Why Improve an Already Successful Programme?
Since its inception, we have provided a considerable number of hours of support to children and their families within our 24/7 In the Home Programme. Indeed, in the past 12 months alone, those hours amount to 21,000. The Programme has continuously evolved, and we recognised that there is a need for flexibility, in order to meet the complex needs of the families that we work with. Additionally, we have been looking at ways in which we could complement and enhance the Programme, in order to ensure that those families have every opportunity to develop the necessary skills to effectively and safely care for their children safely.
The SNAP Programme
As a standard aspect of every 24/7 In the home full programme, we will be introducing SNAP (Strengths and Needs Analysis Programme). Parents with learning needs often learn to mask the extent of their difficulties and assessment and intervention by a Local Authority Social Worker is often limited by capacity and time constraints. We wanted to harness the unique opportunity that the observations provide and offer a way to measure extensively, a parent’s knowledge in areas of parenting or independence. Alongside our observations of these elements of a parent’s daily life, SNAP explores these areas in more depth, to identify potential gaps. In doing so, we can ensure that support is tailored specifically to an individual parents needs and any specific areas for more intensive teaching are communicated to the Local Authority.
The TOP Programme
Whilst this Programme of teaching is not specifically connected to our 24/7 In the Home Programme, and is a stand-alone piece of direct work, it is an excellent compliment to the Programme, that we have offered to Local Authorities, in some context, for a number of years. We have now added more structure to the teaching element of our work with parents, and are very proud to introduce our TOP Programme (Teaching, Observation and Practice). In summary, areas of identified teaching are delivered by our experienced and trained Family Support Workers. Each area of teaching is followed by a guided observation, to explore a parents capacity to implement what has been taught. This is a fully supported and planned observation. Further teaching sessions will include additional observations, which offer a measure of a parent’s ability to consistently and independently undertake the task (practice).
Should you require any further information about this, or any of the products we provide, or if you would like to arrange a face-to-face meeting to discuss them further, please do not hesitate to contact ACCA. Get in touch today.
