Juno turns 2: Reflecting on the journey so far

This National Children’s Day has got us thinking about ‘what kind of world do we want for children?’ For us at Juno, the answer’s simple. We want to build a future where children growing up in care in the Liverpool City Region find brilliant homes where they feel safe, loved and supported.

Juno started with an idea. That things could – and should – be done differently for the benefit of local, care-experienced young people. So, for several years, we’ve been on a mission to transform the landscape of children’s residential care in the Liverpool City Region.

We’ve been working with partners, funders and local authorities to develop a network of high-quality, not-for-profit homes that place the needs of children and young people front and centre.

Now, two years on from the opening of our first home, we want to take the opportunity to reflect on the journey so far – our successes, challenges and what we’ve learned along the way.

Supporting children to thrive.

Since opening Juno Oxton in 2023, we’ve been busy making our vision a reality.

Over the past two years, we’ve refurbished and opened another two homes – Juno Wallasey and Juno New Brighton – enabling us to care for more children. Since the very beginning, we’ve been putting the voice of care-experienced children at the forefront of our thinking. Each of our homes has been designed with, and for, young people. We’ve created homely environments which look and feel like family homes in safe neighbourhoods, with spaces that children can call their own.

“The ethos and objectives of the home are demonstrated in the day-to-day care that children receive”. - Ofsted

Welcoming and high-quality homes are central to our ethos, but we wouldn’t be able to provide brilliant care without the right people on board to make that happen. That’s why relationships are at the heart of everything we do.

From recruiting and retaining fantastic staff, to building strong partnerships with funders and delivery partners, and listening to our experts by experience, the success of Juno has been well and truly a group effort.

It’s good to know that we’re not in it alone. It’s been a privilege to work alongside others who want to build a better world for care-experienced children and young people.

Celebrating successes.

There’s been lots to celebrate at Juno. We’ve won awards, been supported by incredible funders and been praised by the Minister for Children and Families. Most importantly, we’ve made real progress in the ways we work.

Over the past 12 months, both Juno Oxton and Juno Wallasey have been rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted, with inspectors highlighting the outcomes we’re supporting children to achieve. First and foremost, that’s what Juno is all about – delivering great outcomes for children.

It hasn’t always been easy. When we opened our first home, we faced some big and unexpected challenges.

It was hard, but it led to some serious reflection about how we do things. Since then, we’ve refined our model of care, supporting children to dream big and using the Outcomes Star™ to measure their progress against key outcome areas.

Children in care aren’t always involved in decisions that are made about them. We’re seeing the children we are for getting stuck into the things they care about, that matter most to them, whether that’s joining fire cadets, spending time with family or going on holiday. This progress is real.

We’re always learning

We’ve learned a lot over the past two years.

As a social enterprise that wants to do things differently in residential care, we know that it’s vital to be honest about what has – and hasn’t – worked at Juno. We work hard to make sure that no learning is lost.

Here’s what we’ve learned:

1.     Relationships need to be nurtured

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – Juno’s success has been a team effort.

We wouldn’t be here without the support of others, without allies who’ve backed our corner. But strong relationships take a lot of care – they don’t happen overnight. Having the right backers, partners and funders on board is essential, but you’ll only get the most out of them if you’re ready to put in the effort. It takes time to build trust, mutual understanding and great communication. Be patient and take the time to get this right.

2.     Walk before you can run

We’ve talked about our bumpy start. In the early days of Juno, we wanted to get stuck straight into the doing – we’re an ambitious bunch! On reflection, we’d say aim high, but make sure you get the basics right first. Having big goals and plans for growth is great. First, though, build in time for lots of reflection, learning and adapting, instead of expecting to hit the ground running.

3.     Dream big

The importance of daring to dream is at the heart of how we’re doing things differently.

Recently, our Expert by Experience, Sherrie Austin talked about how residential care is too focused on the basics. We have high aspirations and believe that nothing is out of reach for the children we care for. We’ll continue to promote this philosophy, never forgetting that the children in our care deserve rich and fulfilling lives.

‘Time and time again, I’ve read and heard from care-experienced people about the importance of even one person in their corner daring to dream’. - Sherrie Austin

We don’t just use learning and reflection to shape our internal practices. We know that others value our honesty and experience, too.

We’re committed to sharing our experiences with other providers, funders and decision-makers who, like us, want to make life everything it can be for looked-after children and young people. From taking part in advisory boards, attending events to talk about our journey and shaping best practice, we want to provide sector leadership and catalyse broader system reform. Why? Because we know we can’t build a better world for local care-experienced children alone.

Looking to the future.

We have big plans for the future of Juno, and know it’ll be a bright one.

Juno New Brighton will be opening its doors this week, and we’re already thinking about homes 4 and 5. We won’t be stopping there. By 2030, we plan to have opened 10 homes across the Liverpool City Region, homes where even more children can thrive, dream big and feel loved.

If you want to find out more or are interested in working with Juno get in touch by emailing hello@wearejuno.org