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Our mission is to create brighter futures for children and young people. We do this by providing fostering, residential and support services where children and young people can feel safe and cared for. We support them to make positive relationships which give them the confidence to succeed.
Children say and show through their behaviour that they experience feeling loved by the staff.
At St Christopher’s we never see residential care as a last resort. Our children’s homes provide secure, nurturing bases. Young people are able to feel safe, create happy memories and build life skills for independence.
Children are able to choose how to decorate their bedrooms, vote on house rules, activities and help pick, shop for and cook healthy meals each day. By empowering them to make decisions that directly affect their lives, they feel more at home and positive about engaging with staff.
We provide children’s homes across London and the Isle of Man. Our homes enable young people in care to maintain vital community links, instead of being sent away to unfamiliar cities and towns across the UK.
Child sexual exploitation and the failure to protect young people is an issue of national concern. This remains a pressing problem for children’s services as they seek to find a long-term solution – young people were sent to homes far away from their local areas or placed in secure accommodation for their own protection. They were not taught how to spot the signs they were being exploited and lost the positive links they had with family, friends and education in their own communities.
To meet these needs we developed new best practice for based around the ‘Head, Heart, Hands’ principles of social pedagogy. We start by getting to know the young person so that they trust us enough to talk about their past experiences. Then, we work with them to show them what is healthy in a relationship, and teach them the skills they need to keep themselves safe. Therapeutic support is available and we have links with specialist groups in the local area who can advise on any particular issues.
Because the home is a part of its community, the girls can maintain and repair the positive relationships in their lives. They leave our care with a better understanding of sexual health, relationships and how they deserve to be treated.
I often look back and am overwhelmed by the love, care and support I received.
Social pedagogy authorised staff to give priority to creating positive relationships with the young women.
They have changed her thought processes. No running away for four months and she thinks about the future now.