Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care Vol 7(1) August/September 2008

Contents

Editorial Graham Connelly

The development and implementation of The LAC Pack in West Lothian Janet Guild

Research has shown that children looked after by the local authority are behind their peers in terms of educational attainment. They are more likely to leave school early without qualifications, and are at risk of school exclusion (HM Inspectors of Schools and the Social Work Services Inspectorate, 2001). This paper will outline the development and implementation of a resource which is designed to address some of these issues.

The LAC Pack is a training package aimed at informing West Lothian schools, social workers and foster carers about the needs of children and young people in the care of the local authority. It also encourages participants to reflect on the impact of early negative care experiences on their attainment in education. The materials were developed by the senior educational psychologist for lookedafter children, who collated the information through research and practice in an innovative joint post managed by West Lothian Council Departments for Education and for Social Policy. The LAC Pack supports the Scottish Government’s vision for all children which was articulated in Getting it right for every child (Scottish Executive, 2005). This document clearly states that children from all walks of life should be supported to be effective learners. The Government has placed a strong emphasis on early intervention and the need to create more appropriate educational options to meet the needs of our most vulnerable and at-risk children through a systemic approach (Scottish Executive 2007).

The Learning with care report (HM Inspectors of Schools and the Social Work Services Inspectorate, 2001) demonstrated that looked-after children and young people in school sometimes present with poor attendance and challenging behaviour because of emotional, psychological and practical issues connected with being in care. The LAC Pack is designed to explore the impact of specific care issues on behaviour in school and gives pragmatic and focused strategies for managing behaviour. Staff training activities are also included. It aims to serve both as a source of focused information for LAC-designated school staff and other education and care professionals and also as a training resource to be cascaded to staff teams in school settings throughout the local authority area.

Effective communication between schools and residential houses: Establishing a good practice framework. Lesley Fraser

This paper documents a summary of the research I carried out during my second year of training as an educational psychologist in Scotland. The issue that I was investigating concerned the effectiveness of communication between schools and residential houses about the education of young people who are looked after away from home. The educational outcomes for this group of young people have been of concern to policy makers as their achievements tend to be lower than the general population (Jackson and Sachdev, 2001). The Scottish Executive expressed this concern well:

Access to education is a basic right for every child. Too many of those cared for by local authorities are still being let down. They are being denied the same chances as other children. It is not acceptable that six out of ten young people leaving care at 16 and 17 are doing so without any qualifications. (Scottish Executive, 2003)

A constant feature of the looked-after population has, for many years, been the poor outcomes for individuals, of which educational attainment and achievement is just one facet (see, for example, Francis, 2000). This is in spite of a raft of legislation, policy and guidance designed to improve the life chances for the most vulnerable young people in our society, including Getting it right for every child (Scottish Executive, 2005), We can and must do better (Scottish Executive, 2007) and These are our bairns (Scottish Government, 2008). The over-riding aim of this research was to attempt to improve one small aspect of the education of children who are looked after away from home. To achieve this aim, the research sought to investigate the systems currently in place in one local authority for communicating about the education of children in residential houses. Where systems are not operating effectively I have attempted to offer some solutions.

New challenges for extra-familial care in Israel: Enhancing parentalinvolvement in education Emmanuel Grupper

There is an increasing awareness among those who work in the field of residential child care that it is essential to change the character of relationships between residential staff and the families of children in residential group care (Grupper, 1998; Garfat & McElwee, 2004). This is particularly important when it comes to education. In order to obtain a real and meaningful change, it is essential that families are encouraged to take an active part in their children’s lives while they are growing up in residential schools. By involving the parents in the life of the group home, it might provide opportunities for professional staff to empower the parents and help them rehabilitate the relationship between parent and child (Buhler-Niederberger, 1999).

This paper presents a study of a successful initiative by a voluntary non-profit organisation working with Israeli children in residential care programmes. A pilot project funded by Israel’s Social Security Special Projects Fund has started operating in four residential schools for children at risk, removed from their families by the Social Welfare Services. The project ran for three years and one of its objectives was to increase the involvement of parents in their children’s education, while the children were in residential care. As a result of this project, information about how such a change can be brought about, and how to work with parents, has been consolidated in a form that will be useful for the entire residential school and care system in Israel and, hopefully, elsewhere.

Encouraging reading among children in care: the Edinburgh Reading Champion project Colm Linnane

The Edinburgh Reading Champion project is an innovative partnership project between two sections of City of Edinburgh Council: the Children and Families Department and Services for Communities. The project, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, seeks to improve access to books, libraries and reading activities for young people in residential care in Edinburgh.

Poor educational experiences leave many looked-after children with a lack of basic literacy skills and very low self-esteem (HMI/SWSI, 2001). Often, they may be left with a feeling of alienation from books and can be resistant to any form of reading. The project is designed to increase confidence and communication skills among looked-after and accommodated young people and enhance their social and personal development through access to books, libraries, stories and reading. At the heart of the project is support and collaboration with residential staff in sharing books, stories and other reading material with young people, and through training, visits to local libraries and bookshops. The project is coordinated with the children’s mobile library Book Bus, bringing library and information services to young people in secure accommodation and residential schools.

Education in Scotland is undergoing significant change with the Curriculum for Excellence (Curriculum Review Group, 2004). The Reading Champion project supports the curriculum and aims to assist in supporting young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

Improving literacy through storytelling in residential careIrene Stevens, Ruth Kirkpatrick, and Claire McNicol

The Learning with Care report (HM Inspectors of Schools and the Social Work Services Inspectorate, 2001) highlighted the poor attainment of looked-after children in Scotland. As a result of the report, funding was made available to local authorities to help raise their educational attainment. South Lanarkshire Council used part of this funding to develop a storytelling project. This paper will outline the evaluation of the project, and highlight some of the factors which emerged and which could have wider applications in developing literacy for children and young people in residential child care.

Residential special education, market forces and integration: Caught between a rock and a hard place? Robin Jackson

The reforms implemented following the introduction of market forces, and the ‘commercialisation’ of care which followed the National Health Service and Community Care Act (1990), brought about far-reaching changes to the provision and financing of health and social care in the United Kingdom. Market forces received an enormous boost, ‘for-profit’ organisations became increasingly active, notions of ‘best value’ became increasingly relevant within funding formulae, and users of services were more likely to be involved in decision making (Knapp and Kavanagh, 1995). Market ideals as a key principle of public service provision continued to be an acceptable feature of the neoliberal agenda pursued by New Labour. Initially, there was the establishment of a ‘quasi-market’ within the public services and the ‘not-for-profit’ sector occupied a much more level playing field with the ‘for-profit’ sector. Alongside this was the increasing emphasis on integration and inclusion in education, driven by ideas such as normalisation (Wolfensberger, 1972).

This paper focuses on how the ideologies of market forces and inclusion can have an impact on special education. Smith, Mackay and Chakrabarti (2004) raised a number of questions as to whether provision for some of society’s most damaged children should be determined by market forces. This paper picks up on these questions. It presents a case study which highlights how these ideologies are informing one particular authority and what the possible implications of this may be for one provider of special education in the North of Scotland. It analyses why the ideologies have come to be so dominant and argues that there is a basic clash between care values and market values which may be irreconcilable. In addition, it asks readers to consider the effects that a dogmatic imposition of an ‘inclusion’ ideology can have on those young people with complex and severe educational difficulties. It will be argued that the acceptance of such ideologies could compromise the residential education of some of the most vulnerable young people in our society.

Communication impairments in children in residential care: an overlooked aspect of their education and well-being? Susan McCool

It is the aim of this paper to explore an often-overlooked aspect of the education and well-being of children in residential care: the claim that there is a high rate of undetected communication impairment among children in ‘public care’ (Cross, 2004). Unmet communication need has serious effects on a child’s education (Audet and Tankersley, 1999). The impact extends beyond academic attainment to encompass important educational and developmental aspects such as emotions and relationships, behaviour and self-regulation and, more broadly, participation and inclusion.

This paper outlines the nature of communication impairment, and examines the evidence for unidentified need among children in residential care. It then explores what happens when needs remain unmet. The paper concludes with consideration of why services may fail both to recognise and respond to these needs, and offers examples of how some services have tried to respond to these issues.

Developing inclusive education policy and practice for looked-after children Joe Francis

Inclusive education is not a reality for all and it is vital that those charged with providing a quality education to children who have different abilities or face a range of challenges know what is likely to prove effective in helping all pupils within the education system to succeed to the best of their ability (Sebba and Sachdev, 1997). Given all the evidence that looked-after children have extraordinary educational needs (Dixon and Stein, 2002; 2005; Francis, 2000; 2007; Goddard, 2000; HM Inspectors of Schools and the Social Work Services Inspectorate, 2001; Jackson and Sachdev, 2001) and the belief in some quarters that looked-after children in general require special education measures, it is important to consider whether a broader interpretation of the current statutory requirements relating to inclusive education for children with ‘additional support needs’ might enhance the education of this vulnerable group.

Book reviews

These are our bairns: A guide for community planning partnerships on being a good corporate parent Irene Stevens

Children, families and care: Reflections on the first sixty years of FICE (Fédération Internationale des Communautés Educatives) Graham Connelly