Young Person
Our aim is to prevent young people from becoming homeless, socially excluded and be able to maintain a tenancy when they leave care. The staffing team at Valentine Homes will assess the needs of the young person and assist them to build the skills required to live independently ensuring a positive quality of life after care and working in line with the Every Child Matters outcomes which is :-
- Being healthy
- Staying safe
- Enjoying and achieving
- Making a positive contribution
- Achieving economic well-being
At Valentines Homes ‘doing nothing’ is not an option for our young people. Those that are not already in education or employment will be encouraged to take part in one of our programmes, to help build their confidence and achieve their goals.
Our services for young people (aged 16-25 years) will have a wide spectrum of additional services and programmes, to name a few:
Maths and English (12 months). This will cover level 1 and 2 functional skills.
Big Chef Little Chef ( 6 weeks). This is a cooking programme which not only teaches our young person will also complete their level 2 Food Hygiene.
Employment Ready ( 4 weeks). This programme is designed to equip our young people with the correct tools which will help them gain employment in the future. In this programme we will cover things like, how to write a CV with the correct information, how to complete an application form, how to conduct yourself in an interview. This programme covers all areas which will get them ready for employment.
Rhythm and Flow ( 6 weeks). This is a music programme which covers, song writing lessons, access to music studio, producing and everything music. This programme is run by a well established music producer. At the end of this programme the young person will have the opportunity to produce their own track.
Ready Set Go. This is a driving programme which is run by Learners First driving school. Our young people will be taught how to drive and put through their driving test.
In The Know ( 6 weeks). This programme is workshop based which covers societal issues such as: Signs of grooming, Sexual health/STI’S, Police Powers, Know your Rights Stop and Search, Modern day slavery, County Lines. To name a few. The aim of this programme is to equip our young people with the tools to contribute to society in a positive way and avoid finding themselves in predicaments which could lead them into trouble or breaking the law.
At Valentines Homes we also offer our young people the chance to sign up to our mentor scheme where they can have 1 to 1 sessions to help them set targets to help them achieve their goals. We also have access to qualified councillors who are on hand to support our young people.
Next Step Programme
A next step programme is where ongoing care support will not be required at the same level for the foreseeable future, but there is an end goal of independence at some level.
Valentine Homes has a property portfolio which allows us to offer our young people next step accommodation.
The second step after they leave fully supported accommodation would be partly supported.
The third step independent living and we are still at the other end of the phone for support if needed.
These properties are for young people who have developed their life skills and independent living skills, and we will support them to develop tenancy sustainable skills within our step down properties.
