To day or to stay: George’s story
For some children being part of a residential care environment that includes a residential placement can help them to thrive. But making the right choice for each individual child can be difficult, especially for parents and carers.
Moor House School & College provides a specialist environment for children and young people with speech and language disorders including both day and residential placements, where the educational and therapeutic needs of each individual student can be met.
Current Moor House parent, Simon Sergides, explains why his family opted for a residential placement for their son George (12), after he was offered a place in 2019.
“Instinctively it [a residential placement] went against our code as we wanted George to be here with us” he explains. “It jarred.”
But a chance conversation changed their perspective.
“We were speaking with our next-door neighbour and it turns out by chance that several years ago her brother went to Moor House.
“He started off as a day student but after 3-4 months actually asked his parents to go residential because he was missing out on so many fun activities.”
Recreation plays a vital part in the students’ development at Moor House and all residential students undertake a range of activities in-house and in the community.
A life skills programme is run throughout the residential care time, delivered in a way which supports the social skills and independence of the students.
“Once we got over our pre-conceptions, we realised that actually with the all-round care, social benefits and independence skills development, a residential placement is a really good thing and crucially, George was part of those discussions.
“We came to the conclusion, collectively, that actually the time we’re missing out on as a family is very little, and in fact it puts a focus on spending quality time together at weekends.
“For George it meant he didn’t have to do 2 hours in the car each way, every day, so there are direct and in-direct benefits and I think you have to go in with an open mind, look at all the options and decide what would create the right environment for your child.”
You can hear the full interview with Simon in our Parent View Podcast