We are excited to share that we are opening a brand-new children’s home in Staines, Surrey for autistic children and young people with associated leaning and communication needs.
The home is a nurturing and tailor-made provision and the individual sensory needs of the children have been carefully considered when designing the environment and living spaces.
We caught up with Vicki, Registered Manager and Catherine Deputy Manager of Millstream Lodge, to find out more.
Vicki –
“My experience comes from many years working in working in specialist children’s and adult care homes. Mainly supporting those with an autistic profile, learning difficulties and mental health challenges.
For me, the thing I enjoy the most, is seeing the difference we can make to the lives of our children and young people. The light bulb moment when they trust us enough to unpack their things and personalise their own room. That’s when I know that they feel safe, and that’s why I do what I do.
At Millstream, we are going to focus on outcomes such as building self-confidence and self-esteem and working with the children and young people towards semi-independence, work experience, further education placements and helping them integrate into society and the local community.
Our ethos remains one of partnership working, family values in a compassionate and supportive environment.
We like to think outside the box with our children and find out all about their personalised interests and hobbies so we can get them engaged though a variety of fun ways which match their personalities. On our door step we have access to go-karting, the cinema, a leisure centre for swimming, bowling and even Thorpe Park.
We look forward to running movie nights, beauty nights and even gaming nights with VR headsets.
The home will feature a bespoke sensory space which the children can access at any time to help self-regulate and relax. The bedrooms and living spaces will have black out blinds, sensory lighting, and muted colours where appropriate to best meet the sensory needs of our children.
In my spare time I really enjoy painting, decorating, and gardening…I find it very therapeutic! I am really looking forward to welcoming the first children in.”
Catherine -
“I started my career working in education as a school teaching assistant. I started off at pre-school age and worked on into a mainstream primary school. I then decided to make a change and went to work in a specialist children’s home in Hampshire, this is where I found my passion.
I thoroughly enjoy working with children, in particular those moments where you see the glimmers of progress and development. I love making a difference and seeing our children achieve the futures they deserve.
The most reward part is earning the trust of a young person and breaking everything down into manageable steps so I can see them become independent and flourish.
With my educational background I am looking forward to supporting the children and young people with their schooling to re-igniting a passion for learning and success.
We are aiming to create a real family feel here, and I look forward to helping the children with all kinds of independence skills such as cooking, shopping, budgeting, and self-care. We aim to have family-style meals together and play games or watch films together where we can.
Like Vicky I also enjoy decorating and am doing a few DIY projects on my own home. I would love to find more time to get back to going to the gym!”
We look forward to sharing more from the home with you very soon…
Home | Millstream Lodge | Children's Homes | Kedleston Group