The Alt Parent

Alternative Parenting, I chose this title for a few reasons.

Firstly, a little nod to the fact that I myself grew up as an alternative person. In the traditional sense, and in the sense of some of the students I encountered at the beginning of my career: they couldn’t imagine a person with tattoos, piercings and whatever colour my hair was at the time could be someone that can work in a boarding school. There will be a time and place for me to explore this theme further most definitely, but to cut a long conversation short – my career demonstrates that respectfully: it does not affect your ability to look after and support young people.

Secondly, when someone asks about what does a House Parent do: there are so many ways to answer this question. Whilst we do not believe we are the parents of the young people in our care, we do act loco in parentis, we are there to support, guide, champion, listen to, engage with, monitor (and so many other verbs) young people. Some House Parents have their own children, some do not, what we all have in common is we are working in a child centred environment that focuses on the students and creating a home away from home.