Settling In
On your first day, a senior member of staff will discuss the content of this guide with you prior to you signing a behavioural contract - this will also be signed by your Social Worker. This will be followed by a meeting where we will plan, with you, for your future. You will then be appointed a key worker who will make sure you are well looked after and who will keep in contact with the key people in your life to inform them of how things are going.
You'll also be assigned an IRO. This is someone who will chair your reviews and make sure your care plan meets your needs. They’ll make sure your voice is heard and that people do what they say they’ll do. The IRO also has a job to make sure that the local authority knows when it is not doing well enough for children in its care. But, because sometimes good practice is not always easy to spot, IROs will also tell local authorities about where things are going particularly well for children. Ultimately, you can feel confident that they have your best interests at heart. Make sure you ask for their number.
We want to you to feel comfortable in your surroundings and to help with this you will be given a budget to decorate and personalise your bedroom.
Expression is an invaluable part of life and all of us at Anderida encourage all forms of it. Each member of the Anderida team brings with them different skills and attributes that you may want to learn from. For example, many young people we have worked with in the past have utilised our musical staff to sing, rap and produce music. Some have learnt to play instruments or DJ. Others like to sit down and work on pieces of art with our more artistic staff or write expressively. Whatever it is that floats your boat, we embrace all forms of expression and look to facilitate and expand upon it. We’d also love for you to take one of our Life Books to fill out, ask someone for one, they are great for expressing feelings and saving memories!
Express Yourself
Empower Yourself
We will provide you with pocket money of £3.50 on both Monday and Friday and, as long as your room is tidy, you will receive a further £1.50 on both those days. Young people are also entitled to:
· £20 per week for constructive activities
· £15 per week for clothes
· A weekly £5 phone card to phone family, friends and make official calls e.g. your social worker / make appointments.
You will have a JISA set up, which is a savings account with a great rate of interest, that will already have £200 pounds in it from the Government to help you to start saving. You can access this money when you are 18.
We also have our A-Points scheme; save up points due to good behaviour and efforts made towards achieving your goals. Go onto the A-Points website and choose an activity to spend those points on! Skydive anyone?! Half of your A-Points are converted into cash and put into your JISA, too. So positive behaviour can actually secure your future!
Empower Yourself
All of our homes are based in East Sussex, which is a county on the South Coast. Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings are all local, with London a relatively short train journey away. Aside from some vibrant seaside resorts and beaches, East Sussex has some great countryside and forests and plays host to plenty of outdoor pursuits - all of which, we like to get involved in!
The Area
We explore every possible avenue available to you regarding your education / employment. If appropriate, we will help you join a local school, college, find work or we will support you with a programme of education utilising our own in-house Anderida Learning Centre. Whichever suits your needs, Anderida will help you get the best possible start suiting your own level of ability taking into account your current needs and your future goals.Staff will always be keen to do educational activities with you, so if anything crosses your mind, just ask!
Educate Yourself
Express Yourself
Equip Yourself
It is important that you are equipped with all sorts of life skills to gear you up for independence. From cooking to I.T. skills to fitness to being able to apply for jobs etc, the staff at Anderida are all experienced in life and will always look to help and guide you wherever possible. Be it something like reading a bus timetable or writing a CV to learning about the workings of a car or how to shoot like Theo Walcott, we will always be on hand to help and if we don’t know the answers we will put you in touch with someone who does!
We will help you register with a doctor, optician and dentist when you arrive. Medicines are looked after carefully and great care goes into making sure that they are given out correctly and safely. It is important that you understand that all our homes are smoke free homes and we actively discourage young people from smoking. We promote healthy living, from the food you eat to the exercise that you join in with, and all our homes are in areas full of exciting things to do. We have enthusiastic and motivated project workers who will always be up for fun activities and sports. On the subject of activities, on our A-Points website we keep a large database of free activities too, so keep checking it, get out there and create some memories!