Browning House has 60 years’ experience of working with young children and their families, Browning House is Ofsted regulated and we ensure the protection and safety of children by offering parents a role model and training, to enable themselves to care for their children within the community.

The well-being of the children is our primary focus throughout all facets of our assessment process. We provide an independent and objective assessment to Children’s Services and the Courts.

We place great importance on maintaining open and timely communication with the professionals involved with the family and will attend relevant meetings in the home area.

Our approach is based on an understanding of how the babies and young children are full of potential. How that potential is realised depends on how the baby and later the child’s needs are met. This is fundamental to meeting the five outcomes of Every Child Matters. When the parent's ability to care is in doubt children need well informed decisions to be made about their future. Parents, where there are serious worries, need the encouragement, support and the ability to explore their potential to nurture very young children. Browning House can provide a safe environment which will provide the information that will enable important decisions to be made.

We work with families when the professionals involved are unsure of the parent’s abilities, or believe there is significant risk that there may be chance for the family to remain as a unit or when there are serious concerns but little evidence to reach a definite decision.

Our aim is for each parent to achieve for their children the five outcomes detailed in Every Child Matters: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and economic well-being. This is achieved through a variety of models and tools used and developed by Browning House.

VISION

Browning House has a vision of a society where all children have a secure, safe childhood and are loved, valued and able to fulfil their potential.

BROWNING HOUSE'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE VISION

Browning House exists to:

• enable babies and children to grow and develop as healthy individuals.
• support and encourage parents, carers and significant adults to develop the feelings, skills and knowledge necessary to nurture their children safely and enable them to fulfil their potential

• assess the ability of parents, carers and significant adults to be able to care for children safely and to enable them to fulfil their potential

VALUES

• children must be safe and protected from all forms of violence and exploitation
• everyone has a responsibility to support the care of children
• all forms of communication from children and young people will be valued, respected and responded to directly
• children should be encouraged and enabled to fulfil their potential
• we will use our independence to challenge inequalities for children, young people and their families
• parents/carers will be recognised for their unique worth and we will do everything possible to enable them to care for their children in a safe and secure way within the reasonable timescales dictated by the child's development
• respect and value the diversity of experience which comes from people's race, culture, faith and personal experience
• work with the commitment of staff to making the best use of all our resources; enabling us to help children, young people and their families to overcome severe disadvantages
• work creatively, professionally and collaboratively to act in the interests of children

LIVING AND PROMOTING OUR VALUES:

• drives our work with children and young people
• determines how we work
• informs our ambitions