ReRooted Programme

Inspiration was in the air as staff from the ReRooted learning cohort Foyers reconnected at our latest meet-up in Birmingham. We were joined by 1625 Independent People, a charity working with young people who are leaving care or are at risk of homelessness in the South West of England.  

What is the ReRooted Programme? 

Young people in Foyers consistently tell us that mental health and wellbeing is one of their biggest concerns. Supported by funding from UK Youth's Thriving Minds Fund and the CHK Foundation, ReRooted is about empowering staff to build the knowledge, confidence, and skills to better support young people who arrive in their Foyers. The programme aims to make young people’s time in Foyers a positive and inspiring experience, enabling them to feel safe to put down new roots. 

20 Foyers from Bodmin to Doncaster have joined the ReRooted learning cohort. In doing so, staff and young people in these Foyers have gained access to many learning opportunities. The learning cohort is progressing along the journey, connecting, sharing, and learning together. Find out more about the programme here.

What happened on the day? 

1625 Independent People delivered the Better Conversations with DNA-V training, model and tool kit, and all attendees were given the practical resources to take away.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a developmental model designed to increase psychological flexibility in young people. DNA-V (Discoverer, Noticer, Advisor & Values) is the youth model of ACT. The approach has a proven track record of supporting young people to make choices driven by the things most important to them, reduce avoidance of the uncomfortable stuff, and bring about sustainable benefits to them personally.

Attendees got stuck in with the interactive activities, engaging with their own thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and values as a way of fully understanding the benefits of the practice. This also gave them a chance to practise using the resources before taking them back to their Foyer and working with young people. 

‘I valued gaining skills and knowledge that I can use with young people to aid development and support.’  Participant feedback

Thank you so much to 1625 Independent People and all who attended for such a wonderful event

What’s next? 

Over the summer we are delivering a series of Restorative Practice training workshops for Foyer’s within the ReRooted learning cohort. This was identified as a need by staff, especially as a way to create a more positive Foyer environment, supporting both staff and young people’s wellbeing.  

Based on the learning cohort's feedback we have already started planning future cohort events scheduled for the winter of 24/25. This will again bring Foyers together to connect and learn, deepening their skills to support young people to thrive.