Since the start of the Juno project, we have been consulting with care-experienced young people in Merseyside, to ensure Juno is built to reflect the needs of the young people in our care. One of the key areas of focus was the Juno team itself, who will be crucial to creating a space that young people can call home. The main qualities that young people gave us included being supportive and reliable, warm and approachable, emotionally intelligent and perceptive.
We have included all of these characteristics in our plans and have also drawn on best practices from around the world, looking to create children’s homes where we offer love, understanding, respect, joy and a sense of belonging. We want to help children to reconnect with a world that may not have looked after them properly before.
Many children in care have faced enormous challenges in their lives which have damaged their view of the world. The impact of abuse and neglect can have long-lasting effects on all aspects of their development - they may feel a lack of safety or control over their own lives, which can cause difficulties in developing trusting relationships. Their fear and mistrust can show themselves in their behaviour (withdrawing or being confrontational, running away, self-harming).
We ask distressed young people “What has happened to you and what do you need?” rather than “What is wrong with you?” - because their current behaviour is linked to the harm they have experienced. We need to look beyond their behaviour and work out how they might be feeling and how to support them.
Training, coaching and plenty of support will allow our team to feel confident in their ability to look after the children living in our care and to deal with unexpected situations. We are looking for a diverse group of individuals, which means we are keen to include people who may be new to the residential care sector and have plenty of experience working with teenagers. Those new to the sector will have extra coaching, supervision and training and anyone who brings qualifications and experience with them will be able to take a lead and progress through a career structure that includes higher-level qualifications.
Want to join the team? Find out more and apply here.
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