Children's homes
St Piers School is part of Young Epilepsy – a national charity for children and young people with epilepsy and other neurological conditions. We offer residential places in our 52 week Children’s homes for those students who need extra support.
A spacious home environment
Young Epilepsy's Children’s Home opened with seven beds in 2005 and has grown significantly to 26 beds. The children live in four separate spacious and comfortable houses with dedicated staff teams. The children live in the home all year round, attending St Piers School during term time and enjoying a variety of activities during the holidays.
Their medical needs are met through the medical unit at the Neville Childhood Epilepsy Centre on campus, as well as through the local NHS provision. Our health services team includes Consultant Paediatric Neurologists, specialist registrars, EEG services, nurses, psychologists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and play specialists.
Continuity of care
Young Epilepsy's Children’s Home provides a safe, homely environment all year round. We also offer a practical solution for parents who need to access Short Break residential care for their children during the school holidays.
We are committed to ensuring the children are supported to develop to their highest potential whilst empowering them as individuals, promoting informed choices and equal rights for them all.
Our staff members are part of Young Epilepsy's Children’s team, and work in one specific area of the home as well as in the children’s dedicated class bases, offering continuity of care throughout the child’s waking day.
Young Epilepsy offers an excellent training programme for all staff to access, ensuring they develop their experiences around the needs of the specific children and young people in their care. They are particularly experienced in managing epilepsy, developmental play, working with challenges in communication and behaviour, as well as autism.
When working with children and young people, our staff are taught to use our organisation’s Five Golden Rules of communication:
- Consistency
- One voice
- Structure
- Keywords
- Total communication
All children and young people are supported by Youngv Epilepsy’s multidisciplinary team of therapists. They work with the young people’s and children’s home staff on a range of programmes to support each child or young person with their daily needs.
Set in the grounds of Young Epilepsy, the home is registered and inspected by Ofsted.
Home from home
Each child has their own room which they are encouraged to personalise and decorate. Facilities in each room include suitable storage for clothing, personal possessions, toys and games, a vanity basin, television, telephone and computer sockets.
An audio monitoring system is available in every room to support each child if needed. Each home provides large open living rooms and smaller quiet rooms as well as safe garden areas.
Parental involvement
We recognise that all parents, guardians and families are an important part of the children’s lives and encourage full participation from everyone. They are encouraged to visit and enjoy quiet times in the home with their child and their peers, to participate in any social events, as well as to take their child home overnight, for a weekend or a holiday.
Activities
A wider range of social activities are encouraged, with the children offered the chance to attend social events on campus and in the community. These include a youth club, swimming and trampolining as well as visiting the local shops, parks and restaurants. On campus, we have a large sports hall, a soft play area, sensory rooms, a purpose-built play park as well as a toy library.
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