2. Contents
The Programme................................................................................................3
Outcomes ........................................................................................................5
The Ohana (Family Based) Project ......................................................................5
Stockton Participation Project........................................................................... 10
Case studies from the children and young people we work with this year:.............. 11
Case studies from the children and young people we work with this year:.............. 12
Tees Valley Partners........................................................................................ 12
Tees Valley Partners........................................................................................ 12
Contact details ............................................................................................... 17
Contact details ............................................................................................... 23
The Children’s Society
The Children’s Society is a leading national
children’s charity committed to making childhood
better for all children in the UK.
We provide vital help for tens of thousands of children every year:
• We provide specialist support at a local level for those forgotten children who
face the greatest danger and disadvantages in their daily lives; children who
are unable to find the support they need anywhere else.
• Our work in children’s centres, schools and churches gives children the chance
to develop the skills and confidence they need to make the most of their
childhood and play a full part in their local communities.
• Our thought-provoking research influences everyone – from people like you and
me to politicians and decision makers – about how to create real change.
• Our hard-hitting campaigns attract large public support and make institutions,
government bodies and authorities take action to make childhood better for all
children.
3. Page 3 of 17
The Programme
The Children’s Society has a 25-year history of providing children and family services
in the Tees Valley area.
The Children's Society in Tees Valley has a successful track record of working with
the most hard to reach groups, enabling children, young people and their families to
find solutions to barriers that they face.
Through our continued partnership work the project has received donations from
individuals and collective giving from people wanting to make a difference.
This has allowed us to respond to the individual needs of the young people and
families we work with.
The significant achievements throughout this past year could not have occurred
without recognising the skills and dedication of a committed team of volunteers and
staff.
The services we provide:
• Hartlepool Restorative Services
• The Ohana Family Services
• Stockton Participation Service
4. Page 4 of 17
Who are the children and young people we work with?
Type of
Service
What we do Main Clients Number of children and
young people
The Ohana
(Family
Based)
Project
This family based
Project helps children,
young people and their
families find solutions
to their problems and
enjoy activities.
Children and young
people between the
ages of 7 -18, their
families and the
wider community.
Since June 2011 The Counselling
Service has worked with 76 children
and young people.
Since June 2011 The Family
Participation Service worked with a
total 33 families and reached 165
family members. In addition we have
successfully worked with 7 families
located in Billingham via funding from
Stockton Council.
Since June 2011 The Volunteer
Mentor Service has recruited 49
volunteer mentors and engaged 62
young people.
Restorative
Youth
Support
Services
This Project helps
children and young
people make amends
and repair the harm
caused by crime and
or offending
behaviour.
Children and young
people between the
ages of 10-18, their
families and the
wider community.
The service worked directly with 52
young people and indirectly enabled
another 41 young people to
participate in restorative justice this
year. The service worked with 93
victims of Crime.
Stockton
Participation
Project
Consultation with
children and young
people accessing short
break services in
Stockton.
Capacity building
workshops to raise
awareness of
children’s rights to
make informed
decisions and increase
interest in developing
a young people’s
forum.
Children and young
people, between the
ages of 5 and 18,
with complex and
additional needs.
Adults who work
directly with the
main client group
and those that make
strategic decisions on
their behalf.
Approx. 366
Approx. 200 in consultation processes
6 Members of young people’s forum
Approx. 100 in school assembly
Approx. 60 in Short Breaks service
provision.
5. Page 5 of 17
Outcomes
The Ohana (Family Based) Project
Summary
The Ohana Project is aimed at preventing children and young people from offending/
re-offending. Ohana includes the provision of a Family Intervention Service, Children
& Young Peoples Counselling & a Volunteer Mentor Service.
Key achievements
Ohana, meaning family, is an innovative family based project and is entering the final
year of its Lottery funding cycle which ends May 2014.
The Ohana Project has formed positive relationships with key stakeholders across
Stockton and Hartlepool and has a growing reputation for delivering excellent
outcomes.
The Ohana Project has so far raised awareness with over 3,927 practitioners and
community members with regards to issues related to working with children and
young people who are in trouble with the law, or who are at risk of entering the
criminal justice system. This includes anti-bullying, substance misuse, children’s
rights and safeguarding to name but a few. This figure has far exceeded the target
expection of a 120 within the first year and has achieved this by delivering training,
seminars and school events across Hartlepool and Stockton.
The Ohana Project has also supported 16 organisations to develop their volunteer
services. The support we have offered during the first year has been diverse and
valued by all participating organisations. In particular organisations have found it
useful to use our Volunteer Handbook as a template for developing their own.
The Family Intervention & Participation Service has worked with 33 families or
165 family members this year. Feedback from families and stakehiolders has been
positive.
The Counselling Service has worked with 76 children and young people.
Evaluations and feedback from stakeholder’s evidence the huge success of this
service.
The Volunteer Mentor Service has recruited 49 Volunteers Mentor. They have so
far reached and engaged 63 children and young people. 16 Case Studies have been
completed.
6. Page 6 of 17
How does the work benefit young people?
The Family Intervention Service looks at
the whole family situation and how we can
work together to resolve many of the
problems that they face. This involves
working with an agreed support plan and
where appropriate and mediating to improve
family and wider community relationships.
Families are fully supported to start working
together and achieve lasting change.
The Children & Young Peoples Counselling
Service works therapeutically with children and
young people to build resilience and improve mental
health. Many of the children and young people
when first referred to the service tell us they feel
very sad and unhappy with their lives. As a result
of the Counselling offered, children’s mental health
and levels of happiness have improved significantly.
In addition, the Counselling service has offered
support to young people to enable them to deal
with the anxieties created by exam stress and
bereavement issues.
The Volunteer Mentor Service matches a
trained volunteer with a young person. Young
People benefit by having a role model in their life
that they can plan and enjoy positive activities
with. Young people tell us that they really
appreciate that someone is prepared to give up
their free time and spend time with them. As a
result young people say they feel happier and
more confident about themselves. Parents also
report benefits, including having time to recharge
their batteries or spending more time with
younger siblings.
7. Page 7 of 17
How we contribute to national outcomes
The Ohana Project contributes to the national agenda by ensuring young people
receive holistic support that is able to meet their specific needs. This approach aims
to divert children and young people away from crime and save the tax payer money.
As a result, the Ohana Project is in sync with the Government’s view on how
diversionary activities should be delivered. The project’s focus on the importance of
having positive practitioner/client relationships is also fully supported in The Munro
Review of Child Protection: Final Report Findings1
.
How we contribute to local outcomes
The Ohana Project contributes to the local agenda by ensuring children and young
people can access a service that diverts them away from anti-social behaviour and
crime. As a result the project is working to keep young people out of the criminal
justice system altogether whilst also supporting those who have been in trouble with
the law to not re-offend. Ohana also provides valuable volunteering opportunities,
many of which have result in new career and educational pathways.
How we evaluate our work
The Ohana project prides itself on listening to what young people, families and
professionals tell us about our service. Within the volunteer mentor service, each
young person who has been matched with a mentor is requested to complete a
questionnaire at the beginning, during and after their mentoring. Within the family
intervention service, requests are made to young people and their families for
evaluations to be completed at the end of the service.
The young person’s counsellor uses age appropriate clinical assessments tools, which
measure progress and changes in emotional well-being. In addition to this, the
practitioner requests evaluations from child, referrer and parent/carer where
appropriate.
The Ohana Project will be independently evaluated in August 2013. This will provide
a platform from which the project can build on what works and move forward with
identified areas for future development. It is envisaged that the final report will have
been completed and circulated by end of September 2014.
1
The Munro Review
8. Page 8 of 17
The Restorative Youth Support Service
Summary
The Restorative Youth Support Service helps
children and young people to learn from their
mistakes and choose positive pathways in life.
It does this by supporting young people to
understand the full impact of their behaviour
and make amends for it. Many victims of
crime have told us they feel safer and have an
increased confidence in the criminal justice
system as a result of taking part in a
restorative process.
Key achievements
The restorative service continues to use the Ladysmith Centre in Hartlepool as a
therapeutic base to deliver its work from. This therapeutic resource has increased
the quality and number of outcomes achieved for children, young people and victims
of crime and anti social behaviour.
The Ladysmith Centre provides a safe haven for young people to learn about the
impact of their offending behaviour and make personalised apology cards that are
then passed to community members harmed by offending behaviour. On occasion
young people and victims of crime have the opportunity to meet each other at this
venue.
Apology cards and letters have been very well received and feedback tells us that
community confidence has increased significantly as a result of this activity. Access
to the Ladysmith Centre is support the implementation of a whole restorative
approach and ethos across Harterlpool.
The journey to implement a whole restorative approach in partnership with Hartlepool
Youth Offending Service continues to make good headway.
In addition we have piloted a mediation model called Family Panels. Early indications
suggest that this model helps to prevent family breakdown and avoids young people
from becoming homeless.
The Project also works with partners to help young people talk about how bullying,
anti social behaviour and crime impacts on their lives. We continue to achieve this by
coordinating the Young Victims Steering Group in Hartlepool. This year we worked
with partners and young people from St Hilds to develop a Safe Youth Toolkit called
Talk and Tell – www.talkandtell.co.uk. This new toolkit is currently being piloted
by several primary schools in Hartlepool. Moving forward Tees Valley is also
partnering ITVfixers to create a DVD to highlight the harm caused by Cyber Bullying.
9. Page 9 of 17
How does the work benefit young people?
Children and Young People who engage with our restorative service are encouraged
to listen to the victim’s side of things and develop an understanding of their harmful
behaviour and how it affects others. To achieve this we encourage young people to
learn from their mistakes and make positive choices that steer them away from
crime. This involves a lot of patience and a belief that children and young people
should have opportunities to learn from their mistakes as part of growing up, and
taking responsibility for any wrongdoing.
We also work restoratively to help children and young people stay out of the criminal
justice system. This is called the Triage Programme and offers child and young
people a second chance. Since it started in June 2010 77% of young people have
stayed out of the criminal justice system. With both the financial cost and human
cost of a child entering the criminal system being immensely high, Triage has
successfully prevented many children/young people from entering the criminal justice
system.
How we contribute to national outcomes
The Restorative Service contributes to our national agenda by ensuring young people
in the youth offending system do not end up in a cycle of re-offending. A lot of our
work involves families where relationships are fragile, or indeed on the edge of falling
apart. With our help and support many of these families have been helped to sort
out their differences and get their relationships back on track.
We know that having a good family and friends is central to a child’s experience of a
good childhood, so being able to make a difference here is very important to us. We
believe children and a young people need love, and with this is an obligation to care
for them and ensure they are kept safe.
How we contribute to local outcomes
Here at Tees Valley we play a pivotal role in successfully diverting children and young
people away from crime. Through our practice and positive relationships we are able
to bring communities together to reconcile conflict and increase community
confidence. As a result we contribute to building safer, healthier and stronger
communities.
How we evaluate our work independently
A recent Peer Review praised the restorative work. There was a particular emphasis
placed on the service’s ability to innovate and ability to successfully roll out its
restorative implementation plan alongside Hartlepool Youth Offending Service.
Following the peer review a formal HMI inspection was also completed. This report
recognised that high quality outcomes for young people are consistently being
achieved across the service.
10. Page 10 of 17
Stockton Participation Project - Children and
Young People with Complex and Additional Needs
Summary
The Children’s Society Tees Valley delivered on two contracts for Stockton Borough
Contracts:
• Empowering Service Providers (June 2012 to November 2012)
• Empowering Young People (December 2012 to May 2013)
Both pieces of work were undertaken on behalf of Stockton Borough Council. The
overall aim was to further embed participation values and principles across short
break services. Short breaks are activities or services for children and young people
with a range of needs that give parents and carers a break from their caring role.
Empowering service providers focused on developing and agreeing an overarching
participation framework to systematically involve children and young people in
participation processes as an integral part of service provision.
The project also worked with parents and carers who didn’t access short breaks to
find out what the barriers were for them. The information gleaned from this work
would help the local authority and service providers to consider and address any
barriers.
Empowering Young People was a project to establish a forum for young people with
complex and/or additional needs. The work involved developing skills, knowledge
and confidence with forum members so they could create a short breaks audit tool.
Key achievements
• All short break service providers in Stockton engaged in capacity building
activities to improve participation across short break provision.
• An overarching framework for qualitative monitoring of children and young
people’s views was developed and used across all service.
• Qualitative information from over 200 children and young people with complex
and additional needs was collected from the majority of service providers,
collated and put into a report for Stockton Borough Council.
• The report will inform developments to children and young people’s short break
services across the borough.
• All providers were involved in reviewing the monitoring framework and their
views and experiences contributed to development of the framework and its
use across services.
• 19 Parents/carers were involved in consultations to find out their barriers to
accessing short breaks.
• A report was submitted to Stockton Borough Council to outline the main
barriers for parents and carers not using short breaks services.
11. Page 11 of 17
• An agreement was made by short break managers to continue to discuss and
develop the inclusion of children and young people in shaping short break
provision through the Providers Forum
• Stockton Borough Council and Abbey Hill School supported the development of
a youth forum.
• The project worked with young people with additional needs to:
o Learn about children’s rights to have a say in matters that concern them
o To have information to help make informed decisions and choices
o To develop skills and confidence to be involved in making a difference
• The youth forum was developed and young people named it Get Involved –
Make a Difference.
• Get Involved – Make a Difference created an audit tool in the form of a
workbook called Short Breaks Assessment Workbook. The workbook brought
together images, data and information from their workshops under their own
headings relating to what young people felt were important aspects of short
break services.
• Young people tested the workbook in three short break activities. They did this
first by themselves and as they become more confident supported other
children and young people to take part in completing a workbook.
• The Children’s Society delivered a report to Stockton Borough Council outlining
the process involved in creating the workbook and some suggestions for its
future use.
How does the work benefit children and young people?
Stockton Participation Project has formalised participation for children with complex
and additional needs in Stockton. The work raised expectations for children and
young people to influence service development and change the ethos of how services
are provided in the future.
The project demonstrated that
children with complex and
additional needs are able make a
meaningful contribution to
influencing services that impact on
their lives. Get Involved – Make a
Difference, youth forum takes this
work one step further in shifting
authority and power about children
and young people, to children and
young people. In doing so, it
recognises children and young
people as experts in their own
lives.
12. Page 12 of 17
Tees Valley Partners
• The Big Lottery, Reaching Communities Fund
• Catalyst
• Synergy Stockton
• Middlesbrough Borough Council
• Stockton Borough Council
• Stockton Youth Offending Service
• Hartlepool Youth Offending Service
• Sunderland University
• Northfield School
• St Hild’s School
• St Helen’s Primary School
• Billingham South Primary School
• Safer Hartlepool Partnership
• Safe In Tees Valley
• Victim Support
• Cleveland Police
• John SISK & Son Ltd
• Hitachi Zosen Inova
Comments from partners
Counselling Service
“Some of the children are carrying huge burdens into school which is a barrier to
learning; Karen’s [counselling] support is making it easier for them to be educated
and enriching their lives outside of school.”
Keith Morrison Family Liaison / Learning Progression Mentor, St Hilds School
“Karen’s counselling support has been a fantastic asset for the school and I cannot
emphasise the positive effect she is having on our most vulnerable students – She is
real start and a pleasure to work with. She has not only provided counselling support
for our students but also attended multi-agency meetings, facilitated presentations to
staff and also held stress busting sessions for several anxious Y11 students before
their GCSE examinations”.
Lorraine Lucas – Learning & Behaviour Strategy Manager
13. Page 13 of 17
“We need your service to continue and if possible expand as we have many, many
students who would benefit from the amazing work that you all do. In my 12 years
this has been the most effective outside agency that I have worked with”.
Suzanne Sotheran – Head of year 9 re Counselling
“There are definite improvements in different areas such as slightly longer attention
span, better relationships with more pupils, slightly improved teamwork and sharing
skills and she is continuing to control her emotions and behaviour.”
Rachel Bennett, Class Teacher, St Helen’s Primary School re Counselling
“The young person is often difficult to engage and not trusting of adults or
professionals working with him. He showed an eagerness to attend sessions for
counselling and has asked for further sessions in the future if possible. The child is a
lot happier and more settled since attending counselling sessions with Karen. She is a
credit to The Children’s Society and a pleasure to work with.”
Dawn Ryder, Class Teacher, Oakdene Primary School
“My son is much more confident and able to open up about his feelings. Since he has
started counselling, I have been able to work again as he is more settled in school
and feels better about him”
Parent re Counselling
Family Service
"The family appear to have increased tolerance of each other and have redefined
some reasonable boundaries". I would like to thank Damien and Karen for
contributing to the overall package of intervention for this young man. He has now
completed his order successfully and his circumstances have improved"
Youth Offending Case Manager re Family Work
"I honestly believe that had it not been for The Children’s Society, my son would
have been locked up by now"
Parent re Family Work
Mentoring Service
“The young person has just left school and already she has contacted me about
helping her to find a part time job during our next mentor sessions. I am so proud of
how proactive she has become and I really hope that she does well with her future
college course, she really deserves to be successful”
Volunteer Mentor
“Mentoring has not only helped Amy but it has also helped me. I am a mother of
three children and I enjoyed having the opportunity to get out of the house and try
new activities with Amy”
Volunteer Mentor
14. Page 14 of 17
“The young people are always saying they love Friday club and wish it was on every
night! I think it’s the best feeling in the world when you know your helping these
young people and to see them happy and having fun.”
Volunteer Mentor re Friday Club
“The children are having so much fun at the Transitions group and have really opened
up about their worries when moving on to secondary school. The parents have also
taken the opportunity to arrive early if they have wanted to discuss certain issues
that they have also been concerned about”
Volunteer Mentor re Transitions Club
Restorative Work
“I received an explanation why he caused the damage that day and also gave
reasons why this will never happen again. Although I was angry before your visit I
feel I can move on from this now”
Victim of an offence
“I received a new phone and a genuine apology from the young person and I am
very happy. I feel we both can put this behind us and move on”
Victim of an offence
15. Page 15 of 17
Comments and case studies from the children and
young people we work with
“I don’t feel as though I am alone. It’s reassured me that other people feel the
same, and I have someone to talk to now. Karen is very understanding and makes
me feel a lot calmer, that I am not weird, and that it’s normal”
“Talking about who has died helps me and I go home and look at photos and talk to
my family about it. I trust you”
“Our family used to not get along and argue. Since speaking to you [Family
Intervention Worker] we don’t argue as much”
“There’s been loads of people who’ve tried to work with me in the past, but you’re
the only one that I’ve actually got on with and enjoyed working with…Thanks”
“I have listened, understood and given an apology”
“I know how they feel; it was wrong and they will have been upset”
Mentoring Service Case Studies
Rosie (14) had low self esteem and mixed with a peer group that got her into lots of
trouble. Since being involved with The Children’s Society Mentoring Service, Rosie
has increased confidence and made new friends that like her for who she is.
Amy (13) displayed very challenging behaviour at school. Since being involved with
The Children’s Society Mentoring Service Amy has learned to trust people, control her
anger and talk about her feelings to self harm.
Jake (7), Simon (9) and Daniel (10) were all placed in foster care to protect them
from harm. All 3 brothers had different needs, and benefited individually from having
their own mentor. Our mentors have helped the brothers to feel safe and enjoy their
childhood. Counselling support was also delivered and helped the children to share
their problems in confidence and develop positive attachments.
16. Page 16 of 17
Counselling Case Studies
Martin (15) and David (16) were both involved in youth offending and had a history
of not engaging with services. Their younger brother had tragically died and this had
torn their world apart. A referral to the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service was
made but the brothers did not attend appointments. With support and
encouragement, both brothers decided to give counselling a go. Amazingly both
brothers fully participated. After the Counselling had ended, both brothers said that
they would access the service again if they needed it.
Jake (7), Simon (9) and Daniel (10) were all placed in foster care to protect them
from harm. All 3 brothers had different needs, and benefited individually from having
their own mentor. Our mentors have helped the brothers to feel safe and enjoy their
childhood. Counselling support was also delivered and helped the children to share
their problems in confidence and develop positive attachments.
Family Work Case Studies
Jason (17) was thrown out of the family home when family relationships had broken
down. Our Family Worker mediated between family members and an agreement was
made to help reunite the family. As a result communication has improved and
following a number of meetings, Jason is now able to return home.
Jake (10) and Jane (9) play social learning games at our Tees Valley project. This
has helped them both to learn about how to keep safe and stay out of future trouble.
Mum is working hard to offer consistent parenting and has put ground rules in place
to instil boundaries. This includes going to bed on time, so Jake can attend and
participate in school activities without falling asleep in lessons.
John (17) had been released from custody and although he has had a few scrapes
with law over the past year he has not gone back to jail. John was supported to
access employment training that met his needs and specific situation.
Restorative Service Case Studies
John (13) was being bullied at school which resulted in him becoming a victim of
crime following an assault. A restorative meeting between the parties was held to
explore the issues. John received a full apology from the boy that assaulted him and
received reassurances that this would never happen again. This gave John the
confidence to return to school in the knowledge that he would not be harmed. The
school supported the mediation process which strengthened the agreement made
between both parties. Following this, The Children’s Society Restorative Worker took
John to a footy match at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium. John said that he felt
like he had got his life back.
Lily (16) assaulted her mother over an argument over money. Lily was on the verge
of being made homeless because of her behaviour. A Family Panel was held to
explore the issues on both sides. Lily and her mum had realised that they has drifted
apart and explored ways how they could restore family relationships. Following the
Panel Lily participated in family activities, stopped demanding money and attended
college.
