Policies & procedures

The typical length of placement is between 12 to 18 months, during which time each young person follows a highly personalised and structured treatment pathway which clearly identifies key milestones enabling progress to be recognised and, importantly, celebrated.

Following the successful completion of the treatment programme young people will often step-down to one of our other settings or return to their home communities, dependent upon their personal circumstances.

Most young people are likely to be traumatised due to child exploitation, compounded in some cases by other traumatic experiences such as neglect, and physical and domestic abuse. Traumatic experiences mean that these young people are very vulnerable, with substance abuse, self-harm, depression, violent behaviour, low self-esteem, and sleep and eating disorders often being common.

The chaos that typically characterised these young peoples’ lives before moving to Elmbank is also often reflected in disengagement from education; lack of positive activities; lack of positive friendships and support networks; and health issues ranging from sexually transmitted diseases to very unhealthy lifestyles.