1. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
National Centre for Excellence
in Residential Child Care
Annual conference proceedings
Manchester Renaissance Hotel – 5 November 2008
Residential Child Care: Leadership,
management, outcomes In this issue
Jonathan Stanley, manager, National Child Matters outcomes that serve as a Residential Child Care 1
Centre for Excellence in Residential Child foundation; but what else does residential
Care (NCERCC) child care need to add in order to Leadership 2
Positive leadership and management are adequately represent its unique task?
essential for residential child care. Managing children’s homes 3
Maintaining the integrity of the child- The conference looked at how outcomes are Where are we going with
centred, opportunity-led, residential viewed and used across the world; and
group-living task requires leadership and heard of the in-depth methodology used by groups and groupwork in
management that both meets the needs of one leading English provider to explore and residential child care
young people and contributes to the develop their own outcomes framework. in England? 4
current development of children’s services.
This year’s conference examined research Residential child care is a sector Restorative justice and residential
and practice into leadership and characterised by its creativity, with settings child care 5
management; and developments in developing according to need. The seminars
measuring outcomes for children and offered insights into the different ways in Continuing the development of
young people. Keynote speakers which providers have sought to resolve the social pedagogy in English
considered the nature of leadership and potential conflicts involved in the
management in residential child care, standardisation, differentiation and residential child care 6
whilst the seminars offered opportunities individuation of outcomes. They also looked Making sense of Mental Health 7
to hear positive developments in some of at a diverse range of topics that are all
the most challenging areas of residential highly relevant to residential child care, Learning from the Scottish
child care. including social pedagogy, restorative experience 9
justice, leaving care, therapeutic
It has long been understood that any interventions, decreasing physical Leaving care 10
residential child care evaluation should be interventions, mental health issues and
related to outcomes. Defining outcomes workforce planning. Children’s Residential Networks 11
needs to be related to the task of caring for Introducing SCIE e-learning
young people within the residential child These conference proceedings represent
care context. Outcomes need to be edited summaries of the transcripts for materials for positive behaviour
evaluated and communicated effectively most of the presentations – except where management and physical
and efficiently. There are the five Every sessions were not recorded. interventions 12
Young people’s views 13
SACCS’ therapeutic residential
care for traumatised children 15
Measuring what matters, the
social return on investment
and residential child care 17
Decreasing restrictive physical
interventions 18
Resilience and residential
child care 21
Developing meaningful outcomes
for young people with disabilities 22
Therapeutic residential
child care 23

2. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
Leadership: Remembering and reclaiming the task and role in
residential child care
You can’t make anybody do anything, you can persuade, encourage, cajole, inspire, or implore but you
can’t actually make it happen; whether it’s a reluctant teenager curtailing their behaviour or a resistant
staff member who doesn’t want to work in a particular way
Adrian Ward, Tavistock Centre and Leadership as relational and leader understands, engages and works with
University of East London, and co-author interactional the whole network of relationships, both
of Working in Group Care (Policy Press Knowledge about leadership in the caring within and outside the unit.
2007) and NCERCC leadership professions is not very high and it is not a
development materials (forthcoming), topic that has featured strongly on training Leadership as a process
both of which consider essential aspects courses, even at post-qualifying and Integral to this relationship-based approach
of residential child care leadership. advanced levels. Old labels, such as is an emphasis on leadership as an ongoing,
charismatic, autocratic and laissez-faire, are evolving and involving process, rather than
(Adrian’s paper was delivered by John commonly used – with a so-called as a static event represented by an
Turberville, director of the Mulberry Bush democratic model ‘fitting in somewhere’ as organisational chart of the formal
School, as Adrian was unable to be present a preferred approach. hierarchy. Leadership takes time, like any
due to travel problems caused by weather.) relationship or set of relationships. One
A distinction is currently made between grows into it through a transitional phase:
The four aspects of the leadership role in transactional and transformational you become the role, relationships develop
residential child care were considered. leadership. Transformational leadership and grow and eventually you move on.
emphasises the moral element of The ‘moving on’ is especially important.
Why leadership matters in residential leadership. Moving beyond simply getting The truism that ‘nobody is indispensable’
child care people to do what you want them to and applies to leadership in the same way as it
Numerous research studies and overviews of in the way that you want them to do it, does to any other role. Too many
inspection reports indicate that clear and the model transcends everyday needs and apparently good leaders seek to make
effective leadership plays a critical role in expectations, aiming at higher or deeper themselves indispensable, by playing the
producing good quality care for children and goals. It draws attention to what leaders charismatic or transformational role, as if
young people. The corollary to this is that an have to do to inspire people to think and nobody could replace them. When they
absence of leadership, negative or destructive plan beyond the immediate and everyday. leave, the place collapses or implodes
leadership, disengaged or excessively because they have undermined everyone
charismatic leadership all produce unhappy, Models and terms, including the else’s confidence in their own or the team’s
confused and divided teams, poorer quality transformational one, can seem to reduce shared abilities. The other critical point to
child care and probably poorer outcomes for leadership to one-way traffic. Almost as if be made about the leadership process is
the young people. leadership primarily involves doing things that, rather than simply being appointed to
to people in order to get them to do the the leadership position, the process involves
There is a distinction to be drawn between things that you want them to do. negotiation and testing out.
leadership and management. Management
is about planning, organising and Insistence upon compliance misses the point – Leadership is therefore relational and a
overseeing. Leadership is about having the the more you insist, the less compliance you process. The best leadership nurtures,
vision that informs all that planning; the will evoke. Leadership is not one-way traffic, it facilitates and promotes good practice over
sense of strategy to ensure it actually is interactional, involving a complex network the long term, enhances team capability
works; and the personal qualities of of relationships that require continual and confidence and is self-effacing rather
engagement, inspiration and attention to nurturing. It is unhelpful to see leadership than self-aggrandising. As Lao Tzu said in
team issues, such as morale, which are so purely in terms of the leader’s characteristics Tao Te Ching over a thousand years ago:
critical to getting the work done. or style. We need to think about how the ‘When the best leader’s work is done the
people say “we did it ourselves”‘.
The leader as a person
Children’s homes can be described as small
and intense human organisations focused
on addressing the pain of separated
children and supporting them towards
some resolution of that pain. A children’s
home is not a bureaucratic or industrial
undertaking engaged in the processing of
data or physical materials, nor primarily an
educational or leisure-oriented organisation
focused on providing emotionally-neutral
learning or recreation. Its clients are, by
definition, very distressed young people
and this distress permeates the very fabric
of the building and the human interactions
within it. The task combines everyday care
and support-giving with a longer-term
focus on addressing each young person’s
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3. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
life predicament and the distress it causes need the active support of leadership to help everyone’s strong feelings. Therefore, it is
them. This distress has enormous them withstand the stress and remain critical that there is an equal emphasis on
significance both for the nature of the responsive and positive. Therefore, the regular and reliable access to supervision
child care team’s work and the space in leadership role can entail a high level of and consultation for leaders.
which it operates 24 hours a day. It has demand and potentially a degree of isolation,
important implications for the kind of supporting and directing staff who are The demands of the job require leaders to be
support and leadership the team needs. themselves under great pressure. Leaders often able to stand back and to review and evaluate
occupy the boundary between the their own experience and contribution.
A child care team may have to absorb or organisation and the outside world; mediating External line managers must ensure that
respond to extreme emotions in the average between different groups and groupings residential leaders have regular supervision on
day’s work, often with very little notice. Some within and beyond the organisation. all aspects of their work, including the
of the distress and disturbance they witness opportunity to reflect on its psychological and
may deeply affect them, perhaps without Leaders may sometimes have to hold emotional demands. Residential leaders should
them fully realising it at the time. This confidential information about change and also have access to independent consultation
everyday reality means that child care staff often find themselves the focus of on their role and task.
Managing children’s homes: Developing effective leadership
in small organisations
The approaches used and the ways of working that were established between teams and managers
within the fluctuating nature of homes occupy an important position.
Leslie Hicks, University of Lincoln and the individual manager’s approaches within Management includes the task of forming
co-author of Managing Children’s Homes: the home and their relations with the staff a coherent staff team over time, where the
Developing effective leadership in small group and young people; together with quality of relationships is a major
organisations (Jessica Kingsley 2007) and managerial approaches in contextual component in establishing the potential for
NCERCC leadership development arenas, such as the organisation, other good practice. This requires sensitive work,
materials (forthcoming). agencies and the wider realm of policy and constantly revisited, as group composition,
procedures. The effectiveness of managers both staff and resident, changes.
Leslie Hicks gave a brief introduction to the relies on their being sufficiently well
research published in Managing Children’s placed, within each of these arenas, to External levels of influence can come to
Homes, and subsequent developmental bring about consistent and reflective bear on the role of manager. The role is
work. This involved examining what practice for, and on behalf of, the young performed within the organisational
managers do overall; what they do within people in the home itself. Accumulating context. Managers need to feel they have
their organisations; the way they work with strengths in these different contexts acts as sufficient autonomy while concurrently
young people and the key factors an overall enabler of good practice. having access to line-management
influencing positive practice; and concluded support and supervision if needed.
with a consideration of the implications for Crucially, to achieve a well-functioning Managers are reliant on establishing
training arising from the findings. home, managers and staff must cooperate credibility within their own organisations;
to establish a consistency in the they need sufficient development
The research was funded by the collaborative culture, led and developed by opportunities and value a close
Department for Children, Schools and the manager, within a hierarchical system relationship with, and access to, their
Families, and focused on: of accountability. Managers have a key role organisational hierarchy. They value
in communicating the home’s purpose and involvement in strategic management and
I the role of managers and how they assisting staff to realise that purpose. A contributing to planning, particularly the
manage functioning team requires the drawing planning process for their own homes, and
I the kinds of leadership in operation in together of individuals into a cooperating in writing and developing procedures
the homes group that shares the manager’s clarity on across the parent organisation. Managers
I how leadership was achieved and goals and how to achieve them. Managers also need access to external professional
sustained and the ways in which need to share roles and responsibilities development opportunities. Each of these
resources are used. based on a solid understanding of the arenas contribute to a manager’s
strengths of each member of staff. They perception of them being treated fairly
Managing children’s homes to produce the must spend time, formally and informally, and feeling valued by their parent
care and positive outcomes required maintaining the staff team. organisation.
involves more than the use of bureaucratic
administration or ‘managerialism’ to The degree of autonomy afforded to Successful managers use formal and
establish working relationships between managers is important. Managers must informal means to establish a consistency
staff teams and managers. How managers empower staff while retaining their across the group of staff and young people,
create, maintain, influence and develop decision-making authority. In small while respecting and focusing on individual
their staff teams is fundamental to success relationship-based organisations such as needs. This balance between individual and
– it helps staff to meet the needs of young children’s homes, the role of manager group needs involves notions of parity and
people. involves and is sustained by many factors fairness, negotiation, and the juggling of
other than the manager’s position within resources.
The research highlighted the importance of the hierarchical structure. The culture of
the manager’s role in terms of the internal the organisation itself and the kinds of Relationship-building is a necessary
and external context in which they operate. leadership deployed contribute towards the precondition for active work. Achieving a
Interdependent factors in success include success of the managerial role. collaborative team dynamic, which works
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4. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
The research examined the elements that
distinguish between being able to perform
the role of manager adequately and being
able to perform it well. Overall, it showed
that in homes where the manager had
clear, well worked out strategies for dealing
with behaviour and with education, staff
had higher morale and they received
clearer and better guidance. The staff felt
that the resident young people behaved
better and were less likely to be excluded
from school, convicted or cautioned while
in the home. They also expressed more
favourable views about the social climate
of the home; were happier on some of the
areas we measured; and were seen as
functioning better by their field social
workers.
The research may have implications for
training, although many questions remain
as to what would constitute appropriate
training. There is still little research
evidence about the forms, standards and
merits of the training that exists for
consistently over time and within the routines (using sanction-and-reward managers or staff who are working, or who
manager’s preferred approach to practice, is processes where relevant and appropriate); are about to work, in children’s homes.
of primary importance. It is a shifting, building relationships; establishing key However, given the importance of
complex and dynamic challenge, requiring worker systems; and developing and teamwork and team dynamics in children’s
an active understanding of the dynamics of maintaining relationships with others, such homes, training should be home and
the home and of young people’s needs and as field social workers and schools, group-oriented and have a specific focus
characteristics. It requires the manager to neighbourhood groups, parents and carers. on individual context and individual
be involved in establishing boundaries and purpose.
Where are we going with groups and groupwork in
residential child care in England?
Messages from the NCERCC research study on the importance attached to formal
and informal groupwork by residential child care staff
The key thing in shared responsibility, is reflection, not a means of managing the place but a means
of thinking with each other about what’s happening in the place we share.
Roger Clough, Eskrigge Social And I thought what’s going on? What’s developed a project, which is just reaching
Research Centre happening in residential child care? I its conclusion, in two parts: an overview
What I want to do is to raise some always understood groups and groupings to and a survey.
questions about groups and groupings in be at the very core of residential practice. I
residential child care. Working in a local thought the community and the people I The brief overview captures some of the
authority and looking at children’s homes, I who lived and worked in the establishment key themes around what’s happening in
discovered to my surprise that when staff were central. That core belief seemed to residential child care, including changes
were talking about their work, the thing have been lost. in the size of homes. Working with a
that they valued most highly and thought community of three, two or even one is
most important was what they called ‘one- In reflecting on past days, when things and dramatically different from the sixty to
to-ones’. If something went wrong in the ideas were different, what I want to do is eighty young people I worked with in an
home, they would try to resolve it by one- to share with you ideas about groups and approved school. How has our
to-ones. Staff would say: groupings and leave you with some understanding of groups and groupwork
questions. The research that I’m going to been affected by size? How has our
do you know if only we had one less resident, talk about here is a very small piece of understanding of groups been affected
we’d be able to do a really good job here … research and all it’s doing is raising some by perceptions of residential child care,
we’ve got this very difficult young man, he’s serious questions. the emphasis on fostering, and societal
relating to the other kids, he gets carried changes such as the huge emphasis on
along by them, feeds off their excitement, Jonathan Stanley and I tried to set up a individualisation and personalisation?
they feed off him, they get him doing all survey about what’s happening in relation I The survey asked how people work in
sorts of things and he gets out of control to groups and groupings in residential child groups. We asked managers to complete
and if only he wasn’t here, we would be able care and apparent changes to ideas that I an online survey but received a low
to really do a good job with the children. thought were at the core of our work. We response rate. Those who did respond
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5. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
seemed to be more interested in group runs through everything we do, say to-ones; and this has significance for
working with groups than may be the and think; group is the treatment and the groups of young people learning to share,
norm today in residential child care. way of life not part of it. to take responsibility and be confronted by
the group on their behaviour.
So, whilst it was not a scientific survey, we Another says:
got some pointers to developments in I want to finish on the word ‘reflection’. Craig
practice. Asked about the sort of groups in Our community meetings are Fees, writing about therapeutic communities
their homes, people mentioned things like psychodynamic, the agenda is set by what and shared responsibility, wrote:
activity groups, and task or focus groups is going on in interior life of the community
looking at a particular issue or problem. at the time, which we can be confident will shared responsibility has been used as the
They talked about formal and informal manifest itself in the room if it hasn’t term to describe the involvement of children
groups, such as child–family conferences, clearly done so yet outside it; the job of the in the running of the establishment.
staff groups and external groups. They focal therapist is to ensure that it does.
talked about school groups and several He goes on to write about shared
mentioned young people’s meetings or What we’ve got there are some pointers to responsibility:
community meetings. understanding or describing group living. I
would like to pursue the question of how shared responsibility is in fact an orientation
Some of the people responding talked we understand the ‘group’; and how that of individuals towards one another, towards
about ‘group living’, using those two words. understanding varies in different settings. the groups in which they live.
One person responded that: People talked about the skills needed, such
as the ability to contain the group well; He goes on to write:
If managed by staff who value children, who work well in a team; plan confidently; be
want to consult the children, to provide a patient and understanding; set appropriate because there is a formal machinery to run
space for children’s emotions, anger and individual and group targets; plan and through community meetings, it is easy to
sadness, make children feel safe, contained juggle; provide ‘emotional containment’; miss the fact that the central characteristic
and cared for, who want to work with social and be attuned to the children. If these are is reflection not self-government.
workers, families and significant others, the skills necessary, my question is: What
admire resilience in children and actively sort of training do we need and where My original question was something like: ‘Has
build on strengths; who want to plan for the should the training take place? work with groups and groupings got lost?’ –
future alongside the child, able to know the that is, have we lost something crucial about
children and plan a great structure to the The ‘one-to-ones’ that people were talking group living, communities and shared
child’s day, able to challenge the child and about don’t seem to have the aspect of responsibility? As I reflect on residential child
others whilst being challenged, then group sharing that goes on in many group living care in the past, I wonder if that sense of the
living can be amazing. situations in the best residential child care. group and shared responsibility is something
The emphasis seems to be on that is still important, that should still be
Somebody else spoke of how the: individualisation, personalisation, and one- central to all or most of residential child care.
Restorative justice and residential child care:
Messages from research
It’s about reflecting on our behaviour … Talking about your behaviour, how it affects
other people and what you can do to be better (12-year-old child)
account the fact that residential care
Steve Fallowfield, Hampshire County Offending rates for looked after children
groups tend to have characteristics that do
Council have generally come down in Hampshire.
not make a sort of ‘clinical approach’ to
Steve Fallowfield, who manages seven However, this cannot just be attributed to
restorative justice easy to apply.
children’s homes in Hampshire, gave an the young people in residential child care.
account of Hampshire’s initiative to With regards to overall figures, the position
Hampshire had just £5,000 for restorative
introduce restorative justice approaches to now is not a vastly better position;
justice work. This was quite a shortfall from
reduce offending rates of children looked Hampshire’s proportion has come but one
the £160,000 considered necessary to cover
after in the county. He recorded that child or two children in a children’s court
training, through an external provider, and
Hampshire’s restorative justice initiative can have an enormous impact on the
embedding the core training into their own
began back in 2004, when offending rates headline figures.
structures. Further funding came from a
among children in their care peaked just
variety of willing sources, for example, the
short of four times the national average Hampshire spent a considerable amount of
local Wessex Youth Offending Team joint-
against the PAF target indicator. The other time talking to managers of a home in
funded training and liaisons with private
contentious thing was the number of police Hertfordshire who have implemented a
agencies and other local authorities –
call-outs to children’s homes. restorative approach, to find out what
Portsmouth and Southampton – who
worked and avoid making mistakes. They
likewise could not afford to go it alone.
Hampshire had to do something to reduce identified who and what was needed to put
call-outs and reduce offending. Things this training in place, settling on Walker
One of the key messages from the discussions
could be done about reducing the number Research and Training
with Hertfordshire was that there was no
of incidents in the homes. Logs could be (researchandtraining.co.uk/) because their
point in training half-a-dozen willing souls
kept about incidents. But actually making model was ready to deliver and had been
from the residential sector to be restorative
residential care a better place to work shaped around some of the vagaries of
practitioners then expected to champion the
and live, measuring that, is very difficult. residential care. They had taken into
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6. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
approach. It was not to be left to the The initiative has been evaluated by has been changed to promote reflection in
residential sector to do alone – the decision Portsmouth University. The headline staff and young people. For the staff, there
was taken to embed it across the system and conclusions are that it is being used regularly are questions like: What were you doing
the whole of the child care culture. Training with some perceived success in resolving before it happened? What do you think you
was made mandatory for residential staff; some of the conflicts within units. Most staff did? How do you feel about it now? What
with briefing training provided for key preferred to use restorative approaches. A do you think you could do to make sure
partners, YOT teams, probation officers, police majority of staff working in children’s homes this doesn’t happen again? A totally
and the field work managers. understand restorative approaches with separate incident record for the children
children and the principles and commitment includes questions like: How did you feel?
By March 2006, the majority of staff were it takes to actually resolve conflicts. Were you angry? Were you upset? It
trained and a core training period includes a series of facial expressions for
established within the calendar for all staff. Two tensions have been observed. A staff the young people to use (angry, upset,
It is now part of residential staff induction member who has been seriously assaulted happy, puzzled, and so on) to communicate
training. Having started with a certain may feel pressure to opt for restorative how they feel.
group of staff, these changes created the approaches when they would prefer to involve
need for further training. In 2007, further the police. Police call-outs are still high as It is not a quick solution but it is about
two-day refresher training was established they respond to missing person notifications. reflection and managing relationships
to keep the impetus going. The training has between people. It is a real challenge for
had to evolve and adapt, in the light of There have been developments in practice staff that requires a whole-system approach
feedback from staff, to become less formal as a result of the implementation. For with everyone signed up to it – and that is
and more intuitive. example, the format of the incident report the direction Hampshire are moving in.
Continuing the development of social pedagogy
in English residential child care
Social pedagogy provides a theoretical and practical framework for understanding children’s
upbringing. It has a particular focus on building relationships through practical engagement with
children and young people using skills such as art and music or outdoor activities. In a residential
care setting it provides a particular expertise in working with groups and using the group as a
support. (Care Matters: Time to deliver for children in care. DCSF, 2008)
Encompassing a sound theoretical context, residential child care workers in their you both like to do, that is potentially new
alongside a very hands-on experiential application; and to discover possible ways for both of you, involves learning together.
training experience has, I believe, given me of translating social pedagogic approaches It is helpful in building relationships and
a greater insight into the benefits of a into meaningful practices in English participants said that they found this very
pedagogic approach. As a senior manager, I residential child care settings. Staff from positive and were trying to incorporate this
feel resourced with new tools and an six children’s homes were trained in social approach more into their practice.
enthusiasm to see a positive change in how pedagogy and the holistic ideas
residential service provision will be viewed underpinning it. Homes were revisited three Residential workers participating in the
as a service of choice with trained and months and one year after the training to research reported that previous training
respected staff. I will continue to give follow-up support and see how things had often been fragmented. Social
disseminate this approach within my were developing. pedagogy gave them a more holistic
organisation through training and understanding of how all the various ‘head,
information-sharing and hope that on a It seems social pedagogy is very similar to heart and hands’ pieces fit together. They
national level social pedagogy will remain best practice in residential child care, so also recognised that social pedagogy is
high on the agenda. (Senior manager) some homes are in fact already using often about working with your
elements of it. Staff, nonetheless, felt that commonsense, listening to what you feel,
Gabriel Eichsteller and Sylvia Holthoff, they benefited as a result of the training not only to what you think. Social
ThemPra Social Pedagogy Community and of being exposed to social pedagogy. pedagogy encouraged them to look not
Interest Company As a result, they felt they were giving just at the guidelines and read ‘okay in this
This presentation focused on what has children and young people more positive situation I’m supposed to do this’ but to
happened in developing social pedagogy in experiences, a sense of achievement rather actually use commonsense and do what is
residential child care settings in England, than the feeling that everything in their right in that situation for that particular
one year after the first English social life is about failure and negative child or young person.
pedagogy research pilot projects (2007) experiences. They were building on the
were funded by the Social Education Trust positive experiences, showing them that Revisiting the research homes one year on,
and commissioned by NCERCC. The they can actually do something, and that there was still enormous enthusiasm for
evaluation report can be found at they have resources and skills within them. social pedagogy and much work going on
www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc. trying to implement it, and promote it in
Social pedagogy works from the other children’s homes. They felt that it gave
The project aimed to develop understanding that everyday activities like them a better framework; better ways of
understanding and knowledge of the sports, cooking, repairing punctures on a achieving the outcomes; and a way of
theories behind social pedagogic tyre, can give you a situation to develop getting positive outcomes across and
approaches; to build the confidence of relationships. Focusing on an activity that empowering children or, as one worker said,
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7. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
‘to walk alongside rather than lead the way’. homes, seems most beneficial. The training
There was much talk about involving children provides positive learning experiences,
and young people more in the decisions that giving participants ownership and
are going on and empowering them. Many responsibility for making sense of social
commented that it was a holistic way of pedagogy within participants’ unique
looking at their practice. working contexts and enabling them to
take on board enriching new concepts and
Participants also had a greater sense of perspectives. This provides an ideal basis for
community, of working within a group supporting them further in implementing
living in one home with shared activities. changes within their homes, thus
Participants felt that the social pedagogy maintaining the momentum and
training had given them the opportunity enthusiasm they have developed during the
and the tools to reflect on their own training.
practice, and on their own personal
influence in their practice, in working with Involvement
others in their teams and with the children Social pedagogy requires the support of
and young people. And it had focused on everyone, which is why a critical mass of
the importance of the concept of ‘head, the workforce needs to gain a thorough
heart and hands’ and using them in understanding of it if we want to create
balance in order to work effectively. sustainability. This is true at every level,
whether it be a team, an organisation,
Social pedagogy is a continental approach residential child care in England, or even
and every country – like Denmark, Germany the entire children’s workforce. It is
and Belgium – has a different approach to it. important that all staff share a basic
There is a core that is common to all, but understanding and are involved in any
each country has then developed different changes.
ways of interpreting it in light of their own
society, history and culture. So it is essential Implementation Networking
to tailor the model to the needs of the work Social Pedagogy is a holistic approach, and Networks are crucial for maintaining
you are doing here for it become a genuinely this means that its implementation should momentum and generating a critical mass, and
UK approach. ideally be a holistic one, with social these need to be nurtured both within
pedagogy becoming part of every level of a organisations embracing social pedagogy and
In order to successfully construct a social system. It is not enough that fieldworkers at a national level. A virtual network has been
pedagogic approach within organisations, are making use of it – organisational set up on www.socialpedagogyuk.com
the following points are recommended. policies, strategies, leadership, legislation,
regulations, and so on, have to reflect Further information and contact details can
Training social pedagogy too. Irrespective of our be found on our website www.thempra.org.uk
The NCERCC Social Pedagogy research has position, we all can contribute to taking Up-to-date information concerning all Social
shown that a mixture of intensive training, social pedagogy forward, starting with our Pedagogy developments can be tracked via
followed by direct support within the own practice. www.socialpedagogyintheuk.org.uk
Making sense of Mental Health: The emotional well-being of children
and young people with complex needs in schools
In any setting where there are lots of children with disabilities or complex needs it could be
anything up to 40 per cent of your population that could have a diagnosable mental health
problem. We are talking about an issue that affects most settings to
some extent.
Where policies and interventions are owned by everyone from the top down it feels like people
understand what is going on and they are going to be safely contained. There is no area of that
organisation’s life that isn’t impacted upon by the theory of why they’re doing what they’re doing.
Claire Dorer, chief executive of the diagnosable mental health problem. Part of special educational needs as the estimates
National Association of Independent the difficulty is in distinguishing between a reckon you are anything up to six times
Schools and Non-Maintained Special mental health problem, an emotional more likely than your non-disabled peer to
Schools (NASS) difficulty and a special educational need. have a mental health problem. So in any
The estimates for the prevalence of mental setting where there are lots of children
health problems in children and young A UNICEF report in 2007 claimed that the with disabilities or complex needs, there
people range from one in five children with UK is one of the bleakest places to grow up could be anything up to 40 per cent with a
a psychological problem (Bright Futures, if you are a child or a young person. The diagnosable mental health problem. We are
1999, Mental Health Foundation), to one in situation is even bleaker if you are a child talking about an issue that affects most
ten children estimated to have a or a young person with a disability or settings to some extent.
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8. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
I How do you define mental health
problems and especially how do you
distinguish between what is a function
of a special educational need and what
might be an additional mental health
problem?
I Even if an additional need for support is
identified, how does the school get
access to services? Access to CAMHS has
been a major issue, especially for a child
placed outside of their local authority.
Compare the information for parents about
signs of depression with information for
parents about autism: there is a
considerable overlap in terms of signs such
as mood swings, irritability or apparent
disinterest in learning. If you are working in
a population of children with complex
needs and disabilities you might accept a
lot of such behaviour as being ‘normal
behaviour’. If you are working in a school
for children with autism a lot of those
things you might reasonably expect to see
and to interpret as being a function of that
child’s autism. So how do you work out
what it is that is actually causing concern?
What are they doing with children who A lot of prevention work is around building
Thinking about some of the common life they have identified as having mental resilience and particularly around
experiences of disabled children gives an health problems? A questionnaire was promoting emotional well-being. To do this
understanding of why the incidence of followed up with in-depth interviews in 28 schools are, for example:
mental health problems might be so high. schools with a wide range of professionals.
A child with a disability has a far higher I clarifying the lines of responsibility for
chance of being in a family living in Schools identified a huge number of pupils mental health problems, that is, for
poverty, of being in a family where one of who they felt had difficulties – far more identification and referral
the parents has a mental health problem or than were actually getting some form of I implementing clear policies to help staff
substance-use problem, or growing up in a intervention to help them. Interventions identify when they should be concerned
family where fewer people than average included individual therapy, referral to and what action they should take
work. A lot of life events impact on the counselling, and the use of medication. I providing staff training, both in
child above and beyond having a disability. school/home and external services
When asked who is actually responsible for I setting up effective partnerships with
This situation has led to policy mental health issues, the schools came back local and placing CAMHS services
developments such as Aiming High for with a huge range of responses. In some I changing the environment, for example
Disabled Children (HM Treasury and DfES schools, it is someone from a health by providing access to a ‘chill-out’ space
2007); and work on short breaks and background or possibly a care background. I supporting formal therapy, for example
individualised budgets, which is trying to In a significant number of schools, it is the by monitoring mood and behaviour
tackle some of these inequalities. headteacher who takes responsibility for I using expertise in SEN to support
mental health issues. It does make a CAMHS services.
Risk factors outside of the individual child are difference who takes the lead and where
factors more likely to happen in a family responsibility for mental health issues is The survey identified schools where
where there is a child with a disability. In seen to lie within the school. everyone in the school was clear about
families of disabled children, the divorce rate who was responsible for making a referral,
is higher as is socioeconomic disadvantage. A gradual sea change was identified across if there was concern about a child, and
The cost of raising a disabled child can be education in terms of people’s perceptions what should be done. Elsewhere people
significantly more than the cost of raising a of their responsibility for a child’s were not sure who was responsible for
child without a disability. And families still emotional well-being. Every maintained mental health, whether responsibility was
face a lot of discrimination and harassment school is about to have a duty placed on shared across the whole organisation or if
because there is a disabled child in the family. them to promote the well-being of children there was a split between care and
and young people, and that includes education.
In this context, NASS undertook this piece mental health. This is in Every Child Matters
of work – Making Sense of Mental Health but people working in care settings Training was a huge issue identified by the
– with the Centre for Special Needs alongside education will have seen the research: covering both difficulties in
Education Research at the University of change in attitudes developing over time, accessing mental health training on
Northampton, to look at schools’ with people thinking more about emotional children with disabilities, and how little it
experiences of identifying and responding well-being and how that is promoted features in things like initial teacher or
to the mental health needs and the across a whole organisation. social work training.
emotional well-being of children and
young people with complex needs. How are We found that the main issues schools
the schools trying to make sense of that? were facing were:
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9. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
Learning from the Scottish experience
To make residential care the first and best placement of choice for those children
whose needs it serves
Maureen Anderson, Scottish Institute for With regard to these latter two, Anderson managers who are in some ways trailing
Residential Child Care (SIRCC) recalled that when she had started in behind? SIRCC decided to look at what is
outlined challenging and problematic work residential work in 1971 the notion of happening in the workplace and evaluate
with managers in Scotland, and described charismatic leaders had rather doubtful the impact of the Higher National
some of the policy drivers affecting what is connotations; yet now other areas of work Certificate (HNC) by asking people who
happening. Finally, she mentioned some of with young people seem to be wanting have completed it, what difference it has
the projects that SIRCC was currently leaders to be charismatic. Changing Lives made to their practice.
working on to support managers in also says it wants managers to be brave
knowledge transfer and promoting learning enough to challenge bad practice. It In 2007, SIRCC surveyed everybody who
organisations. defines ‘credibility’ in terms of a person had graduated in 2006 and had 103
‘with a firm base of knowledge and respondents. A significant number said
The presentation began by considering experience’. She noted that these are very they had had a good experience, which
what makes a good leader. similar to Harvard Business School changed their attitudes in positive ways,
definitions, and she wondered if business made them think about how they saw the
I What is a leader? definitions were being adopted by children, how they saw each other and the
I What do you need to do? managers across children’s services work they were doing. They became
I What are you doing? including residential work. confident and morale increased at work.
They felt that they became more efficient;
Anderson observed that it is not enough Other significant changes, or drivers, in asked young people more often to make
just to have vision, or just to be creative, or Scotland are the We Can and Must Do their own choices; gave young people
just to be charismatic, in her experience, Better report on children’s educational information so that they could make
knowledge is one of the key attributes. achievement, or non-achievement, in informed choices; and felt happier at work.
Scotland. The report focuses on leaders But despite this positive feedback from
In residential work in Scotland, there are and managers and the roles that they some returnees, a majority of people
variations and differences between who is need to play in promoting children’s said that:
qualified and who is leading. A educational experiences. The Scottish
qualifications audit in 2004 showed that Social Services Council has developed a most of what we’ve learnt on our course
only 23.5 per cent of managers were sector skills agreement in five stages. The we can’t put into practice. We know now
qualified or working towards a qualification first is assessing each sector to determine what we should be doing but we can’t do
– significant when one considers the task in what their needs are in terms of skills. The it. The workload’s too heavy, there are
residential work. The audit in 2007 showed second is to review all current training insufficient workers for us to try out new
quite a significant improvement, with 65.5 levels across the whole of the care sector. things at work.
per cent now qualified or working towards a The third seeks to identify gaps,
qualification – good progress in three years. weaknesses and priorities in workforce Another concern was that almost 53 per
But that still means that 34.5 per cent are development. The fourth is a review into cent of the respondents felt that the
not qualified. the scope for a collaborative action. And information, or the learning, that they
the final outcome is an agreement on brought back into the workplace was being
She acknowledged that lots of these how social services, clinical staff, and blocked at supervisor level. They felt
managers are people with lots of charisma, employers who work with key funded managers did not really understand their
vision, creativity, but sometimes what is partners, can secure the training or HNC learning, as many of those managers
missing for them is that essential element of development necessary. are not yet qualified themselves. In similar
knowledge. The other factor in Scotland is consultations with the managers, they
that managers are working against a In Scotland, a Residential Child Care readily accepted that they had limited
background of massive change in terms of Children’s Manifesto has been produced. knowledge of what staff learnt on their
government policy and drive. The Changing The government has asked SIRCC to look at HNC course and some felt they had too
Lives review for Scotland makes little ways of making residential child care many other pressures to acquire that
mention of residential child care but it does better, hosting the National Residential knowledge.
talk in general terms about social work – Child Care Initiative to identify and advise
presumably including residential child care on key issues impacting on provision of To try to help with these issues, last year
managers when referring to ‘managers’ and residential child care and to agree a way SIRCC produced a workforce planning tool
‘leaders’. One of the five work streams is forward for a step change in quality kit for managers and training managers.
about leading and managing. It talks about provision for better outcomes. The Initiative The Learning into Practice project
what it expects from managers, for example: will make recommendations for change ‘to consulted with managers on the HNC
make residential care the first and best evaluation findings; and SIRCC is meeting
I dedication, seeing this as not just a job placement of choice for those children senior people in different organisations,
I bravery whose needs it serves’. and also the ADSW, to take the learning
I motivation forward. One of the projects that it will be
I values SIRCC is looking at the challenges for working on is with the training manager on
I equity managers in the context of all this change. Edinburgh City Council who has introduced
I inclusion Its 2007 qualifications’ audit showed that if a mentoring scheme, giving managers
I providing person-centred services all the main grade workers in Scotland support in their work.
I integrity currently in training (over 2,560 workers)
I charisma are successful, then 51.2 per cent will soon The Social Care Institute for Excellence has
I credibility. be qualified. So what does that mean for said ‘The frontline manager is in a key
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10. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
position to promote learning’. Yet the mentoring project will offer them some SIRCC has arranged with colleges to host
manager is usually the person who is most kind of support, a kind of critical friend events at which managers can meet the
isolated in the workplace. Other workers who is there to advise but not necessarily HNC teaching staff, hear what the
usually have ready access to peers who to always agree. content of the course is, and discuss how
they can discuss things with and learn managers might facilitate putting some
from; and managers really are on their As a result of managers saying they did of that learning into practice in the
own. It is hoped that the coaching and not know the content of the courses, workplace.
Leaving care: What are the lessons?
How do you overcome obstacles?
We know that for many care leavers safety is a really big issue. So we put in a lot of support to
make sure that they feel there is always someone to talk to. Outreach workers go out and do
hobbies with them. We encourage them to join gyms or we’ll go and sort out local links for them.
Emmie Spencer and Louise Jackson, Next When the young person is ready to move justice system, or poor health – they are
Step Care Management into one of our flats we set up the support vulnerable young people.
Next Step Care Management has been package for them, ensuring it is centred
providing independence projects for young around what the young person wants Some young people just don’t know their
people, care leavers, mothers and babies, rather than what social services might needs and wants. They’ve come out of
and young offenders since 1994. Our want, although obviously we take that into child care at 16 or 17, they’re living on
philosophy rests on the belief that young account. Before the move, we ensure all their own and they feel like everything’s
people should be provided with the means the paperwork is complete, any risk just been turned upside down. They’ve
to move forward through adolescence into assessment discussed, and the outreach been used to residential care where
adulthood in a safe and supported way. The worker and young person have started there’s always staff there, meals cooked
programmes and support offered to young building a relationship before the package for them, always somebody there to talk
people seek to enable smooth transitions to actually starts. to. All of a sudden being alone – that’s
living independently. Care and support is the biggest challenge that we find the
discussed and planned with young people We know there are many pitfalls in leaving young people have.
and centred around their needs. care but we also know what works.
According to NCAS, in 2007/2008 there We know that for many care leavers safety
At Next Step we aim to support the young were 60,000 children in care and 8,300 is a really big issue. So we put in a lot of
person and tailor programmes to their young people over 16 left care. From our support to make sure that they feel there is
needs. Whatever the young person’s issues experience at Next Step, a lot the young always someone to talk to. Outreach
are, we try and support them. We offer people have had poor experiences and workers go out and do hobbies with them.
practical and emotional support to fully outcomes. Perhaps due to instability when We encourage them to join gyms or we’ll
prepare people for independence. Over the in care, an involvement in the criminal go and sort out local links for them.
last 14 years we have worked with about
1,500 young care leavers.
We find that at 16 a lot of young people
are nervous about leaving care and feel
that they are being pushed out to live
independently, so our aim is to try and
ensure they are ready and equipped to
move on. When a young person begins at
Next Step, we realise they are vulnerable
and try and find out first what it is the
young person wants: do they want
education, training or employment?
We normally get referrals from social
services then meet with the young person
to find out if what we offer can meet their
needs. If they want to live in a certain area
we try and locate it. We meet the young
person and bring along one of the
managers or an outreach worker like myself
to start building up a relationship with
them. When they are ready, the young
person decides with social services whether
they want to work with us. We try to build
up a relationship with the young person
while they are deciding.
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11. National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care Annual conference proceedings Issue 23 – March 2009
We try and support them as much as night, if they need any support or if they just our young people to make sure that there is
possible. We do regular visits, we literally feel lonely or a bit scared because it’s a new some sort of training programme in place.
go in every day; we spend a maximum of area and they’ve never lived on their own Social services also play a big part in their
three hours with a young person. Now that before. We want them to know they have not education. A key thing for some young
could be to cook a meal, young people just been pushed out into accommodation on people is they feel that, although there are a
sometimes say ‘I’ve been living off junk their own, to know there’s always somebody lot of services to help them, they can’t
food, I don’t know how to cook a meal.’ So at the end of the phone. connect with them easily. So it is important
part of our job is to make sure that the they have an outreach worker or PA they can
young person can manage on their own – We consult the young person closely on relate well to who can help them. We try and
and outreach workers are expected to sit where they want to live and involve them match every single outreach worker with the
down and show them how to cook a basic in decorating and furnishing their flat. right young person because we think that’s
meal. We help with things like making sure Initially we take the tenancy for them on really important.
that the property is clean and tidy. A lot of the understanding with landlords that if
young people that I’ve worked with say, the arrangement works well and the young We work in partnership, networking with
‘Well it was always cleaned up for me’ or person keeps the property in good order, at several agencies, and to make sure that
‘I’ve always lived like that.’ So at Next Step 18 it can be smoothly transferred to the things come together we arrange for
we always make sure that we speak to the young person. Housing is the major regular updates, weekly meetings to discuss
young person about this: ‘Well no, this is obstacle we found, so we build up good every single young person that we have
the standard that we expect you to have.’ links with local landlords and estate agents. with us. We do regular updates for social
services, providing reports for them,
There’s always somebody out there at the end We also know that education is a major because they want to know how the young
of the phone. We have the on-call system, obstacle. We work really closely with their person is doing. Every single young person
which is a freephone number so a young Personal Advisors (PA) on arranging has a monthly report that is submitted to
person can call us at any time of the day or education and training. They regularly visit the young person.
Children’s Residential Network: Themes from
practice informing policy
I support, or the lack of it, for the
Charlotte Levene, principal officer, What happens at a typical CRN event?
transition from children’s services to
NCERCC, Children’s Residential Network
adult services; and about difficulties
The Children’s Residential Network events I We start off with introductions.
accessing psychological services for 16-
are about exchanging good practice to Managers explain who they are and a
18-year-olds
better support the children who live in our little bit about their homes.
I referral processes and admissions –
homes. They provide an opportunity for I Then we talk about burning issues,
concerns about not meeting the child
managers of residential child care and what’s pertinent to the people working
before a placement has occurred
others to meet and discuss practice issues. in the homes at the moment.
I relationships with other professionals –
Participants can be from the voluntary I We move on to theme-based
poor relationships with the police, or
sector, the local authority, the private discussions: last year we looked at
problems getting a social worker
sector or residential special schools. education, health and supervision; this
allocated
year we talked about access to mental
I Ofsted, including perceived
In terms of the events themselves, it’s an health services, including emotional
inconsistencies with the way services are
opportunity for participants to learn and health services.
inspected.
share best practice. NCERCC can then share I After lunch we have a guest speaker,
the messages, from managers and somebody from the region, and at the
All of these issues have been documented
practitioners, with others, including policy- moment we’re discussing what we want
and shared on our website and we share
makers, Ofsted and anybody else who has education and social workers to
them with policy-makers.
an interest in residential child care. The aim understand about residential social
is to improve the experiences and outcomes work.
In discussion groups, we have been talking
for children in residential child care in I Finally, we evaluate the event so that
about partnership with other agencies. For
England. we can use that feedback to inform
example, we have thought about the
future events.
mental health and emotional health
The events are organised by Farhana
services currently available to young people
Allyjaun, our administrator, and myself. So what have been the burning issues of
and considered what was going well, not
Anyone from the sector can join the Network 2007–8? They have been about:
going so well, what the dream situation
and attend. We have events twice a year
would be, and what needs to change.
taking place in the nine different regions I training – NVQ3 is insufficient training
across the country, hosted by local members for residential child care
Participants identified in-house therapies
of the Children’s Residential Network. We ask I staffing and difficulties in recruitment
as going well. When there’s a therapist
members, ‘Does anyone want to host it for and retention
within the organisation or within the
us?’ and people always respond positively. I education, school exclusions, lack of
children’s home advising the workers or
The locations are diverse – sometimes in education information when children
advising the children that was working
children’s homes, sometimes residential are placed
very well. Contact and relationships with
special schools. We now have the Children’s I placement stability and cost
GPs in some areas were quite good.
Residential Network representatives from considerations dominating placements,
Where there were specialist CAMHS teams
each region coming together to form a truly worries that the current financial
for looked after children, to which
national group. situation might affect referrals
11