Statement of Purpose

Background

Each children's home is required to produce an individual Statement of Purpose, specific to that home.

The Statement of Purpose, which must be regularly reviewed, should include the following information:

• The range of needs of the children for whom the children's home is able to provide care and accommodation;
• The aims, objectives and ethos of the home;
• The care that children / young people can expect to receive while living there (in line with the Quality Standards) including how they will be consulted about their care;
• Arrangements for promoting contact with family and friends and supporting the cultural, religious an linguistic needs of the child;
• The accommodation provided in the home, including its location;
• Details of healthcare or therapy provided (if any) and support to children with Special Educational Needs;
• An explanation of the staffing structure in the home, including the experience and qualifications of staff and arrangements for supervision of staff practice;
• Criteria used for admission to the home including whether the home can accept admissions at short notice / in emergency; and
• Approaches to behaviour support, including monitoring and surveillance and restraint.

Care Planning

The Statement of Purpose is an important document in the process of care planning as it sets out the needs of children the home is equipped to care for. Placing Authorities should always refer to the Statement of Purpose when deciding whether a placement in that particular home is the right one for a child, and whether the home will be able to respond effectively to the child's identified needs.

Emergency admissions should not be taken unless the home's Statement of Purpose allows for children to be placed at short notice.

Accessing the Statement of Purpose

Parents, carers, social workers and other professionals will be provided with a copy of the Statement of Purpose on request. Children and young people will be provided with a copy of the Children’s Guide, and staff will go through this with them on admission to the home to ensure they understand its content. Staff in the home will provide a copy of the most recent Ofsted inspection report on request.

The Statement of Purpose should be readily available for the Regulation 44 Independent Visitor and the Ofsted Inspector.