Sunday 15 December 2013

Sometimes it’s best to keep it in the oven a little longer : issue 14 of the goodenoughcaring Journal will be on the table for December 18th, 2013

Hungry and perceptive visitors to our kitchen will notice that the oven is still on and our assortment of savouries will not be out on the table until Wednesday, December 18th. Some recipes demand a slower cooking time, but we are sure you will agree the wait is well worth it. This is perhaps the finest menu we’ve ever presented. The flavour of this issue is imbued in the main by the work and ideas of Clare and Donald Winnicott and their influence on our thinking about how children develop, and how social work can help troubled children and their families. We also have other dishes for those who wish to explore a wider cuisine.
More than a baker’s dozen of authors have drawn generously from the contents of their Winnicottian and other larders. Kiaras Gharabaghi writes  about the quality of the professional education for Child and Youth care . John Burton writes about compliance and abuse in care settings, Cynthia Cross considers  Donald Winnicott’s thoughts about residential child care, while Luci Ashbourne asks how we can understand the organisational re-enactment of traumatised children and young people. John Fallowfield cites Donald Winnicott among others in his essay about child development and observation in social work, Joel Kanter writes about Clare’s and Donald’s notion of the social worker/therapist as 'transitional participant' when in relationship with children traumatised by dislocation, Patrick Tomlinson cites Winnicott’s game "The Squiggle "in his article about communicating with traumatised children, and Charles Sharpe refers to Clare Winnicott's interview with Alan Cohen, and the writings of others to consider what she has to offer residential child care. Jeanne Warren’s essay is a consideration of the Scottish philosopher, (and contemporary of the Winnicotts) John Macmurray’s and the American educationalist, Nel Nodding’s ideas about the education of children. Charlotte Witheridge writes about the application of psychodynamic thinking to residential work with children and Mark Smith questions the application of the psychodynamic approach to residential work with children.
Bob Royston adds to our new bake's relish presenting an article in our series of childhood memoirs with an account of his boyhood in his life living in a ‘country club.’ John Stein adds spice our new bake with recollections of Richard T. Cass, the first social worker he ever met and tells us about what he learnt from Richard, Kevin Ball puts forward a framework that should assure quality in residential child care as he gives a comprehensive explanation and evaluation of the role of the Regulation 33 visitor, and Sara Kirkwood's article about children's experiences of foster respite care in a Scottish hutting community rounds off our classic fare, though “The Girl from the Workhouse” an article from a magazine ‘conducted’ by Charles Dickens is a fascinating petit four.
We hope visitors to the goodenoughcaring website and readers of the Journal will agree that they are in for a pre-winter holiday treat.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

A rich and nourishing offering : issue 14 of the goodenoughcaring Journal will be brought out of the oven on December 18th, 2013

On December 18th, 2013, Issue 14 of the goodenoughcaring Journal will be brought out of the oven and put online. The flavour of this issue is nuanced by the work of Clare and Donald Winnicott and its influence on our thinking about how children develop, how they are brought up and how social work can help troubled children and their families. Our authors have drawn generously from the ingredients in their Winnicottian larders. John Burton writes about compliance and abuse in care settings, Cynthia Cross considers the Winnicotts' impact on residential child care, John Fallowfield cites Donald Winnicott among others in his essay about child development and observation in social work, Joel Kanter considers Clare’s and Donald’s notion of the social worker/therapist as 'transitional participant' when in relationship with children traumatised by dislocation, Patrick Tomlinson cites Winnicott’s game "The Squiggle "in his article about communicating with traumatised children. Charles Sharpe reflects upon Clare Winnicott's interview with Alan Cohen and examines her influence on social work, and Jeanne Warren’s essay is a consideration of the Scottish philosopher, (and contemporary of the Winnicotts) John Macmurray’s ideas about the education of children.
Added to our new bake's relish is Bob Royston’s account of a childhood spent in a ‘country club’, an article which continues our series of individual memoirs of childhood, John Stein's recollections of Richard T. Cass, the first social worker he ever met, tell us all that John learnt from him, while Kevin Ball provides a comprehensive explanation and evaluation of the role of the Regulation 33 visitor whose task it is to monitor the care provided for children who live in children’s homes. Finally, for some, the icing on the cake will be “The Girl from the Workhouse” an article from a magazine edited by Charles Dickens.
More articles may well be added to further spice our mix but we hope that visitors to the goodenoughcaring website and readers of the Journal will agree this issue is looking to be a rich and nourishing offering.



This news item first appeared on the homepage of the goodenoughcaring website on November 27th, 2013.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

The new goodenoughcaring Journal, "the Winnicott" issue is on its way !!

The new issue of the goodenoughcaring Journal has embarked upon the journey towards its destination on December 15th, 2013. This issue has a principal focus on the work of Donald and Clare Winnicott, yet it also contains other outstanding articles on matters to do with childhood, parenting, nurture, social child care and all things relating to bringing up children. More details to follow on this page within a few days, so keep clicking in for a visit. 

This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring website on November 20th, 2013

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Radical Then, Radical Now : Care and Education in Communities


The Child Care History Network, in association with Hilfield Friary, presents:

Radical Then, Radical Now : Care and Education in Communities

A conference to celebrate the centenary of the Little Commonwealth and Homer Lane, and to reflect on the future of residential therapeutic child care and education with a group of leading practitioners, academics, writers and thinkers.
The conference takes place on Saturday, November 9th, 2013 from 10.15 am to 4.45 pm at Hilfield Friary, Dorset DT2 7BE
The conference is preceded by the 5th Anniversary AGM of the Child Care History Network.
Delegates are invited to share the evocative spaces built and lived in by the child and adult citizens of one of the 20th Century’s best known and most influential experiments in child reclamation and education. Created in 1913, closed in 1918, in 1921 the Little Commonwealth farm and buildings became home to a radical new Anglican order of friars, created to serve the homeless and destitute, and still flourishing in an ever-evolving community as part of the world-wide Anglican Society of Saint Francis. The conference will be a day-long discussion of history, heritage, community, continuity, and the future of education in communities and residential therapeutic child care.

The speakers are :
Judith Stinton, "Round the Houses: A walking tour of the Little Commonwealth"
Michael Fielding, "Self-government, shared responsibility and the possibility of radical democratic education"
Albert Lamb, "The Rescue of Childhood: Homer Lane and A.S. Neill"
Brother Philip Bartholomew, SSF, St. Francis School, Hooke, and the place and role of Hilfield Friary and the Society of Saint Francis in community living, service, and education
Charles Sharpe, “Freedom cannot be given. It is taken by children and demands the privilege of conscious wrong-doing." Has Homer Lane's thesis space to be accommodated in the 21st century?
Emily Charkin, "Building and Learning: Exploring the fundamentals of radical education and child care"
John Diamond, 'the children of the dangerous and perishing classes'
David Gribble, "Similar ideas in dissimilar settings"
Booking forms and further details of the conference can be found at the CCHN website.
Fees (which include lunch) for the conference are £85 and £70 for members.


This news item first appeared on the goodenoughcaring home page on October 9th, 2013

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Separation and Reunion Forum 14th Annual Conference - Attachment Issues: Children’s Rights



The Separation & Reunion Forum cordially invites you to their 14th annual conference :



Attachment Issues: Children’s Rights


Date: Friday 29th. November 2013
Venue: London Voluntary Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA
Time: 9.30am to 4.30 pm

The Conference will explore, the relationship between Attachment and the Rights of the Child; how these are reflected in the approaches of policy makers and practitioners in the provision of services for children and families. Participants will be able to select from a wide range of practical workshops which address various issues affecting children. Example, Education, Health, Adoption, Child Abuse, Migrant Children and Children in the Justice System .

Key Note Speakers:
  • Dr Simon Hoffman, School of Law; Wales Observatory on Human Rights of Children and Young People, Swansea University. “Attachment and Children’s Rights: Exploring the Relationships.”
  • Dr Antonia Bifulco, Professor of Psychology, Middlesex University. “Understanding Adult Attachment in Family Relationships: Impacting on Children’s Needs.”
  • Dr Linda Ince, Researcher, Freelance Life Coaching, Social Work Trainer and consultant.
  • Dr Tirril Harris, International Attachment Network. Chair of Panel ”Question Time.”
Conference Fees: £65.00 for non-members £50.00 for members and £35.00 for Concessions: students, retired, unemployed.

A booking form for the event can be found at SRF
Payment can also be made by cheque to SRF, Room 003, 250 York Road, SW11 3SJ.

Venue: Voluntary Sector Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London, N7 6PA
For further information on this event, please, email: serefo or ring 020 7801 0135.



This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring website on October 8th, 2013

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Limbus : a useful link


A useful link : Limbus        http://www.limbus.org.uk/


Limbus was established 20 years ago. Its prime purpose is to organize lectures and events of interest to those in the psychological professions - particularly psychotherapists and counsellors - but they are also of interest to others within the helping professions in the south-west of England.

Limbus organizes four lectures or events a year. Limbus is a non profit organization run entirely by volunteers.

The lectures or events take place on Saturday mornings at Studio 3 on the Dartington Estate near Totnes. There is no need to book in advance. Turn up at 10am (when coffee and tea is served) for a 10.30am start and a 13.00pm finish. The fee for each event is £20.


Next Limbus Psychotherapy Lectures for 2013/14


Nov 30, 2013, Jeremy Holmes : The Clinical Imagination: Conversations with Freud, Coleridge & George Eliot

Mar 1, 2014, Liz Burns : Literary inspirations in therapeutic conversations: a systemic perspective

May 17, 2014, Nigel Smith : The Expertise of the non-Expert Position

Sep 20, 2014 Graham Music : The full title is to be arranged but will be associated with Morality & Altruism




This updated news item first appeared on September 24th, 2013 on the goodenoughcaring website at the Counselling and Psychotherapy page.


Friday 30 August 2013

Keeping Children Alive : The Life and Legacy of Clare Winnicott - GAPS Annual General Meeting and Annual Lecture


Keeping Children Alive : The Life and Legacy of Clare Winnicott - GAPS Annual General Meeting and Annual Lecture


On October 4th, 2013 Joel Kanter, MSW, LCSW-C, the author of Face to Face with Children and The Life and Work of Clare Winnicott (both published by Karnac Books) will deliver the GAPS annual lecture in the 5th Floor Lecture Theatre at the Tavistock Centre, Belsize Lane, London, NW3 5BA


The event will begin with the AGM from 6.30pm to 7.30 and will be followed by Joel’s presentation Keeping Children Alive : The Life and Legacy of Clare Winnicott.


To register for this event please contact the GAPS office at info@gaps.org.uk or ring 0117 946 7799


GAPS (Group for the Advancement of Psychodynamics and Psychotherapy in Social Work) and The Journal of Social Work Practice was established in 1984 by a group of social workers interested in working with psychodynamic ideas established Since that time, GAPS has promoted the importance of relationship-based approaches in social work, and therapeutic, psychodynamic and systemic perspectives – perspectives that are central to the editorial policy of the Journal of Social Work Practice, which is owned by the GAPS membership.


A principal theme of the next issue of the goodenoughcaring Journal which goes online on December 15th, 2013, is a consideration of the influence of the Clare and Donald Winnicott on child care practice and childhood studies. Joel Kanter has kindly provided an article for this issue. Visit Joel's website about life and work of Clare Winnicott.


This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring.com website on August 30th, 2013.

Monday 22 July 2013

The Child Care History Network presents: FROM MARIA TO MUNRO - Safeguarding Children: Procedures, Regulation, or Nurturing Relationships?


The CCHN's Summer 2013 conference, Barns is being held at Conference Centre, Planned Environment Therapy Trust, Church Lane, Toddington, Gloucestershire GL54 5DQ on July 25th. A stimulating day conference has been planned to do some fundamental thinking about child protection.
For the last forty years child protection and safeguarding have dominated social work with children and their families. The conference will look at how this thinking has developed and ask whether it is time to move on to a different way of viewing ways of meeting children's needs. In addition to the formal papers, the day will provide opportunities for delegates to participate and share thinking on the theme.


Programme
10.30 Arrival, registration and refreshments
11.00 Welcome and introduction to morning session: David Lane
11.15 Professor Ray Jones: Child protection and safeguarding
11.45 Jennifer Crane: The Historical Construction of 'Child Abuse', 1960-2000
12.00 Sir Roger Singleton: Protection systems: where next?
12.30 Discussion


13.00 Lunch

14.00 Introduction to afternoon session: Charles Sharpe
14.15 Mark Smith: Bringing up children: a pedagogical perspective
15.00 Discussion
15.15 Refreshments

15.45 Panel and discussion: Where next?

16.30 Charles Sharpe: In conclusion

16.45 End of conference


SPEAKERS
SIR ROGER SINGLETON Chair of the Independent Safeguarding Authority and the Government's Chief Adviser on the Safety of Children, with a background including Barnardo's as Chief Executive from 1984-2006.
RAY JONES Professor of Social Work at the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, run jointly by Kingston University and St George's, University of London, as well as Chair of Bristol's Safeguarding Children Board, with a career which has included Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence, and Director of Social Services in Wiltshire.
MARK SMITH Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Edinburgh University, with an extensive background working in and managing residential school and care settings and secure accommodation, moving to Edinburgh in 2005 having established the first Masters level qualification for residential child care across the UK at the University of Strathclyde.
JENNIFER CRANE Wellcome Trust-funded doctoral student in the Centre for the History of Medicine at the University of Warwick, carrying out research on the theme "From 'unnameable problem' to 'worst possible vice': The Creation and Construction of "Child Abuse", 1960-2000".
CHARLES SHARPE Presiding editor of the goodenoughcaring Journal, who trained as a teacher, worked as a residential child care worker for twenty years, and is now a practicing psychotherapist who has worked as a consultant to children’s homes as well as teaching post-graduate courses on child development and therapeutic child care.

This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring on July 22nd, 2013.

Monday 24 June 2013

Kids Lost in Care : residential child care on the rack agai



The Panorama programme Kids Lost in Care broadcast on June 24th, 2013 once again put residential child care under the spotlight and concluded that too many children's homes and the local authorities who place children in them, fail a significant number of children and young people to the extent that the young people are at high risk of serious harm. The programme also raised the important question which we seem to be reluctant to address. "Who should provide residential child care ? large private conglomerates, small private family-run companies, the voluntary sector, local authorities or the state ?" Your comments are welcomed.

Friday 21 June 2013

Towards the Nurturing City : a conference


Sandra Strathie has written to us about a conference - Towards the Nurturing City which is to be held on November 14th, 2013 at the City Chambers, Glasgow. It is a Video Interaction/Practitioners conference and is supported by the Glasgow City Council, the Glasgow Psychological Service, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, The Association for Video Interaction Guidance UK and the Glen Strathie Partnership.
This is Glasgow City Council's first VIG Practitioners Conference and it will be of interest to those who are involved in relationship-based interventions, strengthening attachment and using Video Interaction to develop reflective parenting and reflective practitioners. The day will have a strong emphasis on theory in practice through the work of VIG practitioners. The conference will bring to Glasgow leading authorities in the areas of attachment and trauma and it will facilitate, through a series of workshops, how VIG, in day to day working can support positive relationships through strengths-based practice.
The keynote speakers are :
  • Hilary Kennedy is an Educational Psychologist and a leading developer of Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) in the UK.
  • 
Dr Felicity de Zulueta is an Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Traumatic Studies, Kings College, London.
  • Dr Deborah James is Reader in Child and Family Communication, University of Northumbria. Dr James is a practitioner and supervisor in VIG. She has published findings of her work in the context of organisational change, student learning and family intervention.
  • 
Dr Maria V Doria is a Chartered Psychologist who works both in clinical practice and in research in the areas of interpersonal relationships, family psychotherapy and children’s mental health, including Video Interaction Guidance (VIG).
The cost of the conference is £95 but for those booking before August 16th there is an 'early bird' daily rate of £75.
For booking details email Fiona Williams of the Glasgow Psychological Service.



This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring website on June 21st, 2013

Wednesday 12 June 2013

New course in social pedagogy



Gabriel Eichsteller brings to the attention of those who are keen to pursue an interest in social pedagogy further, a 5-day summer course on Social Pedagogy which the Institute of Education at the University of London is running from 31st July to 6th August.  Lecturers for the course include Prof. Pat Petrie, Prof. Peter Moss, Dr. Claire Cameron, Robyn Kemp and Gabriel, so it should be a fascinating learning experience.

The content and structure of the course can be found  here

The course can be accredited at MA level. Further details can be found here

This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring website on June 12th, 2013.

Saturday 8 June 2013

The new issue of the goodenoughcaring Journal will be published online on Saturday, June 15th 2013


As luck would have it Issue 13 of the goodenoughcaring Journal goes online on Saturday June 15th, 2013. We are fortunate in the array of outstanding articles which have been submitted to us for you to read. We hope they will be of interest to you. In this issue : 
  • Julieann ArthurAlex HorneAlastair JamiesonMurray Mckinnon and Jeremy Millar have given us an early glimpse of their textual and photographic research piece Candles and Care which takes a snapshot of resources available to care leavers in Denmark ;
  • John Burton in a memoir of his relationship with a young woman from her adolescence to her adulthood shows why social care is Not Just a Job ;
  • Darren Coyne portrays in Care Leavers and the Criminal Justice System : a sorry state of affairs the hostile territory encountered by an inordinate number of care leavers who enter our justice system ;
  • Jane Dalgleish writes about work in progress towards Providing a nurturing environment for young people in a residential setting ;
  • Moira Devlin recollects her time teaching girls and young women in a Community Home with Education in Beyond the mainstream, what difference have we made? ;
  • Roger Lewis navigates us through the vicissitudes of the extraordinary and the ordinary life of a London boy in The influence of Chance and Luck in Childhood ;
  • George Orwell, in his essay Such, Such Were The Joys contemplates his fortune or lack of it in a childhood spent in a different kind of residential care and education ;
  • Joan Pritchard re-examines the strategies she and her colleagues developed and used to help the children in their care - assessed as having social, emotional behavioural difficulties - to achieve their full potential inHelping children experiencing SEBD to understand and manage their own feelings : the experiences of a headteacher of a day school for such children ;
  • Charles Sharpe reviews Residential child care in practice Making a difference by Mark Smith, Leon Fulcher and Peter Doran ;
  • John Stein gives a personal analysis of how the experience of childhood nowadays is so different from when he was a boy in Then and Now ;
  • Werner van der Westhuizen considers the significance of Context in the provision of therapeutic care.
In the next few days, news of further articles may appear on the goodenoughcaring website home page where this information was first published on June 8th, 2013

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Swallows and Articles : the new issue of the goodenoughcaring Journal will be nesting soon



In May swallows flew in from distant shores, a harbinger of the arrival in June of the goodenoughcaring Journal. On June 15th, 2013, issue 13 of the goodenoughcaring Journal will nest in the eaves of a computer near you. Incubating in this summer's Journal are articles abundant with recollections and thoughts of the world of childhood and the role of adults in that world. In this issue we have articles by Darren CoyneJane DalgleishMoira DevlinRoger LewisJeremy Millar, George OrwellJoan PritchardCharles SharpeJohn Stein,  Marie Tree and Werner van der Westhuizen. Further news of these and other articles still in gestation will appear here within a few days.

Past issues of the Journal can be accessed by clicking here

This news item was posted first on the home page of the goodenoughcaring.com  website on May 29th, 2013. 

Friday 10 May 2013

Conference update : From Maria to Munro Safeguarding Children : Procedures, Regulation or Nurturing Relationships? A Child Care History Network Conference



The Child Care History Network invites you to its summer conference on July 25th, 2013 at the Barns Conference Centre of the Planned Environment Therapy Trust at Toddington near Cheltenham. The theme of the conference From Maria to Munro Safeguarding Children : Procedures, Regulation or Nurturing Relationships? is intended to provide a springboard for some fundamental thinking about child protection. For the last forty years child protection and safeguarding have dominated social work with children and their families. The conference will look at how this thinking has developed and ask whether it is time to move on to a different way of viewing ways of meeting children's needs.
How do we best protect children? Is safeguarding still the top priority? Should we place a greater emphasis on nurture? What else should we be doing? As with all CCHN events, delegates shall not only be considering historical developments but also looking at how we can apply what we have learnt from history.

Among the speakers who will be presenting to the conference are : Sir Roger Singleton, Chair of the Independent Safeguarding Authority and Mark Smith, Senior Lecturer at the School of Social Work at the University of Edinburgh  and Ray Jones, Professor of Social Work at the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, run jointly by Kingston University and St George's, University of London.

As well as the presentations, the day will provide opportunities for delegates to participate and share thinking on the theme.

The fees for the conference including lunch and refreshments are £55 for members and £70  for non-members.

To register for the conference and for further programme details go to CCHN website


 Here is the conference programme. 
10.30 Arrival, registration and refreshments
11.00 Welcome and introduction to morning session: David Lane
11.15 Plenary: Child protection and safeguarding
12.00 Sir Roger Singleton: Protection systems: where next?
12.45 Discussion
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Introduction to afternoon session: Charles Sharpe
14.15 Mark Smith: Bringing up children: a pedagogical perspective
15.00 Discussion
15.15 Refreshments
15.45 Panel and discussion: Where next?
16.30 Charles Sharpe: In conclusion
16.45 End of conference


This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring.com website on May 10th, 2013


Friday 3 May 2013

"From Winnicott to the Naughty Step" on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, May 4th, 2013 .



On Saturday, May 4th, at 8pm  the broadcaster and researcher, Anne Karpf, talks about her research on Donald Winnicott's broadcasts on the BBC. Her research was funded by the Winnicott Trust. The programme will include original archival material from the broadcasts and will include interviews with Winnicott scholars and others who have been influenced by him. The programme will be available on BBC iplayer for a short period after the broadcast.

This news item first appeared on the home page of goodenoughcaring at http://www.goodenoughcaring.com on Friday May 3rd, 2013.



Thursday 11 April 2013

From Maria to Munro Safeguarding Children : Procedures, Regulation or Nurturing Relationships?



On July 25th 2013, the Child Care History Network is holding a conference at the Planned Environment Therapy Trust at Toddington near Cheltenham. The theme of the conference From Maria to Munro Safeguarding Children : Procedures, Regulation or Nurturing Relationships? is intended to provide a springboard for some fundamental thinking about child protection. For the last forty years child protection and safeguarding have dominated social work with children and their families. The conference will look at how this thinking has developed and ask whether it is time to move on to a different way of viewing ways of meeting children's needs.
How do we best protect children? Is safeguarding still the top priority? Should we place a greater emphasis on nurture? What else should we be doing? As with all CCHN events, delegates shall not only be considering historical developments but also looking at how we can apply what we have learnt from history.
Among the speakers who will be presenting to the conference are Sir Roger Singleton, Chair of the Independent Safeguarding Authority and Mark Smith, Senior Lecturer at the School of Social Work at the University of Edinburgh.
As well as the presentations, the day will provide opportunities for delegates to participate and share thinking on the theme.
The date of the conference and further conference details will appear on this page and on the CCHN website in the very near future.
CCHN has provided us with the following rationale for the conference :

Safeguarding Children : achievement or rhetoric ?
Safeguarding children is officially defined as
The process of protecting children from abuse or neglect, preventing impairment of their health and development, and ensuring they are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care that enables children to have optimum life chances and enter adulthood successfully. Ofsted (2005)
The claim made for the concept of "safeguarding children" is that it is comprehensive and goes beyond what its proponents describe as "basic child protection." The new view is that "safeguarding children" deals with a wider spectrum of issues than what we have come to know as child protection. Safeguarding children, it is suggested, provides effective child protection where the latter is only a part of wider work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Safeguarding children also demands that all agencies and individuals should aim to be proactive in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children so that the need to protect children from harm is reduced. (Department of Education, 2013).
In our conference we will trace the narrative of the history of what has come to be known as "safeguarding children" and we will also hope to examine the claim that "safeguarding children" really does represent a paradigm shift from what was termed "child protection" to the extent that it will help all children and make all children safer.
From the Maria Colwell Report of 1974 through to the Munro Review of Child Protection in 2011 there is a sense in which "child protection" has grown into a huge empire in the social work school of professional thought. Certainly it has engendered a continuous production line of different policies, and procedures. This process is still alive and working among us without, it seems, ever creating a situation with which we can rest more easily. More importantly there are still many children who live in poverty, who suffer neglect, who fail to flourish, who do not enjoy good health and there are still children who are the victims of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
It has been suggested that the problem with child protection is that in a way it has become an institution with some of the flaws characteristic of big institutions. It was born out of professional failure and the tragic death of a child and it sustains itself in the aftermath of further tragedies by producing literature and teaching that speaks of "imperatives" which in turn cultivates a blame culture when things go wrong. It is a system which says, after the event. "Why didn't we do a risk assessment?" rather than saying a priori, "Now have we made sure our children have what they need to see them happily through today?"
There are those who would argue that the formal safeguarding risk assessment procedures we have in place to safeguard children are too impersonal and inorganic. Too often they disregard the views of children and parents alike. They would suggest that it might be better to approach "child protection" in a fundamentally different way by providing unhappy children with the kind of natural nurturing relationships they need with adults: relationships uncluttered by the requirements of regulation and procedure. This of course might necessitate not only the provision of means to train people to develop their already naturally held nurturing capabilities in order to extend these to the care of other people's children. For this scenario to flourish there may be a need to cultivate a more nurturing social climate within our wider community if children are to be safeguarded.
On the surface safeguarding children appears to be straightforward: something that should just happen yet it evokes contentious and complex issues as well as many ideas about how these would be best approached. Our hope is the conference will stimulate you to pursue, discuss and debate these ideas as well as the many others that will arise during the day.

Saturday 23 March 2013

Digital life story work



We have been informed of a new BAAF Publications book by Simon Hammond and Neil J Cooper, Digital life story work : Using technology to help young people make sense of their experiences which is a practical guide aiming to bring the benefit of life story work - most often undertaken with younger children - to young people and adolescents. With the use of free software, smartphones and camcorders the authors demonstrate how digital technology can support and become an integral instrument of life story work. It is the authors' intention to show how new digital technology can be used to further the therapeutic process of helping young persons build a relationship with a caring adult while reflecting on their lives.

About the authors

Dr Simon P Hammond has contributed a number of articles to the goodenoughcaring Journal and he is a lecturer in Psychology at the University of East Anglia. Simon developed the idea of integrating the use of digital technology with life story work while he was a residential child care worker in Sheffield.

Dr Neil J Cooper is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of East Anglia.
For more information about Digital life story work view the BAAF catalogue at BAAF 


This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring website on March 2nd, 2013

Archive of the Year Award for the Planned Environment Therapy Trust


On Saturday, February 23rd at the "Who Do You Think You Are? Live" exhibition in London ('the biggest family history event in the world'), the BBC broadcaster, historian, and Editor-in-Chief of 'Your Family History' magazine Dr. Nick Barratt presented the Planned Environment Therapy Trust Archive and Study Centre with the prestigious Your Family History national "Archive of the Year" award. Past winners have included the Surrey County Council History Centre, and Kent County Council's Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre.
In presenting the award, Dr. Barratt quoted from one of the nominations: "Not only do they collect and curate a range of small yet important archival material and collections, including oral histories, but they also provide a space for people to share memories and experiences relating to environment therapy - so continue to undertake therapeutic work today. All this is done on a small budget, showing that you don¹t need millions of pounds to make a difference to people's lives."
Receiving the award for the Archive and Study Centre were archivist Craig Fees and team members Gemma Geldart and Chris Long, who were core team members of the award winning "Other Peoples' Children" project. PETT was so impressed with the work of the team and with the very real difference it made to people's lives that when the funding for the project came to an end, the Trust asked them to stay on, and to continue to develop their work with former children, staff and families from residential therapeutic communities, many of which are now closed.
The team at Trust see this award as an endorsement of the work it has been able to do, especially with the help of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant during its"Therapeutic Living With Other Peoples' Children: An oral history of residential therapeutic child care" project in 2010-2011. As well as students and young people, the team at PETT has been able to work closely with a number of people who were children in care, their families, and friends; and to discover and demonstrate how remarkably 'therapeutic' archives can be in practice.
More information about this event, Archive and Study Centre and other aspects of the work of the Planned Environment Trust can be found at PETT Archive of the Year Award Winners

This news item first appeared on the home page of the goodenoughcaring website on February 26th, 2013



Residential child care in practice.



The Policy Press has written to us announcing the publication of Residential child care in practice Making a difference by Mark Smith, Leon Fulcher and Peter Doran. The book is about residential child care practice beginning from the standpoint that residential child care involves both children and adults sharing a common life space in which the quality of the relationships between the people involved is key. It is a very practical book which aims at being of interest and value to a worldwide range of practitioners and managers as well as to students at different academic levels. It draws on the ideas and traditions of a variety of theoretical and practical fields of thought including child and youth care and social pedagogy.
The authors of the book, all experienced practitioners and academics, are : Mark Smith, a regular contributor to the goodenoughcaring Journal, who worked for 20 years in residential homes and schools before becoming a university teacher and is now Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Edinburgh ; Dr Leon Fulcher, another contributor to the goodenoughcaring Journal, has for over 40 years practiced in, and taught, residential child care across the world and is now the Chair of the the International Child Care and Youth Care Network; Peter Doran, who recently retired as the Chief Executive Officer of a residential school in Scotland, having spent his career in residential child care and who, since his retirement, has undertaken work for The Scottish Government on the education of children with complex needs.
The book will be reviewed in the next issue of the goodenoughcaring Journal. For more information about Residential child care in practice Making a difference go to The Policy Press

This news item first appeared on the homepage of the goodenoughcaring website on January 25th, 2013.


Tuesday 26 February 2013

Archive of the Year Award for the Planned Environment Therapy Trust



On Saturday, February 23rd 2013, at the "Who Do You Think You Are? Live" exhibition in London ('the biggest family history event in the world'), the BBC broadcaster, historian, and Editor-in-Chief of 'Your Family History' magazine Dr. Nick Barratt presented the Planned Environment Therapy Trust Archive and Study Centre with the prestigious Your Family History national "Archive of the Year" award. Past winners have included the Surrey County Council History Centre, and Kent County Council's Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre.
In presenting the award, Dr. Barratt quoted from one of the nominations: "Not only do they collect and curate a range of small yet important archival material and collections, including oral histories, but they also provide a space for people to share memories and experiences relating to environment therapy - so continue to undertake therapeutic work today. All this is done on a small budget, showing that you don¹t need millions of pounds to make a difference to people's lives."

Receiving the award for the Archive and Study Centre were archivist Craig Fees and team members Gemma Geldart and Chris Long, who were core team members of the award winning "Other Peoples' Children" project. PETT was so impressed with the work of the team and with the very real difference it made to people's lives that when the funding for the project came to an end, the Trust asked them to stay on, and to continue to develop their work with former children, staff and families from residential therapeutic communities, many of which are now closed.

The team at Trust see this award as an endorsement of the work it has been able to do, especially with the help of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant during its "Therapeutic Living With Other Peoples' Children: An oral history of residential therapeutic child care" project in 2010-2011. As well as students and young people, the team at PETT has been able to work closely with a number of people who were children in care, their families, and friends; and to discover and demonstrate how remarkably 'therapeutic' archives can be in practice.
More information about this event, Archive and Study Centre and other aspects of the work of the Planned Environment Trust can be found at PETT Archive of the Year Award Winners

There is also a link to the Trust website in our Useful Links section at the foot of the goodenoughcaring home page  where this news item first appeared on February 26th, 2013

Friday 22 February 2013

Residential child care in practice



The Policy Press has written to us announcing the publication of Residential child care in practice Making a difference by Mark Smith, Leon Fulcher and Peter Doran. The book is about residential child care practice beginning from the standpoint that residential child care involves both children and adults sharing a common life space in which the quality of the relationships between the people involved is key. It is a very practical book which aims at being of interest and value to a worldwide range of practitioners and managers as well as to students at different academic levels. It draws on the ideas and traditions of a variety of theoretical and practical fields of thought including child and youth care and social pedagogy.
The authors of the book, all experienced practitioners and academics, are : Mark Smith, a regular contributor to the goodenoughcaring Journal, who worked for 20 years in residential homes and schools before becoming a university teacher and is now Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Edinburgh ; Dr Leon Fulcher, another contributor to the goodenoughcaring Journal, has for over 40 years practiced in, and taught, residential child care across the world and is now the Chair of the the International Child Care and Youth Care Network; Peter Doran, who recently retired as the Chief Executive Officer of a residential school in Scotland, having spent his career in residential child care and who, since his retirement, has undertaken work for The Scottish Government on the education of children with complex needs.
The book will be reviewed in the next issue of the goodenoughcaring Journal. For more information about Residential child care in practice Making a difference go to The Policy Press


This news item first appeared on Friday, February 22nd, 2013 on the home page of the goodenoughcaring Journal at goodenoughcaring.com

Supervision in the Helping Professions with Robin Shohet


On 28th February 2013 Robin Shohet is presenting a one day course Supervision in the Helping Professions at the British Psychological Society in London.
The cost of the day is £120 until 28th January 2013 and after that £135 (plus vat)


This news item first appeared on the home page of goodenoughcaring.com website on Decomber 28th, 2012