Kibble Admin

Posted: February 22, 2021

Our nurturing children’s residential houses for little ones aged five-12 are warm, welcoming and filled with love. Meet Manager, Natalie who has a valuable role in helping children feel settled in their new home. She shares an insight into the support children receive while being part of Kibble’s residential service.

Settle In

Natalie’s role involves spending time with children as young as five and up to 12 years old, who may have experienced trauma or adversity. She helps them settle into Arran Villa or Forest View, which are beautiful homes designed to be therapeutic with nature-inspired interiors, natural lights and tactile furnishings intended to maintain a calm, uplifting environment for the children.

Everything We Do

At Kibble, our style of care is modelled on strong research into trauma-informed practice. Everything we do is intended to help the children we support, and their families, manage their past experiences and move forward. Each child has a dedicated psychologist, therapist and social worker who work closely together with the young person and their family to create an environment and care plan, which helps to keep them safe, connecting with those who can provide the resources required to help them cope and move forward.

The Kids Get Decorating

Natalie shares there has been a lot of excitement recently as each child has been given the chance to choose a theme for their own bedrooms as we redesign and build the houses. We have encouraged the children to use their imagination and pick a theme that speaks to them, while being guided by our interior designer on colour schemes, which have been identified within trauma-informed principles.

Children will have the opportunity to design a personal space where they can relax. This may be the first time many of the children at Arran Villa and Forest View have been given a safe and nurturing space, never mind the choice to decorate and make their room their own.

The benefits of this refurb and build are endless to those we support. The space will be suited to the exact needs of the children we care for while creating calming influences which support each young person.

Hear from Natalie

Natalie said: “It has been fantastic seeing the kids take to their new space so well. One of the younger children in Arran Villa recently redecorated her room using drawings of unicorns and colourful sticky notes with positive messages written on them.

At Kibble we hope to mitigate any negative, traumatic life experiences a child may have had through early intervention. By working with the children and their families we hope to give them a chance at life which may have been unimaginable otherwise.”

“By involving children in the decisions about their own life, confidence and self-worth can be learned, or regained, as they recover some control over their own destiny.”
Natalie

Watch Our Video

Kibble’s Staff Team

At Kibble, we provide care, education and support to children and young people, many of whom have experienced trauma or adversity. This responsibility involves a huge staff team made up of exceptional individuals who are highly qualified, well-trained, and fully committed to playing a positive part in a child’s life. Each member of our team is friendly, fun, and thoughtful. Together, we are a constant source of love for the children who are part our residential care houses.

Learn More

Download Booklet

Visit the Forest View Webpage

To enquire about placements at Forest View, please contact Kibble on 0141 889 0044, or email referrals@kibble.org.

Posted: February 5, 2021

Today (5^th February 2021) marks an important milestone as we celebrate a year since the conclusion of The Independent Care Review in Scotland. The Review maps out the Scottish Government’s universal approach to transforming Scotland’s Care System and improve the lives of children and young people in Scotland.

One year on, we across Kibble pledge to #KeepThePromise and play an integral role in making Scotland the best ‘place in the world for children to grow up’ so that children are ‘loved, safe and respected and realise their full potential’.

Despite the challenges set by COVID-19, we have made significant progress in implementing many of the calls-to-action including implementation of therapeutic trauma-informed care. However, there is always more that can be done, and we strive to continually improve the landscape for children and young people. Below is Kibble’s pledge and a summary of our progress one year on.

Kibble’s Pledge

Continue providing a safe, nurturing environment for children and young people and to help them build brighter, positive futures.
Deliver trauma-informed care and recognise the importance of early intervention.
Help transform the lives of children and young people through the provision of education, training and employment opportunities that meet their needs.
Support young people on their journey to independent living. Give children and young people happy experiences, good memories and help them achieve a sense of belonging.
As a priority, provide care to children and young people in a loving setting.
Ensure there is a constant source of support for children and young people while they’re in our care.
Commit to sharing research and practice to support the Care Review.

Our Progress

Forest View Residential Houses opened in January 2021, creating a safe, therapeutic, and supportive environment in the heart of Lochwinnoch. The houses sit within forest grounds alongside our primary school, sustainable play areas, and animals to support therapeutic interaction.
Garnock Lodge is set to open this month providing residential care and support to children and young people in the peaceful semi-rural village of Lochwinnoch. This is the latest community-based residential service.
Our Systemic Family Service has supported over 30 families in the last year. The service works with young people and families to a shared understanding of each other’s perspectives and to strengthen family bonds.
Bute is due to open in early spring, providing residential care and close therapeutic support to children and young people. This is set in the grounds of our Paisley campus and has been developed in-line with trauma-informed principles across care, the environment including nature-inspired interiors, staffing and culture.
We are affiliated with the Restraint Reduction Network and our practice and trainings are aligned to de-escalation techniques and early intervention approaches.
Across Kibble, we have changed our approach to language, ensuring that all conversations, materials and documentation are using non-institutionalised language to prevent stigmatisation of young people in care.

Background of The Independent Care Review

In October 2016, the First Minister announced an Independent Root and Branch Review of Care driven by those with experience of care. In the four years until its final conclusions in February 2020, the Independent Care Review listened to over 5,500 experiences, including children cared for by Kibble and our own staff.

The Review published numerous reports which included: The Promise and Pinky Promise, The Plan, The Money and Follow The Money, The Rules and Thank You. All of these comprised The Promise which set out five foundations of all care practice including:

Voice
Family
Care
People
Scaffolding

They also listed over 80 calls-to-action including many specific to residential care, secure care and fostering, of which are referenced below.

As a charity that has placed young people at its heart for over 160 years, we promise to continue taking the recommendations forward, working with the wider sector to drive positive and lasting change that will better support the needs of Scotland’s most vulnerable young people. We will continue to work alongside our young people to help shape and co-produce service delivery in the years ahead.

Further References

#KeepThePromise Residential Care

#KeepThePromise Secure Care

Posted: December 24, 2020

Kibble pupils have stepped in to support ‘Festive Friends’, an annual event by St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation to support those in the community who are isolated and alone on Christmas Day.

Creative Flair

To help bring a little festive cheer, pupils have created special handmade Christmas decorations that will go into a Christmas gift box handed out to isolated members of the community on Christmas Day.

The ‘Festive Friends’ Event

Every year the St Mirren Foundation host the Festive Friends event at the stadium where elderly and vulnerable people and families can gather together for a special Christmas Day celebration with food and live music. This is made possible thanks donations from the community and partner organisations.

This year, due to the impact of Covid-19, they were determined to make the event go ahead and instead it would be a Festive Friends Santa Dash. In partnership with the SPFL Trust and Salvation Army they will open up and utilise the kitchens at St Mirren Park and the amazing catering team from the salvation Army will cook a delicious Festive Dinner for all on the Santa Dash list.

The team, along with volunteer drivers from the Scottish Fire Service, will then deliver these hot cooked meals along with Christmas gift and delicious Festive Friends Christmas Hamper to everyone identified and referred to us from our community partners. The volunteers will also spend time, socially distanced, having a chat with everyone they visit at their front door before checking in later with a telephone call to check they enjoyed their dinner and are safe and happy.

Act of Kindness

Well done to everyone involved in this great event and we wish everyone a very special day and a Merry Christmas. Very proud of our pupils on their amazing, creative efforts and kindness as always.

View Our Gallery

Posted: December 14, 2020

Every day, the busy Finance Team at Kibble meets the challenges that come with being one of the biggest children’s charities in the country. With over 40 years of experience between them, it is fair to say that they know a thing or two about what makes Kibble work.

About The Team

Based on our Paisley campus, the team of 6 helps support every part of the Kibble group so that no matter what happens, our services have the resources to provide care, education, and support for our young people.

Every part of the organisation relies on the work of the Finance Team with invoices, payments, monitoring and auditing. This gargantuan task helps Kibble meet our obligations under charity and company law.

Whilst not a front-facing service our young people still have plenty of interactions with the team, and their door is always open. When a young person is fundraising with a raffle, tuck shop or Christmas fayre tickets, their first stop is the Finance Department.

How We Support The Local Community

The work of the Finance Team reaches beyond the front door of Kibble. As a charity with strong roots in Paisley, we want to ensure that as much of our spending is reinvested into the local community. This helps support suppliers and employment with our Finance Team essential in identifying new ways to support other local suppliers and businesses.

No matter what the challenge is, the team is ready to help keep Kibble running and to support our suppliers. For example, during the response to COVID19, the Finance Team set new targets to identify and support local businesses by ensuring prompt payment of any invoices, something our suppliers have appreciated.

The Kibble Family

Being part of the Kibble family gives a real sense of satisfaction knowing that you are helping give young people the best chance at life.

The Finance Team is integral to helping support the services that make a difference in improving the lives of young people.

Posted: December 4, 2020

Volunteer Day has given us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the fantastic individuals who dedicate their time to the young people at Kibble. With a friendly face, reliable nature and good listening skills, each volunteer acts as a positive role model to our young people.

Why Volunteer?

People can be motivated to volunteer for a range of reasons. Often, those who want to volunteer at Kibble are taking the first step in changing their career or are interested in giving something back to their local community.

Meet Kibble volunteer Gordon – semi-retired with newfound spare time, he began to reflect on his life. He paid particular attention to his childhood and growing up in Govan. Although there was not much money in the family house, there was plenty of love. The reassurance of constant support, along with the fortunate opportunity of progressing to higher education, lead him to build a successful business. The memory inspired him to think about how he could help change the life of a young person who needed encouragement.

Gordon decided to donate his time to a rewarding, important cause and was keen to find a way to support young people and inspire them to look forward to the future. He reached out to Kibble for volunteering opportunities and has since passed our application process.

Whilst I do not underestimate how difficult this role may be at times, if at the end of a year I can look back and know that I have helped even only one person in any way, this would be reward in itself.
Kibble Volunteer Gordon

What Does Volunteering at Kibble Involve?

Kibble offer care and support to young people aged five – 26 who may have experienced trauma. We provide residential and community support as well as dedicated schools and wellbeing services. Children and young people are offered a loving, safe place that will give them a chance at life.

Volunteers at Kibble will spend time with the young people from playing indoor games, going outside for sports activities, or enjoying day trips to the local beach, playpark or outdoor adventures. The fun can involve taking young people to their clubs or arranging activities from baking to video games.

Kibble Volunteer Allena wasn’t sure what to expect when she started volunteering with the organisation.

The friendly staff welcomed me immediately and instantly made me feel part of the team.
Kibble Volunteer Allena

At first, Allena was to interact with a wider group of young people. Playing cards and board games in a group setting, Allena and the young people had the chance to get to know one another. This was rather than singling out an individual young person immediately, overwhelming them with attention.

Within the group there was a young person who had struggled to communicate with unfamiliar faces previously. However, it was not long at all before this young person was enjoying spending time with Allena.

Allena has now formed a great, trusting relationship with the young person. They participated in the Kibble Bake-Off Challenge together and impressively won first prize.

Allena has expressed her delight in her decision to volunteer at Kibble:

I have watched the young person become more confident as the weeks have gone on and it really has been amazing to see. Volunteering for me has been extremely rewarding. It’s great to know I have played a small part in the young person’s positive development.
Kibble Volunteer Allena

Can I Volunteer at Kibble?

To volunteer at Kibble, we ask for you to be kind, caring and enjoy spending time with young people. As an enthusiastic, fun-loving person, you will encourage young people to join in with activities and help them find hobbies and interests.

It is hoped volunteers will commit to Kibble for at least six months to create meaningful bonds with young people.

Find out more about our application process by emailing your interest to: hr@kibble.org

Posted: December 2, 2020

We celebrated the start of the festive season in style with our Great Christmas Light Switch On. Kibble was transformed into a glittering winter wonderland as children, young people and the care teams decorated houses inside and out to see who would win a prize.

Young people in Skye transformed their house into a dazzling Whoville, home of the Grinch, complete with Dettol sprays in place of baubles and a tangled, life-sized Grinch stuck in the Christmas tree. Of course, there was also Cindy Lou with her blonde hair towering high in the sky and Max the dog. At Arran Villa, fairly lights were strung all around the house and the kids created a video as they showed off their dazzling decorations while heartily singing Jingle Bells. Across the other houses, Santa’s red and white suit was up on the washing line ready for his Christmas eve endeavours, Christmas trees reached the height of the ceilings, and young people and staff dressed up as snowmen, elves and reindeers as they enjoyed warm hot chocolate and took lots of selfies.

With Christmas a particularly difficult time for many of the children and young people at Kibble, we ensure that there are lots of fun and special moments. With many of our original plans unable to go ahead due to this year’s circumstances, we have become even more creative in how we support local charities, foodbanks and families who are struggling this Christmas.

We hope you enjoy viewing our photo gallery below and congratulations to our lucky winners and everyone involved in bringing a little festive magic to Kibble.

Posted: November 30, 2020

At the age of ten, Rory is already following his dream to become an art teacher having recently discovered his love and aptitude for art. As a day pupil at Forest View Primary School, Rory has been inspired by his art teacher and he spends hours sketching and painting to create fantastic, imaginative pieces. He entered an art competition through trampoline park ‘Flip Out’ and was awarded first place across the whole of Glasgow.

Rory has attended school at Kibble for three years, following difficulties engaging in mainstream education. He had experienced trauma in his life and as a result had low confidence and anxiety which led to him to fall behind at school. Rory has thrived at Kibble, not only in his education, but in his confidence and ability to overcome his anxieties. He has achieved his Trinity Arts Award at Discovery Level, and as part of this award he proudly stood in front of teachers to deliver a presentation on his work.

For Rory, writing was an activity he actively avoided. However, by introducing the Talk for Writing teaching method in class, Rory has been able to express his creative flair through his writing. After returning from a visit to a museum, Rory was so excited he wrote a six-page account of his trip. He is also a fan of reading, and among his favourite books are Harry Potter, and anything by Roald Dahl including Esio Trot which features a pet tortoise called Alfie.

But a friendly tortoise doesn’t only feature in the storybook, Rory also enjoys visits from ‘Monster the tortoise’. In fact, several animals visit Forest View including miniature ponies, dogs, a lizard and chickens. Spending time with the animals has brought significant benefits for Rory – he loves reading stories to them and this has really helped to develop his confidence and self-esteem.

Every day Rory is growing in confidence and ability. He’s a joy to be around, a joy to teach and brings so much joy through his art.

^ Name changed to protect identity of young person.

Posted:

Daniel is a young man who overcame an unsettled period to embark on a career as a military paratrooper. On completion of his rigorous training, Daniel hopes to be honoured with his red beret – a testament to his hard work and dedication.

Daniel’s time at Kibble was a turning point in his life. His teenage years were difficult, and he got caught up with the wrong crowd and became involved in offending behaviour. He was placed in Kibble’s Safe Centre and this gave him the space to get his life back on track. While at Kibble he pursued his love of sport, joining the school football team, as well as swimming and playing pool. Daniel also attended KibbleWorks and gained his Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), with the initial aim to follow in the footsteps of his dad.

Daniel’s mother Lynda explained: “When Daniel returned home, he was a different lad altogether and a joy to live with. He was my Daniel and I had him back to how he used to be”. After leaving Kibble, Daniel began working with his dad before going to college to study brickwork. However, it wasn’t long before he decided he wanted to join the army. Lynda’s emotions were mixed, however she realised that this was his dream and she would support him all the way. Daniel recently completed the first part of his training where he passed with flying colours and is now undertaking 26 weeks training to join the paratroopers.

Lynda shared her story with us to say thank you to staff “for all the time and consideration you have towards the children”. She hopes Daniel’s story will inspire other young people to fulfil their ambitions.

Posted:

When two teenage brothers came to Kibble, it was their first experience of living away from home. Facing difficult family circumstances, the transition to living with a foster family was never going to be easy, however with the right support the boys were able to turn their lives around. Both boys are settled in their foster family, they are growing in trust and confidence, and making significant progress in their education.

Billy, now aged 14 and his younger brother James (age 13), were the first children to be supported by Kibble’s Shared Living foster care service which combines family living with close support from practitioners in the home. The loss of the boys’ father had a profound effect on the family, including their mum who experienced poor mental health. Both boys became involved in anti-social behaviour and were falling behind in their education because they were not attending school. To keep them safe and offer stability, they were placed in temporary foster care.

The road ahead was not easy as the boys learned to adapt to life in another family. They regularly gravitated back to their community and spent most of their time on the streets. But in time, foster carers David and Suzanne gradually helped them to feel that they were safe and belonged, and eventually a bond was formed as the emotional barriers came down. Both boys were closely supported by a therapeutic practitioner, who also worked with their mum and foster carers. Collectively, they worked through emotions and behaviours and found ways to understand each other.

Fast forward six months and life is very different. Billy attends KibbleWorks each day and is gaining skills and qualifications. He’s currently applying for college to follow a career in welding. James is doing well at school and has been gaining experience in greenkeeping and mechanics.

Posted: November 27, 2020

Henry Hepburn visited our Forest View campus in Lochwinnoch last year where he discovered a newfound appreciation for the ability of animals and pets to keep children calm. At Forest View, children have the opportunity to interact with dogs, tortoises and ponies, which help our young people build relationships and control their emotions. Read Henry’s full article for TES Scotland.

About Our Forest View Campus

The children’s residential houses and adjoining therapeutic primary school at Forest View in Lochwinnoch, provide a safe, welcoming place for children who may have experienced trauma from a young age. The entire Forest View campus was designed to be trauma-informed from the very beginning. Part of the approach involved making animals a crucial and permanent feature of the campus due to the profound impact they can have on vulnerable children.

At the Core of Forest View

The in-depth article for TES Scotland, which was written by Henry Hepburn, explains the crucial advantages quality time with pets has on our young children, along with a full description about our therapeutic school, which follows the Curriculum for Excellence. The feature confirms that forming relationships is at the very core of Forest View – relationships between staff and the importance of working together effectively as well as with the children and the bonds children form with animals.

Why Animals Are A Permanent Feature at Forest View

Animals can play a number of key roles in the learning and development of our young children.

Animals Are Non-judgemental

Animals live in the present and are non-judgmental, they do not carry baggage over from a previous day. Children find that animals treat them well consistently.

Animals Encourage Empathy and Reduce Restlessness

Children may settle more easily when animals are in the room as the children realise the impact loud noises can have on the animals. Children agree to “use their quiet voices” to make the animals feel at ease.

Animals Heighten Self-Awareness

Children want to keep animals safe and in-turn, this helps children gain awareness of their own personal safety as well. For example, when taking animals out a walk, children look ahead to check it is safe on behalf of the animals and for themselves, rather than running along with limited attention to their surroundings.

Animals Help with Literacy and Maths

Motivating children to read to a dog has seen astounding literacy progress. The tranquillity of the dog has helped the children to relax while reading and find enjoyment in story-telling and books.

Meanwhile, for maths, children have calculated the weight and length of ponies. Children have the actual mammals in front of them; instead of only imagining abstract calculations.

Animals Show the Power of Caring and Nurturing

By welcoming animals to Forest View all the time, children do not have a sanitised view of animals. Rather than seeing an animal occasionally and thinking “oh the animal is so shiny and clean”, children understand the full picture of what it is like to care for animals and look after them, realising the commitment involved to keep them clean and happy.

Overall, the presence of animals and the relationships formed with them, have made children see Forest View as a magical place. The pets include dogs, Buzz and Skip and a tortoise named Monster. There are plenty of hens – one was named Kimmy K due to her rather large derriere. Our pet collection is very loved at the Forest View campus.

View Our Photos

Learn More

Download Booklet

Visit the Forest View Webpage

To enquire about placements at Forest View, please contact Kibble on 0141 889 0044, or email referrals@kibble.org.