Our Enhanced Services - Ashdale Care

We are dedicated to providing a child-centric, compassionate, safe and transformative environment for the children in our care. We provide a range of essential services for children and young people such as sensory integration, therapy, outdoor activities, education and so much more. Our core goal is to allow children to create relationships, develop life skills and give them a safe place to grow.

Psychology

Our psychologists provide a comprehensive support service to our young people and our staff. They work in line with our Stepped-Care Model of Therapeutic Support, providing indirect and direct support, assessment and interventions. They conduct assessments using various methods including psychometric tests, interviews and direct observation.

They also help to devise formulations, Therapeutic and Educational Summaries of Progress (TESPS) and Individual Therapeutic Plans (ITPs) in line with the Care Plan. They provide regular case consultations and reviews with home managers and staff, attend placement planning meetings and, where indicated, carry out direct interventions with our young people on an individual or group basis. Our psychologists facilitate part of our in-house Developmental Trauma training programme, offering therapeutic input and treatment in relation to the consequences of traumatic experiences that are part of the profile of many of our young people.

Occupational Therapy

The occupational therapist working within Ashdale Care aims to work collaboratively to build the capacity of the social care staff and the environment that surrounds the young person to promote a safe, supportive, and regulated home environment.

The approach of the occupational therapist is trauma-informed, attachmentoriented and developmentally sensitive, underpinned by Sensory Attachment Intervention and the Neurosequential Approach. The occupational therapist works directly and indirectly with the young person to explore how developmental trauma impacts their arousal state, the sensory systems and the relationships within the young person’s home, educational and community environments. Once regulated and connected, the occupational therapist, in collaboration with the social care staff, can support the child’s participation and engagement in meaningful occupations.

Education

Ashdale Learning Hub is an innovative service within Ashdale that takes place in a dedicated, purpose designed building. In this hub, we provide bespoke educational and therapeutic support programmes delivered by our in-house teachers and therapists.

For those who find attending school difficult, our learning hub offers a safe, supportive, ‘in-the-meantime’ environment, where educational input is provided until the young person can transition to mainstream school. For those who are already in mainstream school, ALH provides additional support for their education such as After-School clubs, homework clubs and other social skills-based groups. We have excellent relationships with our local primary/ secondary schools/ Youth Reach Projects, liaising with them and providing them with advice and bespoke training in relation to supporting our young people in school. We are committed to supporting children and young people in achieving the best educational outcomes possible, something that can be challenging for many of our young people.

ASDAN

We acknowledge the structure of mainstream educational settings will not benefit all young people in achieving their full academic potential.In response to this, we have registered with ASDAN, a charitable Organisation (Reg.Charity No.1066927) which formally recognises young people’s success in a wide range of skills.

ASDAN is a pioneering curriculum development organisation and internationally recognised awarding body, offering programmes and qualifications that explicitly grow skills for learning, skills for employment and skills for life. Together, we work outside the realms of mainstream education to create an environment and learning regime based on individual skills/ interests without the stress and fear of failure more associated with formal academia. Our course rewards small steps of achievement regularly and progressively, enhancing a young person’s self-esteem, confidence and ambition. This is co-ordinated by our accredited ASDAN practitioner who has scheduled individual time with each young person on a weekly basis.

Art therapy

We provide 1:1 Art Therapy sessions for our young people, as required. Art therapy teaches young people how to express and understand emotions through art. For children who may not be able to articulate thoughts, sensations, emotions or perceptions, it is one way to convey what may be difficult to express with words.

For those who have experienced abuse, it is one way to “tell without talking” when they are unable or afraid to speak about specific events or feelings. It is also a sensory-based approach that allows the children to experience themselves and communicate on multiple levels—visual, tactile, kinesthetic and more. Neurobiology continues to inform mental health professionals about why specific art-based activities, within the context of therapy, may be helpful to children. In particular, certain sensory characteristics of art making seem to be effective in improving mood, sensory integration, and calming the body and mind, especially with children who have experienced traumatic events.

Individual, Child-Centred Approach

The therapeutic journey commences through referrals and meetings with professionals seeking a placement for a child or young person. These are considered by our multidisciplinary team, and every referral of a young person is reviewed from the perspective of meeting their needs, ensuring that our service is the right fit for an individual, and is subject to a collective risk assessment.

A comprehensive, individualised and bespoke proposal is forwarded for consideration to the referring agency, followed by a meeting with our multidisciplinary team to further explore transition planning. We accept referrals from the National Placement Team within Tusla and the Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland.

On admission, an Individual Placement Plan (IPP) is devised by Ashdale’s Team. This IPP reflects the Care Plan that comes with the young person. A key worker is also appointed. The Key worker continues to work alongside the child/young person to make their transition into their home as smooth as possible. The child/ young person is encouraged to become involved in decisions regarding their daily life within the home at these initial stages, ensuring their voice is heard.

Working in collaboration with the Therapeutic and Operations Teams, the Key worker will assist in helping the child/young person understand life events and circumstances that led to their admission to their new placement, enhance selfesteem, develop their personal abilities and strengths, address and respond to their behaviours, help manage past trauma and work to create the kind of supportive relationships and attachments needed for healing.

Our commitment to quality

Discover our dedication in action. Download our Quality Report and explore how we uphold excellence in every aspect of our compassionate service to children and young people.

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