New Regional Support Centre for the Midlands
30.11.10
TOWN MP Sajid Javid officially opened Pathway Care's new Regional Support Centre last Friday (November 19) in Bromsgrove's historic former Old Workhouse building.
The company opened its new premises because it needed extra space after increasing its staff from six to 22 in just six years.The organisation currently has 109 foster households across the Midlands which look after 128 to 130 foster children.The number of staff has been increased because of the level of support Pathway Care wants to have in place with its carers.
Pathway Care offers people comprehensive training before they become foster carers and then continuous training, both in house and from external experts, from then on. There is also help and support always available and a social worker on hand 24-hours-a-day. Carers also have the opportunity to study for an NVQ level 3 in Caring for Children and Young People.
In the Old Workhouse building is an administration office, team room, recruitment and placement service room, conference and training room and a space specifically for meetings.There is also a kitchen where young people who have been fostered can learn to cook, which helps prepare them for moving on up and makes them more independent.Regional director Joyce Masson said it was fitting the organisation had taken up residence in the redeveloped Old Workhouse as it showed how far the attitude to childcare had come over the years.
"The use of the Old Workhouse has turned full circle from once being a repressive place of child labour to a vibrant centre now meeting the needs of children and young people referred to us by the 14 local authorities in the West Midlands."
Mr. Javid added: "I was delighted to open Pathway Care's new office in the heart of Bromsgrove. "We need to do more to help foster children, and Pathway Care has shown how the independent sector can work successfully with local authorities."
