Sunflower House

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The girls immediately took to their private space by adding a gate even before the flowers came in. They would read in the fort, play dolls or sometimes just chit chat. Despite the plants being only a foot tall, they seemed to feel as if they were separate from the rest of the world.

More and more children are seeking help and support for mental health conditions and together with our new Catkin Centre, Sunflower House will enable us to give them the help and treatment they need and that they absolutely deserve.” Louise Shepherd, Alder Hey Chief Executive It has been a real honour to be part of such an important project that will have such a huge impact on so many children and young people in the years to come. Ofsted inspects Sunflower House once a year. This is to ensure that Sunflower House meets the needs of the children and young people who use this service. If your child is on any medication, then you will need to send this into Sunflower House with your child. We will store this safely for you, and administer it when needed. Before every visit you will need to complete a Bedford Borough Council ‘Parental Medication Form’ for both prescription and non-prescription medications. Ofsted inspects Sunflower House oncea year. This is to ensure that Sunflower House meets the needs of the children and young people who use this service.We spoke to some of the Sunflower House team about their reactions to the completed ‘Imagine’ space and the impact that it will have on our young patients. They told us:

Being able to do lessons outdoors will be amazing! I can see this space being used all year around, especially with our long-term visitors, it is so important to keep them connected to nature.” Peter Woods, Teacher Risk Management - All individuals will have some risk management responsibilities with which they are required to comply, for details of your responsibilities please refer to the current Risk Management Strategy, which is available on the Intranet.

Our world’s honey bee population continues to decline. This summer, use your garden space to not only connect with your kids, but to help grow a beautiful (and pesticide-free) environment for your local bees. Get tips on how to plant a honey bee garden with kids here! Depending on the variety of sunflower you planted, plants will begin to produce flowers in 7 to 12 weeks.

Please let us know if your child contracts any form of contagious illness or childhood disease prior to their stay at Sunflower House. Remember, the purpose of this unique DIY fort is gardening with kids, so be sure to get your childreninvolved in the seed planting. Most of the smaller sunflower seeds welet the kids toss in and sow independently with their children's gardening tools.The Trust conducts a system of performance and development planning as a key part of its annual business planning cycle. This ensures that all staff have an opportunity to take part in a discussion on the work they have done and explore how they can improve and develop in their jobs and formulating a set of personal objectives. This process includes a review of the job description on an annual basis.

The Trust is committed to developing an environment that embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. The tiered seating is great and so multifunctional. I love the way it doubles as a stage for children who may want to put on performances to showcase their talents as their confidence grows. The teachers from our hospital school will be delighted.” Emma Higgs, Psychotherapist Decide (with the help of your child) whether the sunflower house is going to be a square or a circle. Decide the shape of your sunflower house and decide how big you want it to be. CHILDREN and young people with severe mental health issues can access new facilities to support their care and recovery at Sunflower House, the new inpatient unit due to open soon at Alder Hey. Visits by relatives and friends are more than welcome by prior agreement with management and your family.

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Form Follows Function - The Bauhaus helped shape the social and economic transition to an industrial society and the 20th century. A hundred years later, we are facing new global challenges: climate change, pollution, digitalisation and a demographic explosion predicted to increase the world’s population to up to 10 billion people by mid-century. Buildings and infrastructure are responsible for at least 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions. It is high time to rethink the New European Bauhaus, the modern life in harmony with nature. Sunflower House will care for children with challenging mental health difficulties. This can affect not only the child experiencing these difficulties but also their family and friends. Recently a mother of a young person who was treated at Dewi Jones (our previous tier four inpatient mental health facility) told us her story and we have put this together as a short animated story which you can see below. We are always looking to improve our service so we openly welcome any suggestions or comments that you are willing to make. Sunflower House is our tier four mental health inpatient unit. It is for children and young people aged 5 to 13 years old who have the most challenging mental health conditions.