Fountain House
- Age Range: 6 - 10 on admission
- Capacity: Up to 4
- Gender: Male and female
- Length of stay: Minimum of two-year placement
- Location: West Yorkshire
Fountain House provides care, education, and therapy, for up to four children and young people aged 6-10. The home prides themselves on their ability to never give up. The primary purpose of Fountain House is to work with young people who are unable to live in a family setting.
Fountain House seamlessly combines care, education, and therapy in an integrated, therapeutic approach, individually tailored to meet the needs of the children and young people, with the aim of preparing them (over a minimum two-year period) for a long term ‘forever family’ placement.
Fountain House works with children in a therapeutic manner, incorporating psychoeducation and milieu (planned environment) therapy. Adults recognise the difficulties that children and young people can experience when considering the current impact of:
- Early life trauma
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- Disrupted attachments
The home develops and reviews clear and consistent behaviour management strategies, including the use of our calming sensory room, and therapy room when appropriate, created specifically to meet the needs of the children and young people.
“Children in this home Flourish. This is because the staff are consistent in the care that they provide. The children are treated as individuals and their progress is measured from their individual starting points. The staff absolutely know that progress looks different for each child.” – Ofsted, 2024
Everything that Fountain House does is focused on meeting the needs of their young people. Practice is child-centred, trauma-informed and therapeutic. The home’s interventions promote learning, growth, and development. It provides a safe and nurturing environment that is full of fun, love, and laughter, where both children and adults can feel valued.
“The children in this home receive the same high level of support in all areas of their lives, and this can be seen in the amazing progress that they are making. This is because of the holistic planning between the home, school and the clinical support team. There is excellent communication and joined up working between all of the adults that are caring for them. This approach is having a significantly positive impact on the children’s progress and development. ” – Ofsted, 2024
Adults at Fountain House have successfully worked with several young people who, on admission, displayed a high level of sexualised behaviour alongside extreme violence and aggression; these young people have previously experienced difficulties trusting adults and forming relationships with them. These young people had been out of education for a significant period and were living in a world of chaos with no routine or boundaries.
Through the implementation of the ATIC Model©, which was piloted and developed at Fountain House over a four-year period, children and young people have made successful, positive changes to their lives. They have developed new coping skills and started to understand their own past, emotions, and behaviour, attend education full time and have shown a significant reduction in incidents of violent, aggressive, and sexualised behaviours.
Key elements of the model are:
Outcomes for children placed at Fountain House include:
- Successful transition into foster care.
- Successful transition to mainstream education.
- Return home.
