Genus Care was set up in 2010 by two people frustrated by mediocre standards and a 'child comes second' attitude. We have over 40 years' experience in Residential Children's Homes and we looked at our collective views, ideas, thoughts and memories and used them to shape Genus Care into a company that places the child at the centre of all it does, values people for who they are and not what they do and, as a result, helps our children achieve amazing successes.

Before opening we also contacted Local Authorities across Wales and asked them what they wanted from a provider of residential services for children and they unanimously said three things:

1. Don't end placements- Do what you say you're good at

2. Consider all young people we refer to your service and consider the most challenging young people to be the ones most in need of you.

3. Give good value for money.

Our response was to weave these into the very fabric of Genus Care and our answers were, and still are, "Ok, we'll do that".

We have homes across Wales which follow the same model, each are lived in by 3 young people, are staffed 1:1 and sit within small communities. Education is an extremely big and important part of all children's lives and ours are no exception, our school is registered with the Welsh Government as an independent school and we have a classroom on the site of each of our homes- meaning any of the young people can be educated by us on site by a full-time teacher. Our children are encouraged to feel and be part of the local community in terms of joining clubs and making friends as well as the 'Genus Care' community- all ex-residents are invited back at Christmas and we try to keep in touch with everyone. We also have occasions where staff and children from across the company meet up and have a nice time.

We appreciate that the role of looking after our children isn't exclusively ours- there are parents, social workers, teachers, extended family and siblings plus a range of dedicated professionals involved as well. We see our job as the people who must bring everyone together for the greater good, we ensure everyone relevant knows what is happening in that child's life.

Genus Care are always looking to improve our service, our homes and our staff. In doing so we would also hope to redefine the way that residential children's homes are viewed by the industry and society. Our homes are not the dingy, threadbare 'units' so often seen because we feel that children should live somewhere bright, sunny, warm, safe, comfortable and welcoming- they should live at home.