MyST Residential Model – Caerphilly

What's the project?

MyST stands for ‘My Support Team’ and brings together different networks to help children who are looked after to remain in, or return to, their local communities.

The Caerphilly Residential Model project focuses on enabling adults to be the best they can be in caring for and looking after traumatised children. And also gives children, young people and their families the opportunity to engage in psychological work focusing on recovery and change through relational practice.

We also focus on transitioning young people out of residential care to community placements like family or foster care.

The project:

• provides an intensive psychological service to young people in Caerphilly’s children’s homes
• supports residential staff in providing therapeutic care and developing a psychologically-informed culture across Caerphilly’s children’s homes
• works to transition young people out of residential care to community placements like family or foster care
• offers wraparound support of community placements after a transition from a local authority-run children’s home
• provides psychological consultation for professionals of young people in privately-run residential homes
• involves birth families and recognises the value of their input.

The project builds on the MyST Community Model, which has been running for more than 20 years and has led to positive outcomes for young people and their adult network, alongside cost savings.

Why is it being carried out?

The local authorities (LAs) working with young people in residential care have for years highlighted that having trauma-informed care and opportunities for young people to develop and recover should be part of every LA home’s offer to young people in Wales.

The MyST Residential Model project aims to:

• reduce risk presentation in young people with high levels of complex needs
• improve the mental health of young people in Caerphilly children's homes
• support young people to transition from residential care to community placements
• develop psychologically-informed practices and therapeutic care among residential staff
• provide crisis support on a 24/7 basis through an on-call service for the residential homes.

Evidence around the Residential Model is still at an early stage, but there have already been examples of positive outcomes and successful transfers from residential care to community placements.

Where and when is the work taking place?

This work is taking place in Caerphilly.

The MyST Residential Model project began in November 2020 with a single practitioner being allocated to work with Caerphilly residential homes in the Caerphilly Community MyST Team.

The team has since expanded and in 2024 has four practitioners – one therapeutic practice manager and three lead therapeutic practitioners.

The team’s work is also supported by the regional structures within the whole MyST programme.

Who’s involved?

MyST is owned by, and funded through, the Gwent Partnership Board and involves a range of partners, including health, education, social care and the families.

Due to the success of Community MyST, the Residential Model has received core children’s services funding. And some initial set up funding grants from the Regional Integration Fund.

What’s been learnt from the project so far?

The team have taken some important learnings from their work to establish and grow the service since it started in 2020.

Some of their key learnings include:

• the importance of embedding values and cultures, making sure staff teams feel trained, supported, supervised and skilled to do their job
• how to effectively influence and work with residential homes in a truly collaborative way that encourages buy-in on every level of the organisation, from residential care workers to Responsible Individuals
• the model evolving and adapting to the needs of the young people and staff teams – not the other way around
• the importance of recognising and respecting the way people are working now, why they’re doing it, and bringing them along on the journey
• bringing people together to discuss risk and a young person, to generate lots of good ideas and foster relationships that value the experience others can bring to the situation
• the importance of being able to see things from someone else’s position and being able to find a middle ground.