As an ardent supporter of residential child care, I was interested to see an editorial piece about this much criticised sector in Children’s Webmag entitled: A Prejudice That Needs To Be Shifted which looks at why there is widespread prejudice against this type of child care and makes some attempt to challenge it.
Whilst I welcome what this editorial is trying to do I also believe that we need to resist the temptation to apologise for the perceived failings of residential care services. We should remember that the efforts of residential workers have often achieved remarkable results despite the lack of appropriate training, low expectations, and constant bad press.
I doubt that anyone would argue that the residential task presents considerable challenges, yet the level of qualification expected for this task remains unacceptably low. I too recall the specialist residential training of thirty years ago which the writer refers to. While this training undoubtedly helped create a focussed workforce, it did little to equip them to deal with the complexity of need that can often present in children in public care.
Thirty years on and our understanding of the injuries endured by many of these children has grown enormously. So too has our knowledge of the interventions necessary to aid recovery or adaptation. At Akamas we are seeing every day how training based on this learning gives carers the confidence and skills necessary to help vulnerable children recover from or adapt to life after trauma.
Let us hope that the future investment in residential care will take into account current research, and embraces the benefits of a social pedagogic model. Perhaps then residential workers will attain the same status as fieldwork colleagues and we can at long last lay to rest the label of a Cinderella Service.
Tags: looked after children, social pedagogy, training for residential child care, traumatised children
