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This paper reports on research into personal education plans (PEPs) for ‘looked after’ children (children in care) in one large county local authority in England. PEPs were introduced by guidance from the Department for Education and Employment and Department of Health in 2000. The fieldwork for this research began two years after this guidance was published. The research findings show that although social services staff and teachers are critical of specific aspects of PEPs, they have helped to raise the profile of the educational needs of looked after children in the local authority studied. They have provided a forum for social work and education professionals to meet in the interests of particular children. Key problems relate to practical issues: ensuring social workers and teachers feel able to fulfil their expected roles in relation to the education of looked after children; making the system focus on meeting the needs of children as well as practitioners; difficulty in meeting specified timescales; more meaningful, constructive and sensitive involvement of children in the process of producing and reviewing PEPs. The broader issue, however, is about the ability to plan the education of looked after children. Additional barriers to planning were particularly apparent in residential care and specifically within secure accommodation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The professed aim of any social welfare or legal intervention in family life is often to bring about "better outcomes for the children." But there is considerable ambiguity about "outcomes," and the term is far too often used in far too simplistic a way. This paper draws on empirical research into the outcomes of care proceedings for a randomly selected sample of 616 children in England and Wales, about half starting proceedings in 2009–2010 and the others in 2014–2015. The paper considers the challenges of achieving and assessing "good outcomes" for the children. Outcomes are complex and fluid for all children, whatever the court order. One has to assess the progress of the children in the light of their individual needs and in the context of "normal" child development, and in terms of the legal provisions and policy expectations. A core paradox is that some of the most uncertain outcomes are for children who remain with or return to their parents; yet law and policy require that first consideration is given to this option. Greater transparency about the uncertainty of outcomes is a necessary step towards better understanding the risks and potential benefits of care proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the history of the rights movement of young people in care in England between 1973 and 2011. It describes the histories of the different groups that made up the movement during this 38‐year period: the Leeds Ad‐Lib group (1973–1975); Who Cares? (1975–1978); the National Association of Young People in Care (1979–1994); Black and In Care (1983–1985); and A National Voice (1998–2011). The narrative includes an analysis of contextual factors and the contribution of these groups in increasing awareness of leaving care policy and practice issues. The article concludes with a discussion of a young person's history of care, including recurring themes relating to young people's transitions to adulthood: their 'loss' of family; their disrupted lives in care; their experience of education; leaving care early; and their lack of support into adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an empirical study of child protection services in a local authority where rates of investigations and interventions rose to unprecedented levels during the course of a single year. The aim of the research was to explore explanations for this rise in demand among the providers of children's social care in the area. Using an interpretative qualitative design, a series of focus groups and interviews were carried out with practitioners and managers (n = 25) from statutory services and Early Help. The findings identified a combination of long‐term and short‐term drivers of demand. Long‐term factors emphasized the impact of rising levels of deprivation combined with cuts to community‐based services for children and young people. Short‐term factors ranged from a more proactive approach to child neglect to more effective multi‐agency partnerships and joint decision making. The interaction between these factors was found to be accentuating an underlying shift to "late intervention" across the sector. The findings are contextualized in relation to contemporary debates about the crisis of demand for children's social care and the complex relationship between prevention and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The UK has long been near the bottom of the EU “childcare league”. Attitudes of policymakers towards employment for the mothers of young children were ambivalent up to and including the Thatcher years, and the problem of “reconciling” work and family was historically deemed to be a private decision. This changed in 1998, when the Labour government put forward the first ever national childcare strategy. This paper argues that the aims behind the strategy were intimately linked to the attack on poverty and social exclusion in that: (1) efforts to stimulate provision focused on disadvantaged neighbourhoods; (2) subsidy was provided for early years education, rather than care (in order to give children a better start in life); and (3) stimulating provision was intended to promote women's employment, especially among lone-mother families, thereby improving the material welfare of poor families. The means of expanding childcare have taken the form of a complicated set of demand- and supply-side subsidies, reflecting the ongoing commitment to a mixed economy of childcare. The paper argues that this has implications for access and quality, and that there are tensions between the social investment approach to childcare on the one hand, and the desire to promote mothers’ employment on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Children’s services are currently undergoing their biggest changes in a generation. The government is seeking to create a more coherent, seamless configuration of services, with a view to securing improved outcomes for all children. However, there is a current crisis in the recruitment and retention of a range of child welfare professionals, including children’s social workers, which must be addressed in order for this ambitious agenda to be achieved. This paper discusses the findings of a series of focus group discussions with social workers undertaking the London Post Qualifying Child Care Award in response to the "Children’s Workforce Strategy" consultation process. These findings are then analysed within the context of the wider literature on social work practice and workforce development. It is argued that central to the debate on how to sustain a competent and stable social work workforce should be consideration of the consequences of initiatives to audit and assess performance; the promotion of relationship-based social work; and the wider role of social work in preventative and protective services for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on findings from an interview-based study of the ways that local authority social workers, social services managers and lawyers work together in child care cases in England. The study shows how stressful social workers can find care proceedings, and how much they look to the lawyers for support. It also shows how the lawyers’ involvement can bring new stresses and dilemmas. The managers are especially likely to resent ‘over-involvement’ (as they see it) from lawyers, but lawyers are quick to defend their role and responsibilities. The paper shows how the complex, multifaceted dimensions of care, control and change interweave with professional differences in care proceedings: care for children, parents and social workers; struggles for control against the court, the other parties and sometimes the other professionals on one's own side; and responsiveness to change set against wariness about ‘lawyers’ deals’ and undue risk to children. The paper concludes that the valuing of difference, rather than its avoidance or suppression, is at the heart of effective inter-professional work. It calls for greater recognition of this in current initiatives to promote interdisciplinary working in children's services in England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper presents the findings of a survey of independent fostering agencies (IFAs) in England, Scotland and Wales. Information was gathered about their operational arrangements, services, fees, staffing, foster carers and the children and young people in placement. This information is supplemented by an earlier evaluation of one large English IFA and by reference to the available relevant literature. The expansion of the IFAs has been generally greeted with hostility by local authority managers because of what is perceived as the loss of foster carers to the independent sector, the costs of the IFAs and their position outside the public welfare sector. This paper questions the validity of these views following an examination of the status of the agencies, the background of their foster carers and the circumstances surrounding the placements of the children and young people. It concludes by identifying gaps in our knowledge and areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper draws on research into child welfare services in France, Germany and England which compares the subjective experience of mothers who have been in contact with family support and child protection agencies in the three countries. The mothers' stories suggest that successful help-achieving strategies differ according to the nature of the child welfare regime, and that behaviour which is effective in getting a good response in one country may work less well elsewhere. The stories of two mothers in each of the countries have been chosen to demonstrate how the structures of different social welfare regimes affect the efforts of welfare users to get the help they need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on data from a qualitative study carried out of 33 households and 28 health visitors to explore mothers' perspectives on childcare. The sample of mothers reflects the multi-ethnic character of the inner London area they live in. The paper explores the extent to which these women, from a wide range of backgrounds, shared common priorities, concerns and perspectives on childcare and childhood; and examines differences between groups of women and factors associated with patterns of difference. It concludes with the challenge this sample of women presents to social attitudes, policies and practices in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to add to the literature on working with fathers by focusing on early intervention. It draws on research into fathers involved in a home visitation service delivered by the Family Nurse Partnership in England and evaluates the men's experiences of the intervention. The vulnerability of fathers was striking and many were helped to develop their practical skills and confidence in caring for their babies. The intervention was effective because of the quality time that was invested in developing relationships with fathers (as well as mothers), the focus on their strengths as well as areas for improvement and the skilled, therapeutically oriented, holistic approach through which the service was delivered. The 'early' nature of the help was crucial to its success because of how it so effectively tapped into the men's redefinition of themselves as caring fathers during pregnancy and following the birth. We argue that there is important learning here for social care and health services in general about how to engage men and promote fathers' capacities to care for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the impacts of the training programmes offered to lone mothers with young children on the Government's ‘New Deal for Lone Parents’ in one local labour market: West London. Our research suggests that regulatory workfare policies are (re)producing and reinforcing gendered inequalities in the labour market by encouraging lone mothers to undertake training in feminised occupational areas such as childcare. We will argue that in a local economy such as West London where more childcare workers are desperately needed to enable other more highly skilled workers to take up employment opportunities, such training programmes may be doing little more than exacerbating the already gendered and class-based polarisation of the labour market – embedding low-skilled, poorly qualified lone mothers into low-paid jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Founded on an evaluative review of core group practice in a northern metropolitan borough of England, this paper highlights the tensions and difficulties that might inhibit the quality of post-registration services to children and their families. Insights from the empirical data as well as theoretical literature have been explored in the light of current and developing policies. This exploration is focused on inter-agency coordination; inter-professional relationships; and partnership with parents and children. The recruitment and retention of social workers, the potential contribution of Children's Trusts, as well as unconscious processes relating to child abuse and child protection, are all given consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper documents the views of a sample of 80 children and young people, aged 10–18 years, living in foster and residential care placements in England, regarding their educational experience whilst being looked after. The children were interviewed as part of an ongoing evaluation of the Taking Care of Education project, a development programme designed to facilitate improvements in the education of looked after children, co-ordinated by the National Children's Bureau and funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Interviews with the sample asked children to assess their current educational progress and identify individuals who supported or hindered their education, as well as the availability of educational support in care placements. Teaching staff were frequently mentioned as providers of support, whilst social workers were often associated with hindering educational progress. Children and young people had access to a range of educational supports in care placements, and these were more widely available in residential settings than in foster care. Children offered a range of pertinent suggestions as to how the educational experience of those in the public care system might be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report on a research project aimed at identifying differences between day nurseries in relation to staff and child behaviour. Six day nurseries were studied in London: staff levels and behaviour were measured against child behaviour and interactions between adults and children. They conclude that management styles, group size and staff attitudes to parents affect staff behaviour and consequently problem behaviour in children. The work was supported by a grant from the Department of Health and Social Security. This paper is based in part upon a presentation to the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society, Leeds, April 1988. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence from focus group discussions with social workers in child care and child protection was collected for a research project exploring decision-making in care proceedings and seeking a better understanding of the causes of delay in the process. Here this material is used to examine social workers' feelings about their work and to explore the anxieties they expressed. Isabel Menzies's work on containing anxiety in institutions is used to provide a conceptual framework for thinking about the ways in which individuals' unconscious defences against anxiety may affect the structure, policies and practices of the organization in which they work. It is suggested that this dimension needs to be taken into account in understanding difficulties which arise in putting policy into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In family settings stories, photographs and memory objects support narratives of identity and belonging. Such resources are often missing for people who were in care as children. As a result, they may be unable to fill gaps in their memories or answer simple questions about their early lives. In these circumstances, they turn to the records created about them by social workers and care providers to reconstruct personal histories. Research suggests that thousands of requests to view records for this purpose are made each year in England under the subject access provisions of data protection legislation. This article reports the findings of MIRRA, a participatory research project on the memory and identity dimensions of social care recordkeeping. Drawing on data collected during interviews and focus groups with adult care leavers, the study explores the motives and experiences of care‐experienced people who access their records in England. Findings show the practical and cultural challenges they face when doing so and the resulting impacts on well‐being. The study suggests that the development of person‐centred approaches to recordkeeping in social work, which focus on the perspectives and experiences of the individual, could better support the lifelong memory and identity needs of care‐experienced people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how parents choose childcare settings for their pre‐school children within a context of complex policy on eligibility for free provision and a developing market. Using data from interviews with 17 mainly middle‐class parents in England, we explore in detail how parents go about choosing a childcare setting and the different phases of this process. This adds further nuance to the existing literature on choosing practices and the dysfunction and inequalities of a neoliberal childcare market, and also updates the discussion to include recent policy developments such as the provision of '30 hours free childcare' for 3 and 4‐year‐olds. We conclude that parental choosing involves a series of decisions in two or three phases, which start from practical considerations, followed by quality comparison and then back to practical constraints if a decision has not been made. The options open to parents are split between not only those able to accommodate shorter 'free' provision and those that require longer periods of childcare to work, but also between those with children under three and above. Contrary to previous findings in this area, this split may work to the disadvantage of some middle‐class families, whose children attend lower‐quality settings as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background and aims: Little is known about the long‐term economic consequences of smoking during pregnancy. We estimated the association between smoking in pregnancy and the costs of delivering health‐care to infants and children in England, and investigated which aspects of care are the key drivers of these costs. Methods: We used Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) linked with Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) data in England from January 2003 to January 2015 in children with longitudinal data for at least 1, 5 and 10 years after birth. Poisson regression provided rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing health‐care episode rates between those exposed and not exposed to smoking during pregnancy. Linear regression was used to compare estimated costs between groups (£ sterling, 2015 prices) and generalized linear multivariable (GLM) models adjusted for potentially moderating factors. Results: A total of 93 152 singleton pregnancies with the required data were identified. Maternal smoking in pregnancy was associated with higher primary care, prescription and hospital in‐patient episode rates, but lower out‐patient visit and diagnostic test rates. Adjusting for year of birth, socio‐economic deprivation, parity, sex of child and delivery method showed that maternal smoking in pregnancy was associated with increased child health‐care costs at 1 year [average cost difference for children of smokers, β = £91.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) = £47.52–134.83 and 5 years of age (β = £221.80, 95% CI = £17.78–425.83], but not at 10 years of age (β = £365.94, 95% CI = –£192.72 to £924.60). Conclusion: In England, maternal smoking in pregnancy is associated with increased child health‐care costs over the first 5 years of life; these costs are driven primarily by greater hospital in‐patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the effects of Sure Start local programmes (SSLPs) on children and their families. To assess whether variations in the effectiveness of SSLPs are due to differences in implementation. Design Quasi-experimental cross sectional study using interviews with mothers and cognitive assessment of children aged 36 months who speak English. Setting Socially deprived communities in England: 150 communities with ongoing SSLPs and 50 comparison communities. Participants Mothers of 12 575 children aged 9 months and 3927 children aged 36 months in SSLP areas; mothers of 1509 children aged 9 months and 1101 children aged 36 months in comparison communities. Outcome measures Mothers’ reports of community services and local area, family functioning and parenting skills, child health and development, and verbal ability at 36 months. Results Differences between SSLP areas and comparison areas were limited, small and varied by degree of social deprivation. SSLPs had beneficial effects on non-teenage mothers (better parenting, better social functioning in children) and adverse effects on children of teenage mothers (poorer social functioning) and children of single parents or parents who did not work (lower verbal ability). SSLPs led by health services were slightly more effective than other SSLPs. Conclusion Sure Start local programmes seem to benefit relatively less socially deprived parents (who have greater personal resources) and their children but seem to have an adverse effect on the most disadvantaged children. Programmes led by health services seem to be more effective than programmes led by other agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The aim was to examine the impact of post restraint reduction meetings upon the frequency and restrictiveness of restraint use in English children's residential services. Background Attention has been drawn to the misuse, overuse and safety of some techniques used to physically restrain children in residential services. Successful interventions to reduce restraints have been reported, mostly from the USA. Results Demonstrate a significant overall reduction in both, frequency and restrictiveness of restraints; the greatest percentage decrease in the most restrictive floor restraints. Whilst five services reduced both frequency and restrictiveness, five services showed some increases in frequency and/or restrictiveness of restraints employed. Conclusions Restraint reduction is most effectively reduced through employing multiple strategies and that post restraint reduction meetings maybe one useful component. Organisations seeking to promote restraint reduction meetings need to allocate sufficient priority and resources to support these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 70,000 children are 'looked after' by local authorities in England and Wales. Emerging research suggests that a significant proportion of their birth parents have either already lost a child to permanent adoption or will go on to lose others. These 'repeat loss' cases raise difficult questions about marginalized mothers and their reproductive autonomy. This article considers past and present tactics used by the state in its attempts to limit that autonomy, including institutionalization, sterilization, long-acting contraception, and permanent adoption. It argues that the gradual democratization of intimate citizenship over the past century, defined as a person's ability to choose and direct their intimate relationships, has obliged the contemporary state to develop new tactics which aim to build personal capacity and to balance enhanced child protection with enhanced reproductive autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commentaries on childhood, whilst abundant, largely depend on secondary sources, namely adults. This research attempts to address the question 'what is childhood?' by consulting the primary source - children. This case study, of children attending a day-care centre in the West Midlands, England, adopted research tools that were developed to meet the needs of young children as research participants. Perspectives of childhood were identified and labelled the 'Playful Child', the 'Unknowing Child', the 'Needful Child' and the 'Unauthorised Child'. The findings suggest a necessary review of the role of the early years practitioner, in particular where practitioners are 'playing with' young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of different characteristics of early child-care in England on the development of cognition, language, and task-related attention and behaviour (orientation/engagement and emotion regulation during the Bayley assessment) at 18 months. Data were drawn from a prospective longitudinal study of 1,201 infants. As found in previous studies, socio-demographic characteristics and maternal caregiving (especially 'opportunities for stimulation') were significant predictors of all child outcomes. There were also effects of quantity of individual and group care, and quality of non-maternal care. Controlling for demographics and maternal caregiving, more hours of group care (nurseries) were related to higher cognitive scores, while more hours of individual care (e.g., grandparents, nannies etc.) were related to lower orientation/engagement scores. Non-maternal caregiving was observed in a subsample of 345 children, and after controlling for all covariates as well as quantity and stability of care, quality of care was found to be predictive of higher cognitive ability and better orientation/engagement. Although the effect sizes were small in magnitude, in line with other similar studies, such modest effects from a large English sample are important when viewed in light of the widespread use of non-maternal care during infancy and early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the historical approach of the English Courts to the children who are raised in same-sex households; it discusses the very recent reformation of attitude of the courts, and of the legislators, to such family arrangements, and it examines the current attitude of the English Courts. The article considers how the courts have struggled historically to apply ordinary welfare principles in the different context of homosexual parenting, and discusses the complex inter-play of family relationships when children are born into same-sex families through donor insemination. The article discusses the ongoing challenges for the courts in dealing with cases of this kind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical child welfare research in England takes insufficient account of wider social theory. Intellectual, professional and political reasons for this are discussed. The implications are considered in relation to one important social problem: the low educational achievement of children looked after by local authorities (‘in care’). It is concluded that the absence of a broader sociological perspective has led to insufficient and simplistic explanations from researchers and policy-makers of low achievement among looked-after pupils. It is unwise to rely on official statistics on educational outcome indicators for looked-after pupils. Previous conceptualization of poor educational performance has been inadequate, and we should refer to low achievement, not ‘underachievement’. The socio-economic risk factors that are linked with family breakdown and admission to care also predict low educational achievement, such as social class and poverty. Social mobility and transition to adulthood are increasingly problematic in England, making it difficult for care leavers to improve their social position. Parental maltreatment is strongly linked with educational failure. Other countries may do no better than England does. Thus, it is by no means obvious that the care system necessarily jeopardizes looked-after children’s education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study found an increasing number of ventilator dependent children and young people living at home. Almost three quarters of the sample had a physical disability as a result of or in addition to their primary diagnosis. There was wide variation in the amount of paid care supporting these families which appeared unrelated to the level of ventilatory dependence. Nurses working in community children's teams or hospital outreach teams were the most frequent care organisers and care managers. The majority of the care packages were funded by Health Authorities. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the stochastic frontier cost function for residential child care provision in England. Determinants of the costs of welfare services; Advantage in estimating cost functions; Process of the production of welfare.

In a study of the quality of care, interviews and observations of 45 playgroups in three areas of England were conducted. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale was used as a measure of quality. The influence of area, resources, management, size, space, staffing, training, support, parental involvement and staff dissatisfaction upon quality were considered. The major influence was playgroup leader training, and parental involvement was also associated with quality of care. Parental involvement and staff training were strongly linked, indicating the confounding of family and child care characteristics and the importance of understanding family and child care interrelationships. The applicability of the measures to English playgroups was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major objective of this article is to report the findings of two studies which compare and contrast the early child-rearing practices of two generations of Punjabi parents (1970s and 1990s) living in England. Additionally, the findings are compared with a small group of white mothers to broaden our understanding of the changing patterns of parenting. The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from the first generation during the period 1970–73 and from the second generation in 1995. The research perspective adopted is a qualitative one in that variables and procedures for data collection are not rigorously controlled, and the narratives of the mothers are used extensively to illuminate the key areas of early child rearing. The findings show that the second-generation mothers are shedding most of the traditional customs and practices and are moving towards modern British ways. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing interest in the history of childhood and child care. This article brings together from disparate sources some of the details and themes concerning the emergence and development of public and voluntary child welfare in Scotland. Particular attention is given to residential and foster care arrangements under the Poor Law and to the influence of ‘philanthropic’ individuals and organisations. Comparative references are made to the contemporary situation in England and Wales and to present day practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explains the issues surrounding the efforts to improve the services for disabled children and their families in the rural area of England. It mentions three examples of intersectoral action which have affected the care and management of handicapped children. It also notes that for disabled children, and during their subsequent transition to adulthood, the major parties have to be the families together with these young people as they grow up seeking choices and autonomy in their future adult lives.