Our Services -
Registered children's homes
Morrow
Morrow is a large, detached house set in a pleasant residential part of the seaside town of Warden Bay on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
The home has been decorated to a very high standard. There are bedrooms for four young people, a pleasant garden, a sensory/relaxation area and a hydrotherapy pool. Young people are encouraged to personalise their rooms and, where possible, to take responsibility for their room and, with others, for the home.
Purpose
Morrow is able to offer flexible and individualised care packages for boys and girls aged 12-17 with a learning disability and associated complex needs.
The home is able to offer 52-week care as well as emergency admission, respite care and assessment work.
The emphasis is on working with young people to maximise existing skills and to develop new skills, to challenge inappropriate patterns of behaviour, and to enhance confidence and self esteem in order to facilitate informed choice. Ultimately our aim is to provide a lifestyle as similar as possible to that enjoyed by those in ‘mainstream’ society and to empower young people to fulfil their potential. Each young person will have a placement plan according to their individual needs which is responsive and creative and which is regularly reviewed and updated.
The Home
Morrow is staffed by a Manager, Deputy Manager and experienced team of Support Workers who will be able to provide a safe and stimulating environment for the young people. There is always a Manager on call twenty four hours a day.
The aim throughout will be to provide an environment which has a welcoming and homely ‘air’. The home is well maintained and spacious with a conservatory, large lounge, comfortable bedrooms and an enclosed garden large enough to allow play activities. Morrow is well resourced in order that young people can achieve a positive balance between leisure and activity. The home has a sensory/relaxation room in addition to a hydrotherapy pool and ‘training’ kitchen, games and craft equipment.
The surrounding area is both quiet and relaxing, but also offers opportunities for stimulation and activity.
Education
The Boulters believes that education for life is an ongoing and integral process, involving all aspects of life in the home. Staff will therefore work with young people to develop their skills with regard to personal presentation, social skills, shopping/money, domestic skills and exercising informed choice. Staff will assist young people with any education-related work they may have and seek to create opportunities for activity based learning. Where appropriate, staff will attend meetings and presentations at schools on behalf of the young person.
In addition, the organisation is establishing its own education and skills centre where education and work experience will be tailored to individual strengths and needs in a stimulating way by qualified teachers and assistants. As well as classroom and computer based work, the centre will enable young people to develop their creative skills in art and crafts, for example working on ceramics. The centre will also seek to offer young people practical opportunities for learning i.e. excursions and activities.
The service also works closely with locally-based special needs tutoring organisations and local tutors skilled in working with young people referred to The Boulters.
A typical day
The home encourages a balance between stimulation and variety out of school time, and an element of structure around schooling, personal care, meal and bed times.
Key worker meetings can be arranged by young people whenever they wish. Each Thursday evening there is a residents’ meeting when staff and young people meet to discuss issues concerning the home, and to plan activities and menus.
Recreational opportunities will be offered to young people at weekends and in the school holidays.
Leisure
Staff will work with young people to develop individual and stimulating programmes of activities based on the young person’s choice. Young people who are unable to advocate their preference will be offered activities they are known to enjoy and given the opportunity to experience new activities.
Activities will be developed in the home, i.e. games, craft and individual hobbies, and staff will also develop activity programmes in the community using local services and facilities. This will include activities such as horse riding, swimming, use of a gym/leisure centre, shopping, cinema, days out to sites of interest, roller-skating etc.
All young people who live with The Boulters are automatically enrolled as members of a local health and fitness club. As well as providing an opportunity for recreation, this also has obvious health benefits for the young people.
All activities are fully risk-assessed.
Weekends
Similar activities will be offered at the weekend. In addition to this there will be the opportunity for days out, i.e. to Thorpe Park, London and the coast. The Boulters also has a long tradition of organising weekends away, for example to Flamingoland theme park in Yorkshire.
Activity excursions
Young people at The Boulters regularly take part in excursions away. In the past these have included trips on the Director’s seventy two foot boat, and adventure excursions to the Highlands of Scotland, Wales, the Peak District and the Birmingham canals, where they took part in rock climbing, canoeing, sailing and walking.
As well as recreation and enjoyment, there is an emphasis on developing group and social skills.
