Time to listen to the children

Very few of these children are born evil. If they become errant it is often down to circumstances, the influences placed upon their young lives, often by their parents.

Parents, in fact, have a lot to answer for and when it is judged that they are not good parents, then they become parents no longer and the state steps in.

Unfortunately, in the past, the state has been a poor parent too and the damage caused to the already damaged children has been exacerbated.

When unruly children, wild through no fault of their own, arrived at a children's home before 1989, the problem became a medical one. They were "treated" by child psychologists and psychiatrists, they were analysed to the nth degree, bombarded with complex psychological theories which left the child more bewildered than before they arrived. They were managed, assessed, treated.

More often than not the whole system was a sledgehammer to crack a nut when all the children really needed was a dose of good parenting, a bit of attention and a lot of understanding and love.

They also needed boundaries to be drawn, which is where the staff at Aycliffe Young People's Centre come in.

And even there, under the new enlightened regime, the staff cringe to remember what life used to be like in children's homes of not too long ago.

Little care and attention was given to the welfare and needs of the child.

In one North-East home absconders used to spend the day in pyjamas and bare feet. Another had a cell for trouble-makers.

Children were "warehoused". Big groups of children in big houses managed by big staffs. As many as 24 to a house with standard issue socks, shoes, shirts, trousers, underpants. A typical meal at such an institution was a heap of "cheese fluff" - a mixture of cheese and mashed potato - served on a plastic plate.

"No heed was paid to youngsters' welfare and very often this did more damage to the children," head of residential and community services Sue Waller remembers.

Then in 1989 came the watershed in the form of the Children Act, legislation which put an end to institutional rituals. Child welfare became paramount and the system changed dramatically.

So life for the 60 youngsters in care in County Durham's four children's homes and two satellite houses is very different today.

Aycliffe Centre has room for 20 childen, aged ten to 18, who have had the worst possible start in life, disaffected and disturbed.

When they arrive, referred by social services, their lives are in turmoil and the aim is to provide them with a normal life in one of six houses on site.

For some it will be the first normality in their lives; everyday and matter of fact to the casual observer, but life altering to those youngsters involved.

When they do arrive, some of the residents have no life skills whatsoever.

They have no social skills and can barely communicate in a civilised fashion. They don't know how to look after themselves, some can't even get themselves out of bed.

"Some don't know how to keep themselves clean," says team manager and residential social worker Maureen Lennox. "They are often standing in just the clothes they are wearing. They don't know how to relate to other people, some don't even know how to use a knife and fork. Others are used to just eating burgers and have never clapped eyes on some foods."

Residential social worker Jocelyn Pulford adds: "It's all the stuff we take for granted, the things you're just expected to do."

In some cases the children are so damaged they cannot be taken into the open unit and have to be referred for specialist help elsewhere.

"There's normally a reason for their behaviour, it's things they've picked up through their lives and a lack of attachment from early age," Mrs Lennox says.

So the staff at the centre become the parents the children never had.

Children are assessed when they arrive, not for "treatment", but so their needs can be catered for.

"A lot of what we do is about keeping things as normal as possible," says Ms Waller. "We steer people out into the community and out into life. We find ourselves asking what is normal and what isn't normal and look at what we would want for our own children.

"We don't give up on them. The staff here are very dedicated and are committed to the individual young people they care for. They are adults who are prepared to champion their cause, fight for them, be there for them. Outside you don't get the same commitment. When they leave they are better equipped."

Some of the children will go to school on site, others in local towns. They also use local recreational facilities, they may attend a local church or clubs such as brownies. But they return "home" to the centre, to safety, to stability.

No more state hand-outs either, the children are consulted all the way. They receive living allowances and are encouraged to shop for food, clothes, even furniture. They also help look after and decorate their homes and for their leisure there's a coffee bar, Yorkies, which they help run as well as use.

As time goes on the dysfunctional begin to function. They become aware of their health and how to keep it; they acquire the skills to look after themselves; they discover their own identity; they learn to present themselves in a reasonable way to society.

"The young people are listened to and encouraged to make decisions and challenge staff," says Maureen. "But we try to give them the social skills to challenge in a constructive way."

The centre also works with families, often the root of the child's troubles. Mothers, fathers, siblings and other relatives are encouraged to come into the centre and can even stay the weekend, with varying success.

Maureen says: "After the children have been here a while you will see a change in them, yet you get parents who haven't changed. That is what needs to be worked on.

"Some young people choose never to go home again, to get a better start for themselves. It's a problem that will not go away - there will always be bad parents."