This story of sibling separation from Ashley John-Baptiste in this BBC documentary article is not unusual. As a social worker I once identified a sister who shared the same mother for twins who had been in our care for years. The importance of properly researching genograms (family trees) and chronologies, really understanding peoples lives by getting … Read more
A summary of recent research reports and articles affecting the residential sector. This month we include a variety of links and articles on subjects such as: Top tips on applying to register a children’s home, Ofsted’s response to the Case for Change, TACT’s report and suggestion for a new national care service, NICE guidance- Diversity … Read more
diversity Within the current draft NICE guidance for ‘Looked after young people’, on the subject of diversity the guidance gives only one recommendation: ‘Ensure that looked-after children and young people from groups that have particular needs are not marginalised and that their needs are adequately met. These groups include those from black, Asian, and other … Read more
high court judge authorises unregulated placement for 15 year old girl With the ban on unregulated placements coming into force this month, a high court ruling has made the changing landscape even more confusing. High Court Judge, Mrs Justice Knowles, authorised an unregulated placement for a 15 year old girl who was experiencing significant ”psychological … Read more
”Young people who ‘age-out’ of out-of-home care face increased risks of poor outcomes, including homelessness, unemployment and substance abuse” Around 10,000 young people in England age out of the care system every year on their 18th birthday. With care leavers making up 25% of the homeless population. Almost 25% of the adult prison population have … Read more
A summary of recent research reports and articles affecting the residential sector. This month we include a variety of links and articles on subjects such as: current research being undertaken by the University of Birmingham, planning for change from the perspective of an assistant manager, Supreme Court judgement on the use of unregistered children’s homes, … Read more
transition planning from the perspective of a children’s residential practitioner Transitioning, or to employ a less institutionalised phrase, ‘next step planning’, can be a tremendously unsettling time. From experience it is a period that requires extensive planning and copious amounts of emotional support. There are some key elements in the transition planning that, I believe, … Read more
supporting positive relationships As stakeholders who care for ‘Looked after young people‘ supporting them to develop positive relationships is of paramount importance; creating and nurturing positive relationships will help to ensure that when young people transition between or out of children’s services they have a network of people around them in whom they trust, who … Read more
A summary of recent research reports and articles affecting the residential sector. This month we include a variety of links and articles on subjects such as: why language matters when supporting children and young people at risk of CE, the hard to hear but not surprising report from Ofsted on the sexual harassment of girls … Read more
looked after children and young people should be considered ‘one of their own’ by carers […] […] in order for them to fulfil their potential, new NICE draft guidelines say. Over the coming months Rachel Shepperd, a consultant for dialogue, will be exploring this new draft guidance and supporting you to understand how you can … Read more
‘Profits from English children’s care homes indefensible, bosses to be told’ Josh MacAlister, Chair of The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, has released an interim 100 page report ahead of the full review due to conclude in Spring 2022. The media were quick to report on the parts of the review that lambast the independent … Read more
The leaving care process is awkward to write about; it’s difficult to talk about a young person leaving care, when some young people reflect that “we don’t leave care, care leaves us”. It’s difficult to write about moving into independence as this insinuates a reliance on self-sufficiency, on facing and going at the world alone. … Read more
A summary of recent research reports and articles affecting the residential sector. This month we include links to research on young people’s views about what helps when they’ve been missing from care and a position statement from the ADCS on the care system with ideas for future development, as well as information about the consultation … Read more
Evidence suggests that looked after children can be at increased risk of many of the harms known to be linked with going missing. It is therefore important that professionals and carers responsible for a child’s care prioritise the response to missing and know how and when to report an incident to the police. Children who … Read more
Coronavirus; impact on children and young people’s mental health Children in care are four times more likely to have a mental health problem than children living with their birth families[i]. Prior to the pandemic, these mental health needs were often unmet, putting children at risk of poor outcomes, including placement instability and poor educational achievement. … Read more
Why we must support resilience in children’s homes staff, by Margaret Davies, Trainer and Consultant at Children’s Homes Quality. Children in care need staff who can connect with them open-heartedly, yet the experience of working in the residential sector is often personally intense and challenging. Staff are commonly at risk of experiencing ‘secondary trauma’ or … Read more
The residential childcare sector is known to have insufficient capacity to meet the needs of the children coming into care. However, the available figures belie this fact suggesting that we have an excess of up to 3,000 places unoccupied at any one time. This paper by the ICHA looks at why this situation has arisen. … Read more