News

Hello Team Derian,

 

The first thing I need to say is a massive apology to you all for I realise that my note to you all following our trustee meetings has been missing for some time now and for that I am sorry.

 

So this the start of my recompense and I promise to write to you all following every trustee meeting going forward to ensure you are kept up to date with our discussions.

 

Firstly I think it is really important that I acknowledge that the last year has been a time of considerable change for all. Change is never easy, but we all have our parts to play in ensuring that Derian House is the best place for our children, young people and their families to receive care, and is the best place to work. We can expect that change will cause uncertainty and not everyone will like the changes that we must make to ensure the future sustainability of Derian House.  The recent staff feedback from the We are Derian forum certainly tells us that we have much left to do to achieve our aims but the board of trustees are committed to ensuring that we move forward on our journey to be the best we can be. The trustees are grateful that the senior leadership team openly shared the feedback that you gave and we have seen the response from the senior leadership team and agree with the actions that they have committed to put in place to enable us to continue on our journey of cultural improvement. We noted comments about the visibility of and access to trustees. It is important to remember that trustees are not officers of the charity but are volunteers, many of whom have full time roles in other organisations.  Clearly, if there are serious or legitimate concerns from staff, the trustees are committed to understanding that and supporting resolution and so I welcome the implementation of formal speak up arrangements and am delighted to report that Helen Curtis has agreed to take on the freedom to speak up trustee role that will give you the route through which you can raise concerns that are not or cannot be dealt with through your line management or internal escalation arrangements.

 

We have seen a number of staff leave the organisation over the last 12 months and I’m hoping that you will have seen the recruitment campaign that we have in place in order to improve our staffing levels so that we can open as many beds as possible to support our children families and young people. In the short-term, we know that vacancies will present us with a challenge and but we are hopeful that we will be able to recruit a number of excellent staff over the next few months which will see us move back to full capacity and make Derian house a thriving hub of activity.

 

Alongside the staff, the feedback and the recruitment challenges that we face, the board also discussed finances. Whilst we are fortunate as a charity to have reserves in place that will enable us to continue with the excellent work that you all do, it is important that we spend our money wisely. The future of the statutory funding that we receive is uncertain and that means it is even more important we are careful with the scarce and precious resource that our supporters provide us with. I would ask you all to support the notion of spending wisely and spending well.

 

One of the other areas of focus at our meeting was governance. We need to focus on improving our governance processes and ensuring that we are able to deliver care at the highest standard.  The senior leadership team will be asking for your support in ensuring that we raise standards, improve processes, improve culture and to that end, maintain our CQC outstanding rating.

 

Though change is hard and we know we have much to do, it is an exciting journey which we know can lead to more great things.

 

Thank you for all you continue to do.

Karen Swindley Chair of Trustees