Clover Childcare Services
Clover Childcare Services are now a Certified Organisation in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. Thank you to Dr Ben Gurney-Smith (Primary Consultant) and Edwina Grant (Secondary Consultant). We would also like to thank Kim Golding for all of her support as well as DDP Trainer Dr Vicky Sutton.
Who we are ……
We are an independent organisation, founded in 2007, which specialises in providing high quality therapeutic re parenting and assessment, with therapy, to children who have suffered adverse childhood experiences.
With our dedicated, motivated and creative staff team of qualified social workers, teachers, expert consultants and therapists, we represent Clover Childcare Services.
The Directors of Clover Childcare Services have drawn on over 50 years, collectively, of local authority and independent sector experience to create a comprehensive service for children and their families.
Kath Laidlaw – Director of Care
Since October 2007 Kath has been the Director of Clover Childcare Services. In this time she was the Registered Manager of Clover Lodge and The Old Rectory. She is a qualified social worker, holding a Diploma in Social Work, a BTEC GNVQ Advanced Health and Social Care and an ILM certificate in Management.
Kath has been working with primarily with children in residential settings since 1990; she has worked with children with learning difficulties and emotional and behavioural difficulties resulting from emotional harm, abuse and neglect.
She has considerable experience within Norfolk’s LA Children’s Services managing staff teams, providing supervision, conducting core assessments, managing complaints, writing policies, delivering training and recruiting staff.
Dan Knight – Director of Operations
Since October 2007 Dan has been the Director of Clover Childcare Services and the responsible Individual for Clover Childcare Services. He is a qualified social worker, holding a Diploma in Social Work.
Dan has previously managed low occupancy crisis intervention units and larger group homes. Dan has experience in 16+ support, Fostering, training and consultancy on direct work with children. His most recent experience however is in residential settings working with children in crisis.
He has considerable experience within Norfolk’s LA Children’s Services managing staff teams, providing supervision, conducting core assessments, managing complaints, writing policies, delivering training, shaping strategic planning and devising care management programmes for difficult to place children.
What we do?
We provide placements that integrate care, education and therapy. We believe that this triad has been at the centre of our successful outcomes for our children.
In our Homes and school, we are committed to the principles of Dyadic Developmental Practice. We practice therapeutic re-parenting, an approach which incorporates an attitude based on playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy (PACE). This approach aims to build on children’s sense of safety and trust in order to make them more open to reflection and regulation. We are currently seeking and working towards an organisational accreditation in DDP (Click here for more on the process to becoming accredited). This process has made us look at our approach across two main parts of the company, policy and practice. It has allowed us to look into our service under a ‘DDP lens’ and focus all of our systems and aproaches towards a more relationship focused outcome. During this process we have asked our staff what they say and think about DDP. See what they say here.
There are no additional, incremental or hidden costs to our wrap- round service: our fees are all-inclusive. Contact enquiries@cloverchildcareservices.co.uk for more on our fees.
Health
Children referred to us will often have experienced early traumatic separations and losses, neglect, abuse, instability or unpredictability. They will have formed a view of the world that makes it hard for them to trust and build relationships with adults. Often their lives have been characterised by attachment difficulties, multiple placement or permanency breakdown, entrenched behaviours and developmental trauma.
Education
Education is one of the cornerstones upon which to build a child’s resilience. It provides structure to the day, a sense of purpose and achievement. We believe that every young person has something to offer and, given the right environment, can learn. At Clover Childcare Services we like to recognise and reward even the smallest of achievements to raise self-esteem and rekindle a young person’s interest in learning.
Recruitment
At Clover Childcare Services, we feel that having the right staff is a key component of being able to deliver high quality therapeutic re parenting for our children. We have a thorough three stage interview process which includes an informal meeting, a safe care interview and a formal interview.
How we do it
We have a 3 step, two-day interview process.
On the first day, we set the emotional tone of the relationships between adults and children in the organisation, as well as the professional mindset.
The rationale for this is to save time, saves children down the line; residential work is not for everyone. Our children need reliable people who understand our commitment to our children.
The ones who are up for it stay and turn up for the next day. We are trying to match the right adults for our children.
The second day, because we want them to be attachment figures, we ask them to tell us about their childhood, we also want to know their story, very similar to the adult attachment interview.
The Triad for Stability
