About Therapeutic Care
Therapeutic Care is a residential childcare provider based in the North-West of England. They offer essential housing and support services for vulnerable children and young people who cannot live at home. Their mission is rooted in providing trauma-informed and trauma-responsive care, ensuring each child receives a nurturing, safe environment.
Early on, we met with Therapeutic Care to help them achieve their vision of delivering the highest standard of care for children in the North West. Each home requires Ofsted approval and compliance with strict regulations, and our task was to establish a strong technological foundation from the ground up.
In the initial stages, we assisted Therapeutic Care by securing their domain and setting up Microsoft 365 for their head office. This early partnership set the tone for how we would help streamline their processes and improve their operations.
The Challenge
As a new provider, Therapeutic Care faced the challenge of building a secure, scalable IT framework from scratch. Drawing from our experience in the childcare sector, including insights from working with Therapeutic Care’s IT Manager, Chelsey, we aimed to ensure that the system was simple for employees to use. With over 30 homes needing to operate in sync with the head office, it was vital to create a streamlined, secure approach that also adhered to the stringent Ofsted requirements.
To make things more efficient, we collaborated closely with Chelsey to create an automated “order to Ofsted” process. Once the details of a new property were finalised, we could swiftly roll out the necessary IT systems, ensuring the home was ready for both staff and children. What began as a brainstorming session on a whiteboard evolved into a comprehensive SharePoint, Teams, and security infrastructure that supported the entire organisation.
The Solution
Our CTO, Tom, proposed a bespoke solution called “Home in a Box,” a comprehensive suite of products designed to ensure security and ease of deployment. This package included elements like web content control, web filtering, antivirus protection, multi-factor authentication (MFA), BitLocker encryption, and secure data management. With this system, whenever Therapeutic Care opened a new property, the network configuration and IT systems were immediately ready, and fully compliant with Ofsted’s standards.
We partnered with CB Communications to handle telecommunications and collaborated with their printer suppliers to ensure seamless integration of IT and telecom systems. We also provided ongoing training, working closely with Chelsey to help her maximise the use of Microsoft Business Premium, which now forms the backbone of the company’s day-to-day operations.
The Deployment
Our deployment began by establishing baseline security policies and building the Teams and SharePoint structure for the head office. Once these were in place, we rolled out the “Home in a Box” solution to each of their properties. This included installing wireless access points, cloud-managed firewalls, secure data cabinets, and standardised IT hardware across all locations. Now, every Therapeutic Care facility can securely connect to the network using company devices without additional setup.
Additionally, we deployed a separate solution for the children, ensuring they had a safe, secure network for completing homework and communicating with family. This sandboxed environment used refurbished equipment to keep costs down while maintaining the highest security standards. The children were able to use their personal email accounts and stay connected, all while being isolated from the corporate network to ensure privacy and protection.
The Outcomes & Future Work
Therapeutic Care’s head office is now more efficient and well-prepared for future expansion. As they continue to grow, the seamless integration of homes into their centralised IT infrastructure allows them to scale without disruption.
Looking ahead, Therapeutic Care is exploring the integration of its Microsoft ecosystem with specialised HR and recruitment software. By leveraging Microsoft Power Platform, they aim to link critical processes like DBS checks and recruitment workflows, reducing manual input and improving productivity. This integration will not only streamline operations but also enhance their ability to recruit and vet staff more efficiently, all while maintaining their high standards of care for children.