About
We are a family-owned social care provider working therapeutically with children in care since 1988.
We work with a determination to build something that truly makes a difference to children and young people.
Founder - Ged Williamson
Family Care was set up in May 1988 by Ged Williamson.
Ged was a social worker who was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of suitable homes for the children he worked with, so he decided to open one.
Many of these young people needed the extra support that residential homes can give, before moving on to foster care. They also needed access to local education.
As a result, Family Care opened a school (Access School) followed by an independent fostering agency. This meant we could better meet the needs of the children we care for.
Since 1988, we have supported hundreds of young people on their journeys...
We are a passionate, proud, family-owned company
We use therapeutic approaches led by the Secure Base Model
Our amazing in-house therapists provide regular support and training
Our staff and foster carers make us who we are
All our residential, education and fostering services are underpinned by established therapeutic practice models, with Secure Base at the heart of our approach.
We believe this makes us one of the safest and most trusted providers of children’s services for foster carers and local authorities in the North West and the Midlands.
How We Work
Family Care is a family-owned, values-led organisation working therapeutically with children and young people for over 30 years.
At the foundation of our work is a set of shared values, a sense of purpose and pride, and a loyalty that keeps us together in hard times.
Our work is based on all staff and foster carers delivering therapeutically-informed care.
What does therapeutically-informed care mean?
It means we believe that children recovering from trauma need more than direct work once a week with a therapist. By having all our foster carers and staff working therapeutically with young people, we can provide 24/7 therapeutically-informed care.
To achieve this, our therapy team train our staff and foster carers to work within the Secure Base framework. Therapists work alongside us to promote the benefits of therapeutic practice and ensure foster carers and staff are confident using these approaches.
The ‘Social Care Institute of Excellence’ believes that; “Clearly defined therapeutic approaches enable staff to “have a better understanding of how young people’s experiences affect them, considering their emotional needs and fostering resilience”.
At Family Care we work to this principle. It is for this reason that all of our services are supported by qualified therapists, providing regular consultations to carers and staff.
Direct Work with Young People
Our therapy team can also work directly with children and young people if needed.
For more information on the additional therapeutic services we offer, please contact our Therapeutic Services Manager Jennie Haddon on 07739093105 or email jennie.haddon@family-care.co.uk.
The Secure Base Model
We use the Secure Base Model throughout all our services.
The model is drawn from attachment theory and adapted to include an additional element – ‘family membership’ – for children who are separated from their birth families.
The model proposes five dimensions of caregiving; Availability, Sensitivity, Acceptance, Co-operation and Family Membership. Each dimension is associated with a developmental benefit for the child.
The dimensions overlap and combine with each other to create a secure base for the young person. Secure Base was recommended in the government white paper Care Matters (2007) and is incorporated into The Fostering Network’s pre-approval training for foster carers.
