Our referrals are all placed by local authorities. If you are a parent or guardian and wish to refer a young person to our care, you are welcome to call us for an informal chat. However, the referral will need to be requested through your social services contact.
The referral process
- We assess whether, based on the initial information provided, we could be an appropriate home for the young person and if so, we request further details.
- If we agree that we would be a good match, we respond to the referral and request further details.
- Once we have reviewed the full referral document, we check that we are still a good match for the young person.
- If we are, we arrange a meeting with the young person’s closest guardian. For example, this could be a parent, foster parent or social worker. Through this meeting we carry out a thorough assessment of the young person’s needs, as a final check that this would be the right home for them.
- We provide social services with the details of how we would support the young person’s needs – considering all aspects of their physical and psychological wellbeing. We welcome visits from social workers and parents so they can see our facilities for themselves.
- Once social services confirm the placement, we plan a transition period to help the young person adapt to living with us. This usually takes a month and includes a gradual increase in visits, for example having lunch with us, staying overnight and going on outings.
- The young person will be given a copy of our welcome guide, helping them get to know the home they will be living in and discover the fun we have here. We will also encourage them to look at the Our Place section of this website.
- At the end of this transition period, assuming all parties (including the young person) are happy, they come to live with us.
- Once everything is finalised, we prepare the young person’s bedroom and make staffing arrangements.
- Within one week of the young person coming to live with us, we will have a detailed care plan completed.
We believe that a successful move to a new home requires careful planning and assessment, therefore we do not accept emergency or same day referrals.