Archway Care Ltd

Children in Need

Many of the children and young people cared for by Archway Care are impacted on by earlier life experiences. They may have suffered neglect, abuse and trauma and as a result display emotional and behavioural difficulties. Children in need can often enter foster care in an emergency and with very little personal belonging. Separation from family and friends is a traumatic experience for children and young people, and they need high levels of support and care to cope with these experiences.

Short and Long-term Placements

The majority of Archway Care placements are either short and long-term foster placements.

A short-term placement can be anything from a few days and up to two years. The aim of these placements is to provide a safe placement for children in need, while long-term plans are being developed for the child by the placing authority. Often intensive work is undertaken with the child to prepare them for either a return home, or a move to long-term adoption or foster care. Short-term placements can be made at very short notice, and sometimes with minimal information. Two sibling children can share a bedroom, with the permission of the placing authority, while in short-term placement.

Long-term foster placements are pre-planned and often take many months to arrange and confirm. The aim of these placements is to offer long-term care arrangements for children in need up to 18 years of age, or when they move on to independent living. These placements are for children in need who cannot return to live with their parents, or extended family, for various reasons. Children in long-term care are not expected to share a bedroom, unless this is with a sibling of the same sex, and this arrangement has been agreed by Archway Care and the placing authority.

Bridging Placements

Bridging foster placements are placements that provide temporary foster care for children in need who are being prepared for a move to adoptive care or to long-term foster care. These placements also help prepare children for rehabilitation back to their birth family, where this is achievable.

Parent and Child Placements

Parent and child foster placements are provided to parents and their baby to ensure that they are able to remain together. These placements can also form part of a written assessment of the parent's ability to meet the needs of their child. Foster carers are expected to offer parent's advice, guidance and support in the parenting task, and co-operate with any ongoing assessment, if this is required.

Remand Bed Placements

Remand bed foster placements are provided to young people where they cannot live at home with their parents and a custodial sentence is the only alternative to foster care. A young person's bail conditions will state that they are bailed to a specific address until they next appear in court as part of their court proceedings.