The Birches Children’s Home is located in Southport and accomodates up to five young people, of either gender. The young people will usually be aged between eleven and seventeen, although there will be some flexibility in this age range to take account of the individual’s developmental stage and cognitive functioning. The minimum age upon admission would be no older than sixteen years of age.
The purpose of the home is to provide a therapeutically managed facility to meet the nurturing, management, social, emotional and moral needs of young people who are unable to live in a family context.
It is envisaged that the young people will live in the home for at least two years; this is necessary in order to undertake therapeutic work to help the young person develop a sense of personal security and identify with consequent emotional and social development.
The home caters for young people who are experiencing a range of difficulties including:
Most of the young people living at The Birches will be educated at Pontville School & College in Ormskirk. Staff from the home work very closely with education based staff in order to provide an integrated package of education and care.
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The Birches Children’s Home is a large detached property, in close proximity to Southport Town Centre, which provides a high quality group living experience . The ground floor of the house consists of two large and comfortably furnished living rooms, a dining area, a good-sized kitchen and a bedroom that has en-suite facilities. On the first floor there are four other bedrooms, two of which have en-suite facilities, and a family bathroom. The second floor is a staff area, consisting of sleeping-in room and a staff work room
The property also has a basement area that has been converted into a flat for semi-independent living. To the rear of the property is an enclosed courtyard, the front of the property is flagged and has border with mature shrubs and bushes and provides parking for several vehicles.
All young people living at The Birches Children’s Home have individual bedrooms, and are encouraged to personalise their rooms to ensure opportunities to feel secure and comfortable are maximised.
Within the basement of the Birches Children’s Home, living accomodation for one young person has been developed where the emphasis is placed upon living with reduced support to prepare young people for leaving care as well as enabling a positive transition from living in a group environment to living independently/living away from The Birches Children’s Home.
The basement flat consists of a kitchen, dining area, living room, large bedroom and bathroom. Any young person who lives in the Basement Flat has an individual plan that identifies the level of support is required to ensure that they continue to live in a safe and well maintained environment, whilst giving them opportunities to develop their independent living and social skills.
Whilst there is a pre-arranged support package for the young person, staff from The Birches Children’s Home are also available if any difficulties/emergencies should arise.
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All of the young people are given opportunities to access a wide range of leisure and social facilities in either a supported, semi-independent or independent manner. Within the locality there are a variety of facilities that the young people access and enjoy; shops, parks, fairground, beach and cinema in addition to activities that offer a more structured programme of events; sporting clubs, swimming pools and youth groups. The young people are fully involved in deciding which activities take place.
