Welcome to another authority

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

Welcome to our new resident and new professional partnership fromNorth Yorkshire. 

The process, planning and execution of the placement, from all parties has been exceptional and should help ourselves to provide the best quality of care to the young person in our care.  I look forward to keeping you update with their achievements and progression within Harmony House.

If you wish to discuss any young person that could benefit from our approach, ethos and recognises “Good” care please do not hesitate to be in touch and we can happily discuss this further.

Importance of your own front door

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

This month one of our long term residents was ready taken that big next step, with a little of our continued support and advise,  into her own home, with her own front door.  A great achievement for them and we wish them all the success with this.  

We will continue our ethos of offering continued support after leaving Harmony House in what every way we can to help them achieve sucecss now and for the future.

Harmony is able to offer further supported living and semi independent options for male and female, to local authorities that may wish to use our services.  We have successfully provided accommodation and varying degrees of support but always with positive results within Kirklees andHalifaxareas.  

If you wish to discuss this further with me please do not hesitate to contact ourselfs

Harmony House scores a hat-trick

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services Ofsted News

Hello all,

 Just a quick update to say to that today Harmony House had it’s third unannounced Ofsted inspection and I am delighted to say that we have been provisionally been awarded a GOOD grading again.

As always it’s a team effort from all of us as staff and also the children who spoke highly and honestly of the service they receive to the inspector.

 In the debriefing session the inspector advised that they felt we had provided sufficient evidence to warrant a GOOD grade in all the areas and outcomes scrutinised during the inspection,  and even went so far as to discussed some areas of our service that they felt were immaculate.

 I am not going to say anymore than that as you know it’s all provisional so far, so I will wait the report to be QA’d and final version published on the Ofsted site before sending further information on.  The link to the most recent report and previous reports will be on the website when it’s made available.

 As always we won’t be resting on our laurels and will be looking as to how we can keep the progression of Harmony travelling the right journey and make our service better.

 Needless to say I am very proud of the service we provide for our young people and to Julie our manager who has had the reigns for the past few month who has lead and worked alongside the staff team, all of whom helped made this result possible.

 Mark

Scandal hit Rochdale Childrens Home. Fundamental failings obvious

Posted by Mark Raw in Childcare Industry Harmony Childrens Services

I have a great news app that seeks out all news articles related to Childrens homes on the net every day for me to help me keep upto date with happenings in our industry

Today it flagged this article up:- http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-venture-capitalists-and-the-scandalhit-childrens-homes-7782676.html

It is about the privately owned Rochdale Childrens home, central to the first Rochdale CSE case.  However it is believed this is not connected in anyway to the second recent arrests and subsequent investigations going on regards another group of men, again from the same ethic heritage inRochdale.

I find it hard to believe that such a large organisation, which provided 2:1 care, at a very expensive weekly fee , even for a 2:1 child had to have Ofsted tell them the fundamentals to our industry in a public report that they needed to have some CSE training. 

You have to wonder what the placing authority had to say to this when they forwarded on the report to the commissioners.

 They have coincidently sold up to another large faceless venture capitalist company days before the obvious guilty verdict was made.

Something you’ll never get from Harmony.  Where here for the long term, I have no interest in selling out and compromising our high level of care or ethics for a quick buck.  You will always receive a personal and honest service from those running Harmony or those within the homes it operates.

 At Harmony we always do things  in a professional matter.  If possible prior to any new admission or if not, very quickly after placement we, my self included, as a whole staff team undertake extensive training or refresher training on any significant issues or behaviours linked to the individual resident that will benefit their quality and level of care, ensure and support greater safety for them. 

 These have included CSE training, attachment disorder, substance and alcohol misuse, neglect, self harm and a 2 day behvaiour management course.  We will invite relevent professionals and social workers to staff meetings to aid Harmony staff in their information gathering, placement plan writting and allow Harmony to work in a more productive manner with the new resident, and existing residnets.

Staff are encouraged to bring forward any training needs they feel they have in the scheduled 3 weekly supervision meetings they attend and these are discussed and acted upon in a planned and timely manner.

 Our registered training provider Orchard Rock http://www.orchardrocktraining.com consistently provides ourselves a very professional and prompt service.  We use them as they specialises in health and social care training, have friendly and caring trainers and can tailor the sessions to the individual needs of the residents and staff and not just a one session fits all approach.

 If you need to find a placement, or wish for Harmony to look over a referral for a young person between 9-17 who can benefit from our professional approach to residential child care services please do not hesitate to contact myself on 07702 050 890 or at mark.raw@harmonycs.co.uk or alternatively you can contact the home manager Julie Cuttell directly on julie.cuttell@harmonycs.co.uk .  If you wish to have a brief look around Harmony you can see the high quality home and facilities offered at our web site www.harmonycs.co.uk and find out more about our services.

 Myself and Julie will be attending the forthcoming NCTCC event at Swanick on the 9^th and 10^th or July.  If you wish to meet with ourselves for a coffee and chat about the value for money service Harmony can offer for you as commissioners or social workers for your young people please contact us and we will be happy to meet up at the event.

Mark Raw

Managing Director

A massive “undefeated all season” achievement from my boys & girl football team.

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

I just have to let you know how proud I am of the achievements of my under Maccabi 9’s football team I jointly coach, the team includes my twin son and daughter.

 We play every Sunday in a good standard competitive league and have gone all season undefeated by any team, that’s 18 matches.  That has guaranteed the team at least a second place finish, and depending on results of only 1 other team next Sunday, we may win the league winners title this season.

We have found out that no team in our clubs history, or the league’s history has managed this level of performance.

We had our annual end of season meal last night for the team with a special celebration to acknowledge their achievements and awards were given to individuals with different praise, however I was especially proud that my son was awarded the golden boot for most goals scored within our team.

Lets hope we can mirror this type of performance next season and continue on to bigger and better things next season, however what I am most looking forward to is my Sunday morning’s back for a few months till it all starts again next season.

The dreaded PE lessons, now it’s official

Posted by Mark Raw in Childcare Industry Harmony Childrens Services

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17873519

Having read the article by the BBC on how teenage girls or opting out of PE,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17873519 I am pleased to see the creative ways in which this is being address by some schools and at the same time unsurprised at the widening gap between boys and girls.

Some interesting points raised was the competitive and somewhat elitist side of PE, and concentrating on only the best pupils, you have to wonder if this is all about the good Ofsted score for their lessons?

The article raised the issues of girls being “body conscious” and therefore not wanting to get changed in to PE outfits as it sets them apart at times. I remember my PE days as great fun, but also recall that the girls stopped playing the same sports as we did in the second year when I was a Boston Spa comprehensive school. We were all allowed to choose what sessions we did for each half term. If I remember the girls had the staples of hockey, trampolineing and net ball, but I don’t remember them opting out. Maybe we had more of an eagerness to be up and moving about, playing games for the sake of playing and more motivations that to be on facebook, twitter and BBM’ing than kids nowadays.

However the issue was highlighted in March 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7288175.stm where they were asking the questions to find out what stops girls from joining in. As mentioned earlier I like the innovative approaches taken by some schools using different and more youthful forms of exercising like Zumba and rollerblading to encourage participation.

Great ideas, but I wonder what other sports could be played in the teenage years that would get girls more involved. I’m surprised that there is no sort of “industrial” sized Wii or Kinetix style game system that could be used during the colder months.

That is the type of creative thinking we like to do at Harmony, it finds ways that allow the overall aim to be achieved, that allows everyone to be on board. We make good use of the Wii in group and single player games, involving everyone and find it develops supportive relationships within the home, more self confidence and the thrill of achieving goals, something important to us all.

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

The 1st of April marked another step forward for Harmony Childrens service.  I have now stepped away from the day to day mangement of Harmony house and handed the steering wheel and controls to the new manager Julie Cuttell.  i inetnd to increase the awareness of Harmony house and the possitve work it does and can do for other children in need of our help and support.

I first met Julie in 2005 when I was heading up a small cluster of children’s homes and Julie was an LSA in our school.  I quickly saw that Julie was destined for bigger things and when we opened a new home, I immediately knew who I wanted a deputy manager.

Julie did a stirling job, assisting in developing, training and providing constant support for the staff team with some challenging children.  Julie and I shared the same approach and values to out care practices and together we made some significant and positive changes to the lives of the young people in our care.

Julie was ready in no time to replace me as the registered manager and upheld the standards achieving consistent Good reports with the right elements of outstanding, in my opinion the best type of reports.

Julie has been integral during the start of Harmony House and has continued to provide support and guidance to the staff and educated and championed the Harmony family ethos and approach with all staff and young people alike.

Julie will have my full support in this role, not that it is needed ad i hope she will continue to be integral to Harmony.   I wish her all the success and look forward to her roll growing as Harmony grows.

 Julie can be contacted on julie.cuttell@harmonycs.co.uk should you wish to discuss any topic regards Harmony House, arrange a visit prior to making a placement or to discuss any potential referrals.

Ofsted Inspection and new staff appointments

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services Ofsted News

Another memorable day and further good achievements by Harmony House, its residents and staff.

David, our Ofsted inspector made his 2^nd unannounced inspection today and was again reasured by the evidence he found that we still continue to deserve our GOOD rating.  David spoke with myself, who happened to chose to go on shift that day, our residents and staff who I was working along side.  Myself and resident were just about to leave to go do an arial assult course 15 meters, (47ft) up, something she had always wanted to do.  The things we do for our kids to make them smile.  Have I said previously I hate hights.  Especially those with a very long drop!

Before I go into a summary of the important points a full version of the Interim Ofsted Insepction report is available to view at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/CARE/SC424759   Again, no recomendations.

David again was easily able to, and this is clearly reflected in the report the continued work in “ensuring that the young people are as far as possible protected from harm.  It has successfully reduced the number of occasions when young people go missing.  When young people do go missing the staff are proactive in involving the police and make strenuous efforts to locate young people and make sure they return to the home quickly.”  This is a statement that I am especially proud of as it reflects our passion in keeping the kids in our care as safe as they allow us and shows thats they are making great progress in keeping them selfs, and for some, more importantly out of any further CSE.

David stated in the report other praising comments about the residents, the staff and how our family ethos has made positive impacts.“… they said that they liked living in the home and have a clear understanding of plans for their future.  Interactions between staff and young people is warm and good humoured and this makes a significant contribution to the way in which positive behaviour is encouraged.” 

 Another good report which I have passed on special praise and thanks to the whole staff team who are instrumental in their actions and levels of care provided to make these reports so positive.

So what else has been happening within Harmony? 

A few big things within the company,  and the internal structures and staffing compliments.

We have been commissioned to provide a supported living package to a young resident in theHalifaxarea and have been busy making plans for her individualised care and support package to start in March to educate and give her the skills needed to live a more independent lifestyle.

Within the home Julie Cuttell, as of the first of March will be taking over the role of Home manager and moving onto Registered Manager once her Ofsted Interview has taken place.  Janet Brisby has shown significant progression and earned herself the role of Deputy Manager and now in a prime position to further learn the ropes and approches that we know work with children and will, I hope being involved in running the second home when it is the right time to open.  Both solid appointments in my opinion.  I am confident that both Julie and Janet will continue to ensure the ethos and therapeutic understanding approach is continued to all our current and future residents.

 These further positive developments will allow me to move my focus toward the expansion of services and options that Harmony can offer to the local authorities.

I will be speaking with all the local authrites in our area and those futher afield, in due course regards the remaining vacancies we have at Harmony House and will happy to discuss any other potential avenues of suppport that we can can provide regards supported living and supported tenancies.

Happy and Prosperous New Year to all.

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services Ofsted News

What a year 2010 has been.  I have achieved one of my dreams this year; opening, setting up, registering and operating my own Childrens Home, as I see correct.  In the nine months since registration was approved, we have had many referrals.  I could have filled the house twice, but decided to do it correctly and pace the growth of Harmony accordingly and securely and to taking the correct referrals for the service at that time.

So, during the year we admitted three children and did what is recognised as ‘good quality’ and ‘positive’ work with them all.  We received, and continue to receive, praise from the social workers, Police operations and other professionals we work with.    All of this was reflected in the ‘GOOD’ Ofsted report (see http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/files/1871629/urn/SC424759.pdf) that we achieved.  The OFSTED report really topped of my year.

To achieve all of this in a climate where others in the industry are closing homes, down-sizing, scaling back, call it what you wll, most of those I used as a sounding board told me that I was brave to take this risk.  However not only have we beaten the statistics and Harmony is still here after our first year of operations, but we are providing employment to 10 people from the local community and are looking to recruit more.  In addition we are a financially secure company.

 So what does the next year have in store?  I would like to set my personal goals and targets to include at least;

 a)     I would like to build on and then consolidate on what Harmony House has to offer to the children that need our service.

b)     Explore the opportunities to offer the caring, supportive and realistic approach of Harmony to those in need of supported living in and around the Kirklees boarders,Leeds,Wakefield, Calderdale and other areas.

c)      Look towards opening up our second 3 or 4 bed home in the West Yorkshire Area.  I am happy to discuss this with any local authority whom may see some benefit in working together on this.

d)     Expand the regions that currently place at Harmony House to outside theWest Yorkshirearea, toward the Greater Manchester area andLincolnshireareas.

So I’m now looking forward to the coming year with the continued commitment and focus to providing a honest, good quality Residential Child care within Harmony house, the new home we aim to set up,  and all the challenges that it will bring.

Mark

Here at Harmony there is very mixed emotions at the present time, but a sense of job satisfaction nonetheless.

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

Our first resident has now moved on to pastures new.  She has, after several months of planning decided to go it alone, and has plans in place to move into her own accommodation in the very near future. 

 Myself, Julie and all the team wish her all the very best and hope that she will keep in touch and she knows she would always be more than welcome to call in anytime for a drink or meal and let us know how she is doing.

I would also like to thank all the staff for their hard work and efforts over the past nine months in helping her deal with her past issues, which will enable her hopefully, to move on to a much more positive period in her life.

This now leaves Harmony House with two vacancies within the unit for the near future and into the Christmas period.  The current residents are a very settled 17 year old female, and a 14 year old male coming for respite every other weekend. 

he staff team is developing in numbers are continuing to develop their skills and experience in many aspects of child care as well as improving their knowledge and understanding, particularly in relation to young people.

Should you have need to use our services for a child or young person in need of a stable placement within your authority,  or to discuss what we offer in order to  build your portfolio of placement options, please do not hesitate to contact me on 07702 050 890, or via the web site at www.harmonycs.co.uk

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my very best wishes to everyone over the festive season and for a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year for 2012.

 from

Mark, Julie and all the team at Harmony House