Atkinson, our secure children’s home in Exeter, has been consistently rated ‘good’ by Ofsted each of the last eight years, and has now been described as ‘outstanding’ following the watchdog’s most recent inspection. The children’s home, which we run, can accommodate up to eight young people aged between 10 and 17 years old. “The secure […]
Author: lucy.gray
Bale, Arthur and Gracie, the Atkinson therapy dogs
Bale and Arthur have been visiting the Atkinson School since early March and the benefits and transformations have been incredible. Bale and Arthur are therapy dogs, brought in by Bale’s Buddies who supply therapy dogs to schools, residential homes, and children and families with special needs all over Devon. The young people at Atkinson have […]
Atkinson artwork at the Koestler exhibition
The Koestler Awards for arts in criminal justice started in 1962. Each year over 3,500 people in custody and in the community share their creative work by taking part. The Trust provides feedback and encouragement to entrants of all abilities in visual art, design, writing and music. Every year, the young people from Atkinson submit […]
A young person’s view of Atkinson
What is good and what is not so good about living at Atkinson? Please read this very honest presentation which one of our young people put together during school time. A young person’s view
Christmas collection for Exeter Foodbank
In the run-up to Christmas, one of our young people took the lead on a collection for the Exeter Foodbank. As well as creating posters and speaking to staff to encourage them to donate food items or money, he also spent some of his own pocket money to buy much needed items. All of his […]
Ofsted assurance visit
We are delighted with feedback from the recent Ofsted assurance visit which consisted of two days virtual inspection and one day on site. The inspectors said that “the children benefit from well-planned care provided by a staff team which shares a common drive to improve their outcomes and to keep them safe” and “warm, trusting […]
Just Right State
The Just Right State (JRS) is being delivered as part of a programme to support the staff and young people at Atkinson to explore and develop self-regulation and co-regulation skills. The programme is eight weeks long and includes exploration of individualised physical activities, the regulating properties of food, and self care strategies, all to support the ‘Just […]
Refurbished living areas at Atkinson
We were lucky enough to attract a grant from the DfE in 2019 to help with the financing of our refurbishments. Works commenced to transform the living areas of the home late 2019 and continued over the Christmas break into the New Year (2020). Unfortunately, the project work stopped abruptly due to the Covid-19 pandemic […]
Trauma Informed Practice for Children and Young People
As a result of funding from NHS England and the integrated framework internally known as ‘Secure Stairs’, Atkinson has led the development of level 3/4 qualification (Certificate and Diploma) which is being accredited through NCFE. Atkinson will be the approved centre for the qualification. The course comprises of seven modules:
Raising awareness about radicalisation risks
Safer Devon has launched a public facing communications campaign to raise awareness about the risks of radicalisation and, in particular, the role the internet often plays in that process.