Five Rivers child care open their first supported accommodation home in Devon

Following its successful registration with Ofsted, Clara House is now home to two girls, who are delighted to be living in Devon. With space for up to four boys and girls, aged 16-18, Clara House is a safe and nurturing home, where these young people will feel truly supported.

A spacious and welcoming home, this Edwardian house has a bright entrance hall that leads to a cosy living room, dining room and the heart of the home – a large kitchen and breakfast room. Upstairs, there are five bedrooms, including one designated as a carer’s sleep-in room/office. The courtyard garden is a peaceful retreat, ready to enjoy in the warmer weather. The children are invited to pick the decoration and colour scheme of their bedroom, to give them autonomy over their own space. In making it feel homely, often the radio is on, something is cooking, and there’s lots of love and laughter.

“This marks an important milestone in our care offering, as our first supported accommodation home in Plymouth.” Says Victoria Elworthy, Head of Residential at Five Rivers.

“As a provider, we’ve addressed a critical community need for these vulnerable children, providing safe spaces for them to live.

We've invested heavily to ensure that we have the most experienced staff, leaders and provisions to provide caring support to ensure the children have sustainable long term outcomes. So, we’re pleased to be working with local colleges and employers to ensure the children in our care are in full time education or employment.”

Across the duration of their time at Clara House, the Five Rivers team will help each child build the skills that they will need to make a successful transition into adulthood. They’ll each have a bespoke support plan that focuses on their individual needs and wishes. And the Five Rivers team will help them to ensure that the young people are prepared for better outcomes when they leave care. There’s a focus on emotional wellbeing as well as practical help with subjects such as online banking and careers.

The staff at Clara House have extensive experience working with teenagers in residential homes and understand that the move from full-time care to semi-independent living can be difficult. The team has access to an in-house clinician, who visits the home once a week to provide advice on additional support that the children might need.

Using the PACE therapeutic parenting method of playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy, the Clara House team support children in forming connections with others. They also help the children identify and apply the social skills needed in adulthood.

Clara House's Registered Service Manager, Melissa Bright, has a history of managing outstanding Ofsted-rated homes in the Devon area. She has also designed an award-winning gender identity workshop for children that has subsequently been delivered to Ofsted, universities, and children’s homes across the UK.

Having joined Five Rivers, to be the registered Service Manager of Clara House, Melissa “realised there’s a massive gap when care leavers go to live alone. They’re being failed, not keeping safe, and some even end up in prison. This accommodation exists to support children through the transition to adult life, guide them through risks whilst being there to help them if they make mistakes”.

As a social enterprise, Five Rivers use their profit to fund aftercare for children, as they move into the next phase of their lives. The children from Clara House will all have access to Five Rivers Futures, a support service for young people aged 18-25 who’ve left Five Rivers care. As part of Five Rivers Futures, they’ll have access to emotional and employment support, the opportunity to apply for financial assistance through a grant fund, as well as assistance with education and university applications and a hamper full of essentials.

“I’m really proud of this home - it’s one that has lots of meaning and does lots of good locally. Not only will it support some of the most vulnerable local children, it’s also created six new jobs in Plymouth. And we made sure that we enlisted local builders to do all of the renovation work, in-keeping with our Social Enterprise ethos” Says Victoria.

Five Rivers has been offering trauma-informed residential care to children since 1989. As one of England’s most experienced providers of children’s social care, they’re proud to be a Social Enterprise, and a partner of choice of over 100 local authorities, providing a comprehensive and connected service across key focus areas including foster care, residential care, education and clinical services.