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 in schools, Coronavirus and its impact on young people's mental health, the interim report from Josh MacAlister on the state of children's social care in the UK (which has sparked some interesting debate!). Welcome Thank you for your interest [...]

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 Over the coming months Rachel Shepperd, a consultant for dialogue, will be exploring this new draft guidance and supporting you to understand how you can meet the guidelines in your homes. How can you ensure you are adhering to the NICE Guidance? While all good homes will already be undertaking and/or facilitating the majority of the of the NICE guidance (outlined in 1.4.11) as best practice, it [...]

'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 sector, sparking heated conversation and debate.  Some have criticised the report for being 'nothing more than a collating together of things already known and being worked on' (ncercc response to CfC) whilst others have suggested that this is a helpful summing up of current [...]

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. Given that the current public health crisis has led to reports that distress has increased amongst young people, and that the majority of lifetime mental health difficulties occur before the age of 24 (Broadhurst et al [ii]), this is a concerning picture. [i] Bazalgette, [...]