Aims & objectives
Our aim is to provide an experience of care and education which will encourage and enable the children to live successfully in the community.
We will:
- provide a stable, structured and caring environment, with a familiar routine which promotes a sense of security in the children;
- build and develop the children's confidence and self esteem;
- encourage their ability to make relationships with other children and adults to help them cope more effectively in the wider community;
- provide an environment where children feel safe enough to learn and express themselves and where they are not afraid to try;
- make sure that the children meet adults who provide safe and positive care and understand the individual child's needs;
- provide, where necessary, individual therapy to help children overcome their difficulties;
- develop each child's social and emotional skills through education, therapy and play.
Achieving our aims
At Seamab we provide an integrated programme of care, education, therapy and play. Our approach is to be fair and consistent.
It is important that we do our best to understand the root cause of each child's problem and, where possible, bring about beneficial change. To do this we meet regularly to discuss each child's care plan, individualised educational programme, targets, progress and concerns.
The child's teacher and key worker, with other staff, meet every six weeks to discuss and record the child's development and progress. This ensures that the child's needs and any areas of concern are known to all members of staff.
All our work is based on the theoretical model of attachment and we have a clear understanding of the effects on a child of trauma and loss.
We maintain and strengthen relationships between the child, their family or carer, other professional, the local school and community. That means we also provide support during the period of transition when a child is moving from Seamab to live either with their family or in a community-based setting and to attend another school.
Most importantly, we make sure that as much support as possible is in place while the child is at Seamab and when they leave.
