Subject: 15 year old boy who was having severe issues at home, running off and involved in criminal antisocial behaviour on the streets. Not in any education and a threat of having no home to move to should behaviour not improve.
Solution: We had Boy A for 4 days a week. We worked to incorporate Boy A into various constructive activities, mixed with various low level activities to help grow trust and relationship. We had a zero tolerance approach to any violence and running off would be met with us continuing to pick up the next day and work with parents to encourage and empower him to continue working with us.
Result: Boy A moved into education and career training about 6 months after working with us. We were at a point where there were zero incidents of running off or abusive/anti social behaviour and relationships at home had become normalised. A strong bond/relationship had been formed and there was a clear understanding of boundaries and expectations when we had been out.
Subject: Boy B was 10 years of age and suffering from trauma and a very self centred and demanding attitude to anything he was expected to do. He had a history of violent behaviour towards both people and objects. He was in the process of exclusion when we took over. He was also in the process of being moved on from his current foster placement. He was a gifted artist, especially with comic art.
Solution: We started working with Boy B 3 - 4 days a week. We used a mixture of constructive activities, mostly centred around art that he had an interest in. We would also utilise walks and other therapeutic activities where we could boost his personal confidence and build rapport and relationships. Physical abuse and attacks were not tolerated and handled by verbal direction and consequences to targeted rewards. Some handling was required which was reported and noted whenever used.
Result: A strong bond was formed where trust and compliance went hand in hand as days, then weeks went by. Outbursts with us were minimal and lot of listening and joining into stories and the imagination of Boy B helped create a strong sense of calm and routine. Child made a positive transition from foster care and also registered with a new SEN school. Lots of artwork was done which helped grow self confidence and worth.
Subject: Boy C was 5 years old and living with relatives after being removed from his mother. Boy C was living with his twin sister who we also looked after with him at times. Violent and very switched off to verbal commands. Respite for the family member and preparation for the child to be able to be moved successfully into a home were the goals. He was prone to violent tantrums and also damaging property.
Solution: We worked with Boy C for 4 - 5 days per week for full days. We worked to get him receptive to verbal directions and to behave well among other children in soft play centres and parks where he had struggled before. Some handling was required to move him at the beginning that was noted down and reported immediately. We also utilised days out to help grow a trust and relationship where verbal commands could be mixed with incentives and consequences should behaviour turn away from what was required. Very low level structured activities were also part of out strategy like rock climbing and playing football with some light coaching. We also took him out with one of our other children for a week for various days out. He enjoyed the friendship and company and actually behaved better than when on his own.
Result: His behaviour with the family member improved and Boy C made a successful transition to a children's home under our supervision. Respite was successfully achieved for the duration. We also managed to add a number of successful activities with both him and his sister so that there was bonding between them as well. A strong bond was made where the family and social services would rely on us for support with the family as well as solely with Boy C.
Subject: Girl D was in foster care and our job was to manage family time and transport Girl D to and from these sessions that were out in the community. Input was needed if behaviour was not managed by family or they were unable to think of anything to do whilst out. Her behavioural issues were largely ignoring requests and mouthing off to those in authority.
Solution: Boundaries were established and expectations at the beginning of our work together with Girl D. Her mother, the main one requiring help with behaviour, would receive support when correcting her daughters behaviour and we would work to keep things calm so that things didn't get out of hand. With the grandfather we worked to help focus him away from issues with social services and onto the family time we were supervising. We focused on forming strong, friendly relationships with both the family members and Girl D. Support for the foster family was also provided where necessary as relationships there were fraying as we started our work. There were two families we worked with fostering for this case.
Result: Strong, successful relationships were formed between ourselves and the family as well as the daughter who would trust us and understand she was safe and that her family time would be productive. Family times were successfully monitored with full support to the family members when correcting behaviours that demanded it and help empathising with Girl D when there needed to be understanding. Girl D successfully moved back into family care after 5 - 6 months of us working together.
Subject: Boy E was 12 and we had him for around two months. The goal was to get him ready for integration into a home due to violent behaviours exhibited with his family. Respite was needed as well as calming him down and making sure he was in a state of mind to be able to handle the transferring from his home life to a children's home. At the time we started with him he was in accommodation with dad in a hotel. Issues with running away, and impulsive serious behaviours that could be physical in nature.
Solution: We used a mixture of activities to get Boy E to form a relationship with us and were very clear as to boundaries and behavioural expectations. Football coaching/playing was a large part of what was offered due to his interest and ability in football. We also mixed his time in with a younger boy's time to help build responsibility and manage his desire to show off. This was heavily monitored and managed by us. After an initial outburst this seemed to help him and enhance the quality of the activities for both children.
Result: Boy E successfully made the transition into the care home despite severe worries before we started work with him that he wouldn't handle that kind of change.
Subject: Boy F was 13 and it was our job to manage him in his emergency foster placement until a full time placement was found. We worked with him 2-3 days per week for full days. Boy F was prone to violent outbursts and dismissal of requests, especially regarding appropriate entertainment. We were also involved in transportation of Boy F and his transfer into a new foster placement despite Boy F being determined not to move.
Solution: A lot of effort went into finding interests for Boy F that we could bond over and build a relationship on. We were confined to the current foster placements home for the entirety of the meetings we had. There were a number of violent and threatening outbursts that were mostly verbally diffused, with consequences of no TV or games, but some handling where we were approached to be assaulted. These were immediately reported and noted down as per procedure. This allowed for boundaries to be firmly set and a level of understanding as to what was acceptable meant we could further form a bond and build trust. We even got to venture out for library time to offer an alternative to just being in the home all day once behaviour was safe to do so. This helped to grow our bond.
Result: Due to the successful growth of our bond we were able to introduce and move Boy F into a new foster placement, despite some very rocky moments with him and the carer, as well as his general unsettled demeanour. This meant he had a chance for a fresh start somewhere more appropriate than an emergency placement and he seemed optimistic for the future.