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Strengthening Families, Protecting Children (SFPC)

North Yorkshire No Wrong Door

Strengthening Families, Protecting Children (SFPC)

View the latest updates on the No Wrong Door approach

No Wrong Door® (NWD) is an integrated service and approach to supporting adolescents in or on the edge of care. The model combines a defined culture and practice with a range of services, support and accommodation options and a team of specialists working together through a shared practice framework.

At the heart of the model is a residential Hub, which provides short-term placements and outreach (Edge of Care) support. In North Yorkshire, NWD supports adolescents aged 12-25. The goal is to reduce the number of young people coming into care, and to support those in care to find permanence in a family setting through long-term foster care, reunification with their families or independence.

Operating from two Hubs, NWD in North Yorkshire brings together a variety of accommodation options, a range of services and outreach support under one management umbrella, addressing young people’s needs within a single team. Each Hub works with around 40 young people at any one time. At the heart of the approach is the key worker’s relationship with the young person. First and foremost the key worker gets to know the young person and works with them to develop and deliver a plan of support. This is based on the young person’s needs and aspirations, whilst also allowing for areas they may need to develop. With the support of the multidisciplinary team, the worker draws on a range of accommodation options, services and outreach support to meet the young person’s needs and support them to achieve their goals. Fifty per cent of young people with an NWD worker said they would go to them first in a time of crisis.

Outcomes

NWD has had a positive impact on a wide variety of areas in young people’s lives, notably a reduced number of young people entering the care system, and for those in the system, less time spent in care and increased placement stability. Alongside a reduction in high risk behaviours and criminal activity, NWD has resulted in an increase in those remaining or entering education, employment or training. These positive outcomes correlate with an overall improved level of wellbeing, resilience and mental health.

Evaluation of the No Wrong Door Innovation Programme: Research report (Department for Education, 2017)