Displaying 41 - 50 of 117
Abstract
This article reports on a qualitative study, which sought to retrospectively understand the contribution family group conferencing (FGC) makes to longer‐term outcomes for children at risk of entering State care and their families. Eleven case examples of FGC were studied from five local government areas across Scotland. Each example included the perspectives of different stakeholders in the process: children, their parents/carers and extended family (n = 32), and professionals (n = 28) involved with them. The study found a number of…
Introduction
The Scottish Government states that Scotland should be the best place for children to grow up. Over the last ten years, the Scottish Government has developed, Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), a national approach to improve the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland. This builds on a growing body of evidence demonstrating the value of supporting children and families at the earliest opportunity, rather than waiting until families reach crisis point to provide support. Building on the assets within families and communities to prevent children from becoming…
Therapeutic Interventions with Babies and Young Children in Care is about the value of observation and close attention for babies and young children who may be vulnerable to psychological and attachment difficulties. Case studies explore the potential for observation-based therapeutic approaches to support caregivers, social workers and professional networks. A third theme in the book is the roots of observation-based approaches in psychoanalytic infant observation and the contribution of these ways of working to professional training and continuing development.
Using case…
Abstract
Background: Looked after children and care leavers (denoted as LAC) are often described as a ‘hard to reach’ group of young people, and their voices are rarely sought to inform academic research.
Methods: This paper reports on experiences and reflections of a group of children and young people and academic researchers who developed a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group that was set up in the context of an ongoing health service intervention trial with LAC.
Setting and participants: Eighteen qualitative semi‐structured interviews were con‐ ducted with seven LAC, the…
Abstract
This paper draws on an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Nurturing Attachments groupwork programme provided by AdoptionPlus for adoptive families in England. Twenty-nine adoptive families participated in a longitudinal quantitative study, completing questionnaires and validated measures before and after group attendance. The Nurturing Attachments programme, informed by Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (Hughes, Golding & Hudson, 2015), was developed to help foster and adoptive parents strengthen their relationships with the child and support children who had experienced…
Abstract
Social support networks can provide instrumental and emotional support that buffer against child maltreatment. Family Group Conferencing, in part, aims to develop support networks in the interest of child safety. This study uses a randomised controlled trial to examine the impact of Family Group Conferencing on caseworkers’ perceptions of families’ levels of social support. The analytical sample included 287 families with a substantiated report of child abuse or neglect assigned to receive in-home services in two counties. Ordinal logistic regression analyses demonstrated family…
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful events during childhood that can have a profound impact on an individual’s present and future health (Section 1.3). Growing up in the face of such adversities is recognised as an important public health concern in Wales and internationally (Welsh Government, 2017a; World Health Organization [WHO], 2014). Actions to prevent and mitigate ACEs and their associated harms are essential to improve population health for present and future generations (Bethell et al., 2017; Pachter et al., 2017).
In Wales, many sectors are working to identify and…
Abstract
We report a three-stage process of developing a model of teacher education to encompass provision for Looked After Children in schools in the UK. First, a survey of 78 trainee teachers explored their perceptions and early practice concerning educating Looked After Children (LAC). There are currently 68,840 children of school age in the UK that have been ‘looked after’ for 12 months or more, and their education is of particular concern both within political and educational circles. Second, teacher education programmes were then reviewed to highlight omissions in relation to LAC,…
Abstract
The educational potential of many children in the state’s care, including those in institutional homes and fostered or adopted children, is unfulfilled. One possible contributory factor to their lack of success is that schools do not fully address their wider personal anxieties and insecurities. Attachment theory has been adopted in several educational districts (‘local authorities’) in England, and this study reports on an evaluative mixed-methods research study of such training; it also theorises this as a broader question about how schools engage with research. There was rich…
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the wider context in which the national evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) was delivered and raise concerns about the sustainability of the early outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper briefly summarises the outcomes of a two-year mixed-methods evaluation. This included a two-wave postal survey (n=792) and follow-up (n=481), an online survey of adopters (n=586) and professionals (providers n=50, local authority staff n=124) and in-depth family interviews. The…