Journal of Children's Services

Publisher:: Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Publication date:: 2021-02-01

ISBN:: 1746-6660

Issue Number

No. 19-3, October - September - September - August - June - April 2024

Latest documents

Service evaluation of a training initiative in participatory practice with children and young people for early help professionals
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report findings from a service evaluation of a training initiative in participatory practice with children and young people (CYP) for early help (EH) professionals. The training was based on the Lundy model of child participation. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire-based survey was undertaken of staff completing the training. Within the sample of professionals surveyed, various work contexts were represented. Findings: Reported benefits arising from the training included increased understanding of the utility of the tenets of the Lundy model, as well as changes in practice with CYP. Barriers and issues encountered in seeking to work in a participatory way were identified in relation to time for relationship-building, resources and interprofessional and interagency working. Originality/value: The evaluation findings provide insight into ways training in participatory practice with CYP is experienced by EH professionals. The role of networks of practitioner champions in influencing participatory practice is also addressed, as well as the interface between participatory and relationship-based practice.
Editorial: Journal of Children’s Services Special Edition: the intersection of education and formal and community-based children’s services
The use of critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in children and families social work in England: an evidence review
Purpose: English social work policies and regulatory bodies propel critical reflection as a professional requirement and a worthwhile activity. The purpose of this paper is to report on the current international and UK evidence that informs the understanding and use of critical reflection and associated terms – reflection, reflective practice and reflective supervision – in one-to-one practitioner supervision in local authority children and families social work in England. Design/methodology/approach: A review of the evidence was undertaken using documentary policy analysis and a scholastic literature review to examine the history and current knowledge available as of December 2022. Findings: The historical policy and professional context of critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in England is discussed. The current evidence review identified three themes – the role of critical reflection in models of supervision, the influences of national, organisational and professional cultures and the supervisor practitioner relationship. The nuanced nature of the presence of critical reflection in supervision and a lack of clarity when theorising and describing critical reflection has implications for policy, supervisory practice and research design. Originality/value: Critical reflection in one-to-one social work supervision is under researched. This review draws on the evidence from international research and local policy to offer an understanding of the complexity of theorising, practicing and researching critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in local authority children and families social work in England.
Student perspectives on school-based social workers: a mixed-methods study
Purpose: School social work, in various forms, is well established internationally and has a growing evidence base. Yet existing research focuses on professional perspectives rather than those of students. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring secondary school student perspectives of having social workers in schools (SWIS). It was undertaken in England as part of the SWIS trial, which tested whether secondary school-based social workers could improve child safety and well-being, identify issues more quickly and reduce the need for statutory services. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods approach comprised a survey (n = 1,998 students) and interviews (n = 27 students). Surveys included questions on awareness, understanding, interaction with and attitudes towards the school-based social workers. Interviews involved a Q-sort activity followed by semi-structured questions on general attitudes and experiences. The Q-sort characterised prominent perspectives and how many students subscribed to them. Findings: Students were broadly positive about having a social worker in their school in the survey and interviews. Two prominent perspectives on SWIS were identified. The first (n = 17) was defined by students feeling positively overall and strongly agreeing that they trusted the social worker. The second (n = 4) was mixed in sentiment, defined by some anxiety about working with the social worker. In interviews, students relayed that social workers were easily accessible, offered emotional support and acted as a bridge between school and home. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to quantify student perspectives on having social workers at school and evidence attitudes and experiences about school-based social work as practiced during the SWIS trial.
Innovative local authority public health interventions to support the mental health of children and young people
Purpose: Mental health champions (MHCs) and young health ambassadors (YHAs) are two innovative public health interventions. MHCs are practitioners who work in schools and other youth settings and aim to be the “go to” person for mental health in these settings. YHAs are a linked parallel network of young people, who champion mental health and advocate for youth involvement, which was co-produced with young people across all stages of development implementation. This paper aims to identify the potential benefits, barriers and facilitators of these interventions. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 19) were undertaken with a purposive sample of n = 13 MHCs, and n = 6 YHAs, between June 2021 and March 2022. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, anonymised and then analysed following a thematic approach. Ethical approval was granted by Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee. Findings: The findings are organised under five key themes: motivating factors and rewards for MHCs and YHAs; outcomes for children and young people (CYP) and others; impact on youth settings and culture; facilitators of successful implementation; and implementation challenges and opportunities. Practical implications: These findings are intended to be of relevance to practice and policy, particularly to those exploring the design, commissioning or implementation of similar novel and low-cost interventions, which aim to improve mental health outcomes for CYP, within the context of youth settings. Originality/value: The interventions reported on in the present paper are novel and innovative. Little research has previously been undertaken to explore similar approaches, and the individual experiences of those involved in the delivery of these types of interventions.
Conversations between child and family professionals and children: what shapes the adult’s ability to hear children’s perspectives?
Purpose: Many professionals who work with children champion the concept of child participation. However, professionals’ attempts at listening to children to understand their perspectives and include them in decision-making are often difficult or missing. This paper aims to report on a study that examined the lived experiences of child and family professionals and children, aged five to nine years, to understand what happens in their everyday conversations and interactions and what is needed to prepare pre-service professionals to uphold children’s right to have their views heard and considered in decision-making. Design/methodology/approach: Narrative Inquiry was used as the methodology for this study as it is a useful research methodology for developing interventions for practice. Narrative Inquiry methodology allows the researcher to learn from their participants, and to validate them as knowledgeable in their own lives and as contributors to change. Findings: The findings indicated that everyday conversations and interactions that take place between professionals and children influence an adult’s ability to hear a child’s perspective. The key findings indicate that for adults to hear a child’s perspective and include them in decision-making, there is a need to build trust and acknowledge how power plays a role in having meaningful conversations with children. Originality/value: To better prepare the child and family practice workforce, they will need theoretical knowledge and practice skills in developing self-awareness about how children are viewed, building reciprocal relationships with children and creating safe spaces for conversations to take place.
Stability indicators, child welfare provisioning and trajectory into university for care-experienced youth
Purpose: Children and youth who enter the care system have lower educational outcomes and university participation rates than their peers. This study aims to understand trend exceptions by examining the background of care-experienced undergraduates attending a research-intensive university in Canada. Design/methodology/approach: Informed by social affordance theory, this study examined the presence of four indicators of stability (home, household occupants, school and legal status) during participants’ final three years of secondary education. Care-experienced undergraduates (N = 30) completed an online questionnaire. Associations between stability indicators, child welfare involvement in the final year of high school, educational outcomes and routes into higher education were analysed. Findings: Stability across three to four indicators was experienced by 40% of participants, while 47% reported changes across three to four indicators. Only 20% had a change of school as compared to 47%–60% for other indicators. During their final year of high school, 73% of participants were supported by the child welfare system, with 50% being supported via a support program specifically for 16- to 18-year-olds. Stability scores were significantly lower for this latter subgroup compared to those who spent time in foster or group care and those who did not receive child welfare support during the final year of high school. Ninety percent of participants graduated from high school, 67% with the grades required to attend university. Three trajectories into undergraduate study were identified but could not be predicted using regression models. Originality/value: This paper focuses on what has supported progression into a research-intensive university for care-experienced young adults and highlights the role of support programs for 16- to 18-year-olds.
Safeguarding, uncertainty and new possibilities: an appreciative inquiry into personal adviser’s relational practice with care leavers
Purpose: An appreciative inquiry process was collaboratively undertaken with an inner city local authority and personal advisors where systemic social work practice was embedded. The purpose of this study is to explore how systemic social work principles could be integrated into the support of young adults leaving the care system, especially when safeguarding concerns exist. Design/methodology/approach: Three fortnightly, reflecting team-style, appreciative inquiry workshops explored the integration into practice of systemic concepts under the themes of safeguarding, uncertainty and new possibilities. Findings: Within the contexts of the organisation, other agencies and the relationship, six paired themes emerged: learning and navigating; positioning and risk-taking; and feeling and engaging. Core systemic concepts, such as self-reflexivity and mutual influence, can enable personal advisers to use themselves and their relationship with care leavers as a context for change. Considering responses to risk from different family member positions may support holding greater levels of uncertainty. Seeing resilience as a process rather than a personal attribute enabled personal advisors to think about how they connected with care leavers through shared life experiences, fostering narratives of hopes and dreams where new possibilities abound. Research limitations/implications: Appreciative inquiry is generally seen as a defined model for implementing large organisational changes; this study comprised a small sample group, and the model’s application was less defined. Originality/value: A gap exists in the extensive care leaver research, addressing safeguarding and working systemically. A conceptual model for practice is offered, with potential utility in developing further systemically informed training and supervision for practitioners. A less structured and more relationally engaged model for appreciative inquiry is presented.
Measuring levels of family stress and engagement in child protection social work: an explorative analysis of parental stress and social worker practice skills
Purpose: Effectively engaging parents under stress is a key component of skilful child welfare practice. This paper aims to investigate how social workers practice with parents with either high or normal levels of stress. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a mixed methods design including observations and audio recordings of meetings between families and social workers, interviews with parents/carers and questionnaires with social workers. Validated instruments, including the general health questionnaire (GHQ) for stress levels and the working alliance inventory (WAI), were used to explore how levels of stress influence practice. Findings: Data from 366 families found twice as many parents had clinically elevated GHQ scores compared to the general population (40% to about 20%). Stressed parents reported significantly less good working relationships with social workers [WAI, for the less stressed parents/carers, M = 65.3 vs highly stressed M = 60.6, t(324) = 2.407, p = 0.017, d = 0.28]. When quality of practice was directly measured, workers showed higher level of relationship skills with the less stressed group [t(291) = 1.71, p = 0.44, d = 0.205]. Originality/value: This study explored the interaction between practitioner skills and family factors influencing engagement, such as stress and anxiety. Engagement with stressed families may be particularly challenging, making it all the more important to understand how social workers engage such families to provide effective help and support. A better understanding of the parent-worker relationship under stress can lead to the development of training and practice strategies aimed at overcoming barriers in family engagement. This study also highlights the need for practice to re-focus on the relational elements and the emotional well-being of families.
“Picture this, picture me”: community based peer-to-peer and family support for children impacted by parental imprisonment
Purpose: The “Picture This, Picture Me” research project enabled young people who have experience of a parent in prison to challenge the narrow narrative of “prisoners’ children” by sharing their wider sense of identities and their needs. This paper aims to show the value of specialised voluntary sector support groups for children with a parent in prison as well as demonstrate that parental imprisonment, whilst significant, is only one part of their story. Design/methodology/approach: Children’s experiences are explored through expressive and creative research methods informed by photovoice research, including taking and responding to photos and caption writing, short conversational interviews and curation of artefacts. Findings: Children’s perspectives are presented: what matters to them, what makes them happy, how do they perceive themselves beyond the label of “a prisoner’s child”, how do community-based support services help and what they would like people to know about children who have been impacted by parental imprisonment. Research limitations/implications: This research contributes to an emerging research area on the role of services from the community and voluntary sector and non-formal educational organisations that support children impacted by parental imprisonment at a personal and family level. Practical implications: This research offers useful knowledge to professionals, including those in education, children’s services and non-formal community-based services, with an interest in holistically supporting children and families with a relative in prison. Social implications: Children’s insights are offered on the value of peer-to-peer and community-based interventions that support them holistically, including articulating their self-identity, life and educational aspirations and practical issues for families. Originality/value: There is minimal research on including and hearing the voices of children who have a family member in prison and their perspectives are invaluable.