The Scottish government establishes the New Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children

This news article first appeared on April 20th, 2011 at   http://www.goodenoughcaring.com/Home.aspx?cpid=1 
on the home page of goodenoughcaring.


The Scottish Children's Minister Adam Ingram announced on April 19th, 2011 that Scotland is to get a new centre for excellence to improve the lives and futures of looked after children. The centre, which will incorporate the former Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care is to be based at the University of Strathclyde. Among the responsibilties of the new centre will be:

• the provision of specialist training for those working with looked after children
• support to colleges and universities so they can help looked after children make the transition into ongoing education
• consultation  with looked after children so they can shape services
• acting as a central point of contact for those seeking information/advice, including the provision of a web-based resource
• running seminars and conferences to promote good practice and raise awareness of current thinking and developments in the area of looked after children, as well as helping to develop good practice through a research programme covering domestic and international practice working with the sector.
• to reduce the stigma associated with being a looked after child

The announcement comes at a time when new statistics published on child care in Scotland show that more children are becoming engaged with the looked afterd children system in Scotland. new looked after children statistics were published today. In a statement about the new initiative Mr Ingram said that the new statistics
"show that while more children are becoming looked after, this is happening earlier in their lives This shows our policies to provide the earliest possible support to children and families are starting to have an impact. As looked after children are among the most vulnerable members of our society we must continue to do what we can to improve their lives and life opportunities. The creation of a new centre for excellence will help us drive forward improvements in care planning and corporate parenting with those who work with looked after children and the children themselves.
This centre builds on a range of other initiatives. Earlier this week, we announced new nutritional guidelines to improve the health of children in residential and, over the past year, we have put in place new measures to improve educational attainment through the Additional Support for Learning Act and taken action to improve training and employment opportunities through our 16+ Learning Choices initiative.
Finally, it's important to recognise that while the number of looked after children has risen, this appears to be due to more young people being looked after for longer. This can mean that they are continuing to be looked after without a clear path to a permanent placement. We have been exploring how best we tackle these issues and will be announcing action on this in the coming weeks."
Romy Langeland, the independent chair of the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care which will be transformed into the new centre of excellence, said:
"We recognise that there is already a great deal of important work being undertaken to improve a child's experiences throughout their journey within the care system. We welcome this opportunity to come alongside partners and work together to ensure that we maximise the opportunities and outcomes for looked after children."

The new centre  will be created by changing the role and remit of the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC), set up by the Scottish Government in 2000 to improve outcomes for children and young people in residential care. SIRCC is a partnership between the University of Strathclyde, Robert Gordon University, Langside College and Who Cares? Scotland. The focus of its activities during the last 10 years has been the development of the residential child care workforce.
During a planned phased transition,the new centre will take on an extended role to cover support and training for everyone working with looked after children and care leavers, regardless of where that care is provided, including teachers, healthcare workers and kinship carers. The change in role reflects the fact that that looked after children often move between care settings and that these services need to be better integrated and that there is also a long history of the adoption, fostering and residential care sectors working together.
For more information go to http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2011/02/23094433

Soon to land on a computer near you : issue 9 of the goodenoughcaring Journal flies in on June 15th, 2011

The goodenoughcaring Journal issue 9 will be online on June 15th, 2011.We are very excited about this issue. We have been able to collect a group of interesting, fascinating,informative and thoughtful articles.

Viki Bird and Gabriel Eichsteller write about the relevance of social pedagogy, Lorea Boneke thinks about the process of growing up, Simon Hammond finds out what young people in residential care,Kate Lawrence examines the consequences of broken attachments for children who are looked in the care system,
Linnet McMahon writes about play and the facilitiating environment, Dave Roberts advocates reflective training for child care workers , Hans Kornerup provides his thoughts on theory and practice in residential child care, John Stein reminds us of the importance of Mums, Jennie Thomas thinks about the merits of a liberal education for our children and Matt Vince writes about good practice with children who have been absent from care.
For  articles from previous journals go to  http://www.goodenoughcaring.com/JournalIndex.aspx

East End Film Festival, London, April 27th to May 2nd, 2011

Alison Poltock, the Artistic Director of the East End Film Festival tells us that this year's festival programme has, as ever, a great deal to offer children and adults alike. A special day will be Bank Holiday Monday, May 2nd, when a variety of events, all of them free, including film shows, live performances, exhibitions and interactive opportunities to learn about film making will be taking place in many venues at Spitalfields Market and in Brick Lane. On the same day at the Barbican there is an opportunity to see the most recent productions of young film makers from Tower Hamlets. The films are continuing to look at the  influence of the coming Olympic Games on the Tower Hamlets community. 
There are also outstanding films being shown all through the week in the east end. Visitors to the goodenoughcaring site who are in London during the week of the festival may wish to take an opportunity to watch :
Udaan directed by Vikramaditya is about the experiences of Rohan a 17 years old who is expelled from his boarding school for watching an adult movie.
Pink Halo Halo  directed by Joselito Altarejos tells the story of Natoy, a young boy who along with his mother tries to cope and come to terms with the dramatic fate of his father, a soldier in the ongoing war in Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
The Cage directed by Adrian Sitaru explores the conflicts between father and son when a boy brings home a sick dove.
Ways to Live Forever directed by Gustavo Ron is the tale of two teenage friends both suffering from Leukaemia who meet in hospital and draw up a list of things they want to do before they die. This includes learning about UFOs, horror movies, airships, ghosts and scientists, answers to their questions about dying and finding out how it feels to kiss !
There is also a reprise showing of the Scottish thriller Red Road directed by Andrea Arnold in which Jackie a CCTV operator  observes the lives of people on a Glasgow housing scheme from a bank of television screens. The showing of Red Road is linked with the London premiere of the film Donkey is the second film of the Advanced Party Project trilogy of Scottish films using the same actors.  Donkey is directed by Morag Mckinnon and is a film about the disastrous relationships of Alfred, an inveterate liar.
There are many more films to be seen during the week. To read the full festival programme of films and events go to
http://www.eastendfilmfestival.com/index.php?/programme/C27/
The festival's partner is the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and its funding bodies are Film London, the UK Film Council and the Arts Council.


This news article first appeared on the goodenoughcaring home page at http://www.goodenoughcaring.com
on April 23rd, 2011.

Conference : Promoting Recovery in Looked After and Adopted Children : Theory into Practice

This was first posted on the home page of goodenoughcaring at http://www.goodenoughcaring.com in January, 2011

Stuart Hannah tells us that the next Northern School of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy conference  Promoting Recovery in Looked-After and Adopted Children : Theory into Practice  is to be held on 21st March, 2011 at NSCAP, Bevan House, 34-36 Springwell Road, Leeds, LS12 1AW

The principal speakers will be : Graham Music, Associate Clinical Director, Child and Family Department at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, Richard Rose, Lead Clinical Consultant at SACCS, who will speak on ‘Life story work and the healing process’ and Nick Frost, Professor of Social Work, Childhood, Children and Families, at Leeds Metropolitan University
The event which is sponsored by Bryn Melyn Care will be of value to sector leaders, CAMHS clinicians, LAC nurses, residential staff/managers and others who are concerned with outcomes for this vulnerable group of  children and young people.
For an application form for this event go to

http://www.nscap.org.uk/doc/New%202010/Promoting%20Recovery%2021_03%20Flyer%20&%20App.pdf

"Celebrating Success in Residential Child Care "

This news item first appeared in January, 2011 on the home page of  goodenoughcaring at http://www.goodenoughcaring.com

A day conference,‘Celebrating Success in Residential Child Care'  will be held at the
Glasgow Marriott Hotel on  Tuesday, 22 March, 2011.
 
The Children, Young People and Social Care Directorate of the Scottish government have informed us of this event which will provide an opportunity for the residential child care sector and social work professionals to consider progress made on implementing the NRCCI recommendations. One of the main difficulties in making residential care the first and best choice for those children who need it is that all too often a bleak picture is painted of the sector. An important way of challenging the negative perceptions of residential child care is to draw attention to the many positive experiences of young people, parents and practitioners by providing a forum to celebrate success. This event will focus on the positive role residential child care has played in young people’s lives and will celebrate what for them have been positive outcomes. 
This event is aimed at residential child care practitioners, social workers, managers, students and all those with an interest in the developments within residential child care. The format of the event will provide for short facilitated discussions and networking.
Speakers include:
· Adam Ingram, Minister for Children and early Years
· Mark Smith,  University of Edinburgh and author of Rethinking Residential Child Care
· Dr Donald Forrester,  University of Bedfordshire, Director of the Child and Family Welfare Research unit.
· Zachari Duncalf, Research Fellow at Glasgow School of Social Work and Care leaver.
Contact :
If you wish to propose a workshop for the event or require a space for a stall or display please contact wendy.milne@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
 If you wish to reserve a place, please contact Suzanne Allan on 0131 244 0407 or by e-mail at Suzanne.allan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk by Friday 18 February, indicating whether you have a special dietary or other special requirements. There is no charge for this event.
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Social Care Ireland’s first National Conference : 'Bringing Back Innovation and Creativity to Social Care'

This year’s annual conference which will be held at the Sheraton hotel, Athlone on 9-10th March 2011,is the first conference presented by the new umbrella body of Social Care Ireland (consisting of the IASCW, RMA and IASCE). Building on last year’s theme, this combined conference  promotes the development and integration of social care practice, management and education. The theme of this conference focuses on the recognition of the current difficult economic climate and the need for new ideas and creativity in maintaining and achieving quality care services in Ireland. A range of topics will be presented at this year’s forum under the theme of creativity and innovation.

The principal speakers will be

Geraldine Ring, the director for the Matt Talbot Adolescent Services, which provides drug and alcohol treatment services to young people with serious drug problems : Dave Williams the acting Chairperson of Social Care Ireland who lectures in the Department of Social Sciences at the Dublin Institute of Technology ; Gaye Graham, lectures in the Department of Social Sciences at the Dublin Institute of Technology: Raymond Watson lectures at the Open Training College ; Aiden Carthy lectures at the Department of Humanities at the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown ; Jim Cantwell, a lecturer at the Waterford Institute of Technology ; Clare Hopkins lectures at the Open Training College ; Roisin McGlone is a lecturer at the Department of Humanities, Institute of Technology, Sligo ; Laura Steckley is course director of MSc In Advanced Residential Care at the Glasgow School of Social Work, a joint school of the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde ; Dr. Brian McClean is the Principal Clinical Psychologist for the Brothers of Charity, Roscommon who was at the forefront of the move towards non aversive strategies and the use of behaviour support plans for people labelled as challenging in Ireland ; Ona McGrath lectures at the Department of Social and General Studies at Cork institute of Technology ; Dr. Carmel Gallagher is a lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences at the Dublin Institute of Technology; Dr. Martin Power is a University Fellow with the Discipline of Health Promotion, National University of Ireland, Galway who is co-ordinator on the BA Social Care ; Eric Valente does statistical research at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC), Cork ; Tamsin Cavaliero lectures at the Institute of Technology, Sligo ; Dr. Kay Inckle lectures in the School of Social Work and Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin ; Susan Ni Chuileann  holds an MSc in Applied Forensic Psychology and lectures at Carlow College ; Brenda Kneafsey is a research officer with the Irish Association of Young People in Care ; Fiona Daly is a research officer with the Irish Association of Young People in Care ; Derek McDonnell is a community child care leader in the Social Work Department in Co. Laois and Mary Jennings  has a background in communications and marketing and works in the Community and Voluntary sector as well as the private sector.

For more information about the conference in the first instance contact Noel Howard at : nhcc2@eircom.net 

This item appeared first on the http://www.goodenoughcaring.com website homepage on February 1st, 2011 where you will find the latest news and opinion items.

"Community Care" Survey

Camilla Pemberton of Community Care has written to us about a survey the magazine is carrying out which is "looking at the effect of government spending cuts on adults and children’s social care providers." Camilla is particularly hoping for responses from children’s homes. The survey is completely anonymous and readers can link to it at  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FKC8YYM

This first appeared on the http://www.goodenoughcaring.com home page on February 10th, 2011