News

Dear Colleagues

 

I wanted to share some key updates following our recent Trustee Board meeting.

 

Our Strategic Direction

Trustees have now approved the overarching strategic aim for the Charity for the next five years. This represents an important milestone and provides a clear direction for where we want to be and the impact we want to have for babies, children, young people and families.

2030 Ambition: By 2030, all children and families within our catchment area who are eligible for support from Derian House (expected to be around 5,000) will be aware of our services, and at least 20% will access and benefit from them. Through safe, sustainable and family-centred services, we will extend our reach and impact whilst maintaining the highest standards of quality, governance and care

Whilst the overarching aim has now been agreed, this is very much the beginning rather than the end of the process. Over the coming weeks and months, colleagues from across the organisation will be involved in helping us put the “meat on the bones” of the strategy, shaping how we turn our ambitions into practical actions and priorities for each department and team.

 

This engagement will begin with a series of staff briefings, dates will be shared soon, followed by team discussions and opportunities for colleagues to contribute their ideas, expertise and experience. It is important that our strategy reflects the collective knowledge and passion that exists across the organisation.

 

Our New Values

Trustees also approved our new organisational values:

 

Safe
Accountable
Compassionate

 

These values reflect who we are, what matters most to us, and how we want to work together and with the families we support.

 

Alongside the values, Trustees approved a set of guiding behaviours aligned with the letters within DERIAN, that bring these values to life in our day-to-day actions and decision-making. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in developing these.  Further information about the values and behaviours will be shared shortly, and we will be working together to embed them across the organisation.

 

Family Engagement and Voice

A key area of discussion was our commitment to family engagement and ensuring that the voices of children, young people and families are at the heart of everything we do.  Trustees formally approved our approach to strengthening participation and engagement and reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that the experiences, views and feedback of families help shape our services and future plans, through the formal approval of a paper that went to board.

 

Danny shared the paper in an email last week, if you haven’t had the opportunity to read it I would encourage colleagues to do so.

 

Getting Ready for Growth

Trustees were also clear that the coming year should be focused on ensuring that we have the right foundations in place for the future.  This means spending time getting our “house in order”, strengthening our infrastructure, governance, leadership arrangements, staffing structures, systems and ways of working so that we are well positioned to deliver our strategic ambitions and support future growth.

 

You will hear more about this work over the coming weeks as plans develop and we begin to engage colleagues in shaping the next phase.

 

Questions and Further Information

We recognise that colleagues may have questions about any of the areas outlined above. Please feel free to speak with any member of the Executive or Leadership  team, who will be happy to provide further information and answer any questions you may have.

 

Thank you, as always, for your commitment, professionalism and passion. The progress we are making as an organisation is only possible because of the dedication of our colleagues, volunteers and supporters, and we look forward to shaping the future together.