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Copthorne HouseYoung Person’s Guide
Copthorne HouseCopthorne Gardens, Bradley,Huddersfield HD2 1RH
01484 223450Vic Szczesnowicz - Residential Manager
Updated June 2017
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Contents page
Welcome to Copthorne House! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3What we aim for at Copthorne House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Where is Copthorne House? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Outings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Your bedroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Allowances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Reviews and planning meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Cleaning and tidying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Fire drill and alarm test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Young people’s participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7The right time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Children’s Rights Service and advocacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8General information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Your rights and responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Your behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Key worker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Copthorne House staff team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Can I make a complaint?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Copthorne House information CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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Welcome to Copthorne House
This Young Person’s Guide is a useful booklet that yourself and family should read when you come to stay at Copthorne House. We hope that this will give you a good understanding of what it is like to stay at Copthorne House.
If when you have read this, you have any questions or worries, just ask us. We are here to help.
When young people are unable to live at home with their families, they are taken into the care of the Local Authority.
Young people live at Copthorne House after social workers have decided their need for medium to long-term care.
While you stay at Copthorne House social workers will be working for you so that you can possibly return to live with your family, perhaps be cared for by foster parents, or perhaps live in an other residential home or live independently.
Vic Szczesnowicz
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What we aim for at Copthorne House
Everyone at Copthorne House is expected to consider other people as well as themselves and the attitude that people have towards others is very important for all of us.
The staff of Copthorne House aim to do their best to help the children and young people living here to feel safe, secure, cared for and wanted. All members of staff are expected to set a good example to the young people by having mutual respect for each other, as well as for the young people they care for.
Where is Copthorne House?
Copthorne House is in Bradley, Huddersfield. There are local shops nearby, a doctor’s surgery, a library and a DVD shop just down the road. You can catch buses to Huddersfield, Dewsbury and surrounding areas on the main road just at the bottom of the road outside the building.
Activities
We are keen to encourage you to take an active part in discussions in Copthorne House about activities, such as using computers, Sky TV and so on. There are individual televisions and DVD players, to use in your bedroom and a big TV is in the lounge and in the games room. You can hire or buy computer games and movie DVDs.
There are great activities available including swimming, ten pin bowling, ice skating, golf, snooker and football. Copthorne House strongly encourages your personal hobbies and interests and the staff will help you enjoy the activities you choose.
Outings and Holidays
We also arrange visits to theme parks, cinemas, theatres and shopping centres. Copthorne House staff plan holidays every year for the children and young people by actively including the views and ideas of the young people’s group.
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Your bedroom You will have your own room with a key and it is your responsibility to keep it safe. This is to allow you to have your own private space and know that your personal items are locked in your room. Young people are not allowed in each other’s rooms. Staff will not normally enter your room and will knock before doing so if they wish to gain entry to talk to you. However, there may be occasions when staff will go into your room without prior permission, such as for a health and safety matter or because of some form of unacceptable behaviour.
Smoking is not allowed anywhere within Copthorne House, a restorative meeting may be held to discuss issues around smoking. Young people at Copthorne House are involved in regularly cleaning their own bedrooms and keeping them tidy. One domestic staff and other staff are willing to assist.
Bedrooms all have their own wardrobes and drawers to put your belongings in and all rooms are ensuite. You can personalise your bedroom with pictures and posters. You can listen to music, or just simply relax.
Allowances
Throughout your time at Copthorne House you will receive weekly pocket money. You will also get an allowance for clothing, plus money for toiletries, phone calls, fares and activities as agreed with members of staff. You will also get money for Christmas/Religious Festivals and for your Birthday.
Pocket money will be recorded on individual sheets and will be signed for by the young people when money is issued. This money is usually given on Friday
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mornings. However, there is an expectation that bedrooms are tidied before allowances are given out.
Clothing money is allocated to each young person at a rate of £8.00 per week. The accumulated amounts may then be used by individual young people to purchase items of their choice. Normally young people will be encouraged to handle cash themselves and to bring back receipts and change as required.
Food
You are encouraged to help plan the menu for the week. We will help you with any special diet you may have. If you require a different diet for cultural reasons, we will help you with this, or with any other needs you may have relating to your own upbringing or religion.
We actively encourage you to have a healthy and balanced diet and offer a vegetarian option at each meal time if needed. We offer options such as halal, gluten free and additive free diets.
Reviews and planning meetings
At these meetings we will ask you what you like and don’t like about Copthorne House, and we will try to act on these views wherever possible. The other way we do this through encouraging young people to talk to any member of staff they want to about their stay at Copthorne House.
Reviews give you the chance to have your say about the care you receive at Copthorne House so it is important that you attend. An example of something you might raise at a review is the need for someone to speak on your behalf.
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Cleaning and tidying
Everyone expects that young people at Copthorne House are involved in regularly cleaning their own bedrooms and keeping them tidy. One domestic staff and other staff are willing to assist.
Fire drill and alarm test
We have fire drills four times a year where we have to evacuate everyone from the building. This is so we all know how to get out of the building in an emergency. There is an alarm test every Monday, during the day or in the evening.
Young people’s participation
We encourage you to participate as fully as possible in running the home. This is done in various ways, but the main one is by encouraging young people to have meetings when they are living with us.
The right time
There are regular meal times for lunch, tea and supper. These times can be varied for you if you discuss it with staff.
Bedtimes depend on the age of the young person and will be arranged when you come to Copthorne House. If young people are out for the evening, the time for coming home must be agreed with staff before leaving.
Visitors
With the exception of family and social workers, visitors are not allowed in bedrooms. In some cases restrictions may also apply to family members, based on a ‘Risk Assessment’ being made, and subject to child protection issues being involved. Your visitors will be encouraged and made welcome, with times of visits usually agreed beforehand.
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What is an advocate?
An advocate is a person who will help you say what you want or speak on your behalf. The Children’s Rights Service can offer one-to-one advice if you have any questions or need advice. Your social worker could also act as an advocate for you. A good example of when you might need an advocate is at a meeting, or a review, where you may feel too scared to voice your own opinions.
General information
While staying at Copthorne House, staff will keep a daily record of what is going on in your life. This is done throughout the day and night and you will be encouraged to read and add anything you wish to say to these records.
When staying at Copthorne House we will make sure that you get to school. We will organise your transport to and from school by bus or taxi. If you follow an education programme at school or college we will be happy to keep this up when you come to live at Copthorne House. We will also help you with any homework you may have.
Children’s Rights Service and advocacy
Children’s Rights Service
2nd Floor, Brian Jackson House, New North Parade, Huddersfield, HD1 5JPFreephone: 0800 389 3312Email: [email protected] address: Kirklees Children’s Rights Service
You can also contact The Children’s Rights Director for England (CRD) – Roger Morgan at Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6SETelephone: 0800 5280731Email: [email protected]
The Children’s Rights Service can offer you support if you feel your rights are not being met. They offer one-to-one advice if you have questions or concerns. They also organise groups and activities, which you might like to be involved in. Children’s Rights visit Copthorne House at least every month to come and meet young people and to find out how they feel.
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If at any time during your stay at Copthorne House you became ill we would contact your GP for advice or make an appointment for you to see him or her.
Your rights and responsibilities
The Children’s Rights Service can offer you support if you feel your rights are not being met. They offer one-to-one advice if you have questions or concerns. They also organise groups and activities, which you might like to be involved in. Children’s Rights visit Copthorne at least every month to come and meet young people and to find out how they feel.
Your behaviour
When you are at Copthorne House, if your behaviour becomes threatening or physically violent towards yourself or others, the staff where they feel it is correct, may need to restrain you. We will do this in a safe, dignified and respectful way only as a last resort. This is not done as a punishment but as a means of ensuring that everybody is safe.
All staff are trained in Team Teach restraint methods to ensure that it is done safely. We aim to avoid injury, but it is possible that bruising or scratching may occur accidentally and this is a regrettable but infrequent occurrence, while attempting to keep young people safe.
Where a young person’s safety and wellbeing is compromised by them displaying negative or risky behaviour access to areas of the home may be closed by locking
You have the right to:
• be well• be loved and valued• be helped to learn and to be
educated• be listened to• have positive relationships• develop self-confidence and dignity• shelter and nourishment• play• be safe
• equal opportunities• develop responsibility
You have the right to:
• informationand consultation• not hurt or harm other people• not put other people in danger• treat other people with respect and• not to abuse or bully other people• not to take or damage other
people’s property• respect other people’s privacy.
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internal doors e.g. the kitchen or communal areas. When the risk has subsided staff will assess the situation regarding safety and will then reopen the closed area if it is deemed safe to do so.
We may also use ‘sanctions’ if we think you need some help to control your behaviour. These sanctions may mean things like you having to spend some time away from the group to calm down or not going on a planned outing. We will only do this if we think it is needed to help you to control your behaviour and we will give you the opportunity to alter that behaviour so the sanction can be lifted.
At times some aspects of your behaviour may not be acceptable and on these occasions members of staff will challenge you about it. In order to prevent a sanction initially being put in place, staff at Copthorne House will hold a Restorative Justice meeting with you.
This is where you will be given the opportunity to discuss your behaviour to try and find out the reasons behind it and what can be done to make the situation right.
At the end of the meeting you should have an agreed outcome without the use of a sanction being put in place. The restorative process will also hopefully make you reflect on your behaviour and the impact it has on others in the home. You will also be praised by members of staff for good behaviour and good attitudes. If necessary, members of staff may use sanctions, this could include a restriction of your access to petty cash or your use of an individual television for your room. If you misuse money or do any wilful damage, you may be given a sanction.
Whenever a sanction is given, it will be recorded on your file and discussed with you. If you are not happy you can speak to the manager, social worker or make a complaint and staff will help you with this.
All restraints and sanctions are recorded in your file and you are given the chance to discuss them with a member of staff.
Key worker
When at Copthorne House you will have a person who is called a key worker who has special responsibility for your care. They will contact your family, your place of education, talk about what is best for you at Copthorne House and make sure that information is shared with the team so we all know how to care for you.
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Copthorne House staff team
Copthorne House has a dedicated staff team who have a wide range of different skills, training and backgrounds. Staffing levels depend on the needs of the young people. All the staff believe that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity and given opportunity and choice. The staff all have up-to-date police checks.
Can I make a complaint?
Yes you can. If you are not satisfied with your care at Copthorne House, it may be most effective to try to resolve the matter by talking to the staff or management.
If you are still not satisfied after the response you can contact the Complaints,Comments & Compliments Unit:
write to: Complaints, Comments & Compliments Unit, Freepost Kirklees 1479
telephone: 01484 225140 (there is an answer phone if you call outside office hours)
email: [email protected]
text: COMPLAIN to 8-0800 enter your name and your complaint or comment about social care services for children and young people.
Additionally complaints can be made directly to OFSTED:
Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester, M1 2WD.Tel: 0300 123 1231email: [email protected]
Copthorne House information CD
When you arrive at Copthorne House you will be given the Copthorne House CD. This is an easy to listen to audio guide to living at Copthorne House made with the help of the young people of Copthorne House. Some of the CD music was provided by a local band.
