated will be dealt with on individual bases.

No sexual relationships between residents on the premises

Travel money will not be given if you are not in education or do not have an appointment to attend

No discriminatory behaviour e.g. sexist, racist etc

Return home by 10.30pm – unless it has been agreed that you will return late at weekends, younger residents (13-14years) are expected to be home by 9pm.

No taxis will be paid for unless agreed by staff – unauthorised taxis will be taken out of the young persons allowances

All visitors must stay in communal areas and be respectful, except we are confident that the visitor is your sibling.

Staffs retain the right to enter your room, especially if we are concerned about your safety, however your privacy will be respected as far as possible

Daily Routine

Each young person that lives at MCis provided a weekly planner;it would usually be arranged by your Linkworker. The planner will be personalised to you and all young peoples planners will differ.

The average day could be something like this……….

Day / AM / PM / Evening
Monday / Wake up & get ready. Attend education/school / Return home & complete homework / Eat evening meal.
Return home & settle
Tuesday / Wake up & get ready. Attend education/school / Return home & complete homework / Attend young peoples meeting to get takeaway
Wednesday / Wake up & get ready. Attend education/school / Return home & complete homework / Eat evening meal.
Return home & settle
Thursday / Wake up & get ready. Attend education/school / Return home & complete homework / Eat evening meal.
Return home & settle
Friday / Wake up & get ready. Attend education/school / Return home & complete homework / Eat evening meal.
Return home & settle
Saturday / Wake up, clean & tidy bedroom – to collect pocket money & top-up / Free time to spend with friends & family / Overnight stay with family or return and settle by midnight
Sunday / Lie-in, help staff prepare Sunday dinner / Have dinner. Free time to spend with friends / Prepare clothes for school & settle in bedroom.

If you have any meetings to attend or appointments such as; GP, dentist, Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Youth Offending Team (YOT) etc these will be on your planner, along with any arranged overnight stays, activities or shopping trips.

We expect you to return to MC at a time that will allow you to be safe, and depending on where you are going and whom with, it will need to be agreed and discussed with a member of staff.

We like all young people like you to settle in your room by 11pm on week nights, if you choose not to you will still be woken early in the morning and expect you to attend your education provision/appointment.

EDUCATION

We believe that education and learning is a key that will open doors to future achievement.

We work with Education departments to ensure that you are placed in an appropriate school or college or work placement.

We will have contact with your place of learning and will receive regular updates to ensure you are reaching your potential, and should any issues arise we will try to support you to resolve them as soon as possible.

There is a computer room which has two computers that can be used to complete homework. We also have WIFI in the home and if you have a laptop you will be given a password to access this.

We also have a local library which is situated in High Barnet (15min walk/5min bus), and we encourage young people to join the library and we support them in doing this.

Health

As well as your health plan that is reviewed yearly by the ‘Looked After’ Children’s nurse, we incorporate your health in planning/review meetings that are held.

We ensure that you have:

Access to a doctor, dentist & optician and regular checks

 Healthy foods that meet your cultural, racial & religious background and preferences

A physically active life style

Access to information about health issues such as risks of drugs & alcohol, and other substance misuse, sexual health & sexual relationships advice.

Support with emotional health

Our local GP is happy to register all the young people who live here, but if you want to stay with your current GP, and they are happy to maintain your registration with them, you can and we will facilitate this – this also applies for opticians and Dentists.

You will be expected to meet the cost of missing appointments if you do not attend and fail to cancel the arranged appointment if a charge occurs.

People may visit you and us from outside agencies - who know a lot about drug misuse and sexual health. You can either talk to them here, or go to there place of work, or meet with them in the community and talk to them about any issues of concern or questions that you may have.

Family, friends & significant others

Contact between families, significant others, social workers, and other relevant professionals are actively encouraged, and we will work with them.

You are welcome to have visitors to your home at set times:

Weekdays 6 – 8pm

Weekends 12 – 4pm then 6pm-8pm

We will expect visitors to be respectful towards property, staff and young people who live at 68a, we therefore expect visitors to remain in communal areas and not to enter young peoples bedrooms. If we have any concerns about the behaviour of your visitors and we feel that their behaviour may affect your wellbeing or the safety of other residents or staff we will end the visit.

When young people visit friends & family we like to know where you are going - an address, contact telephone number and approximate time that you’ll be coming back.

Religious Observance

You are encouraged to continue to follow your religion, if you have one,and at MC we will offer you support to do this. We can advise you of local places of worship and will accompany you if you would like if want to attend any. We will also cater for other religious needs such as dietary, festivals etc.

Money & Activities

We agree each financial year on the amount of money young people receive weekly for pocket money, toiletries and clothing.

Pocket money – is given out once a week, after the young person has cleaned their bedroom. We do not give advance pocket money.

Clothing and Toiletry Money – you can arrange a shopping trip through your Link Worker to decide on a day and an amount of money you can spend.

As part of your preparation for independent living you may be given an allocated amount of money to purchase your own clothing/toiletries. This is something your Link Worker will help you to be working towards.

We need to have receipts for all purchases. This can seem pointless at times, but we want you to develop budgeting skills and help us to keep good records/audit trail of your expenditure.

Activities

We encourage positive activities and would support any activity you were already engaged in before moving into MC. We will arrange activities for the group, small groups or individuals.

We are happy to hear about any activities you may like to participate in and you are encouraged to make these suggestions in house meeting or in individual Link sessions.

Missing from Home

Should you not return home as agreed or as expected, and you are not in contact with staff,or staff believe you are not safe– you will be reported missing to the Police. The Police will be informed when you arrive home and you will be debriefed by a Police Officer about your missing.

You will be asked by staff about why you went missing and staff will try to support where possible reasons for you going missing. If you do not want to discuss with staff we can arrange an independent advocate if that is more comfortable for you.

If you remain in contact with staff and they do not feel you are at risk of danger you will classed as an unauthorised absence. However we do not want you to be unauthorised or Missing and by working together we may be able to come up with an agreement where you can have approved overnight stay if we can work with the proposed family.

Security

The building has security cameras around the outside of the building. The front door is also alarmed – this alarm will be activated before staff go off duty at night and will sound should the door be opened. Staffdo not expect young people to leave the home when the alarm is on and staff are able to lock the front door if they feel it is in young people’s best interest.

Visitors:

All visitors MUST sign into our visitors book, this includes professionals, friends, family, maintenance people etc. Staff will usually open the front door however if you open the front door you must ask for I.D. and call staff immediately, we will rather you don’t open to door to anyone you don’t know. This is so we can monitor who comes in and out of the building for your own safety.

Your Bedroom:

Some doors round the home are always locked, this includes you bedroom door. You will be given a key and will hold responsibility of ensuring your door is locked at all times. Only you and staff have a key to your bedroom, and staff will inform you if they are opening your door, if you are not home the staff will advise you if they went into your room for maintenance, search etc. Please bear in mind that we do building check of all rooms (including bedrooms) A.M and P.M.

Fire Procedures

In you discover a fire; the alarm should be raised via the nearest activation point.

If you hear the fire alarm;

  • Evacuate the premises
  • Meet at the assembly point – Grass area outside the front of MC
  • Do not return to the house until you have been told that it is safe to do so
  • Do not tackle a fire yourself
  • Remain calm
  • Do not run
  • Do not go back to your room to collect belongings

The Fire alarm points are tested weekly and staff will inform you when they are about to carry out a test – this is the ONLY time you do not have to evacuate!!

No Smoking at MC– this is your home

Misuse – should you misuse any Fire equipment or sound the alarm for no reason you WILL be sanctioned! This may be to repay for the cost of refilling an extinguisher or take a Fire awareness test, etc.

Child protection

Your safety is the most important thing to us.

As care team weare aware of particular risks to ‘looked after’ young people andhave a duty to keep you safe. We must follow clear guidelines and policies on the event of an allegation.

If you ever feel unsafe or think that someone has done something they should not – Tell someone! The person who has made you feel unsafe may be a professional, someone who works with you, someone who cares for you or someone you know outside of the home, whoever they are they should not make you feel unsafe and need to be reported. There are a number of people you can tell: staff, Managers, Social Worker, Police, Childline etc…

Try not to make yourself feel bad about the experience you may have had, remember we are here to care for you and do our best to keep you safe. We can get extra support for you to deal with any experience you may have had so please SPEAK UP.

Bullying

We do not tolerate bullying here at MC.

We understand that bullying is one of the things that worry young people when coming into a Children’s Home. Bullying can make you feel worried and unsafe, this is not how you should feel in your home, and staff are very supportive if they have any knowledge of bullying – we will support you to stand up to the bullies and not let them get you down or make you feel low in your home.

If you are or know someone who is being bullied please tell staff immediately so we can tackle this problem together.

Bullying can include:

  • Physical actions; hitting, kicking or any use of violence
  • Verbal intimidation – name calling, spreading rumours – persistent teasing
  • Emotional aggression – exclusion, being unfriendly, racial taunts.
  • Sexual harassment – abusive comments or unwanted physical contact and isolation
  • Online Bullying example Via Facebook and Black berry messenger.

Anti-discrimination