Government(s)

Care Matters

– a commitment to RCC and investing in research (Social Pedagogy)

House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee

high quality stable placements for a minority of young people is too often dismissed …., not last resort, … planned,… enforcement of higher standards, greater investment in skills and a reconsideration of the theoretical basis.

Meanwhile in Scotland

Scottish Government Minister for Children and Early Years, Adam Ingram launching the

National Residential Child Care Initiative

observed ‘

the cost of failing to invest in high quality care is one we can’t afford for our young people or society as a whole

’ and the desire to ‘make RCC ‘

first and best placement of choice for those children whose needs it serves

.

A collation of statistics – DCSF and Ofsted • 92% of providers - satisfactory and compliant with the NMS up from 58% in 2003 – 2 factors NMS, and enormous investment professionally and financially of providers • Between 11-13% of Children in Care • Children’s Rights Director reports tell us that young people can prefer RCC • CAFCASS statistics - April to December 2009 is 46.1% higher than the same period in 2008, 37.6% higher than the same period in 2007, 25.9% higher than the same period in 2006 and 31.2% higher than the same period in 2005.

A collation of statistics – DCSF and Ofsted (contd) • The LGA estimates the extra children in the care system will cost a further £187m.

• At 31 03 09 6,200, other RCC 720, and RSS 1K • 9,850 placed annually • Size now about right stabilising at approx 2,000 settings which allows for 80-85% occupancy (not 100%) • 25% leave care from RCC • Most children’s homes now have less than 5 children • 65% is private and increasing, 30% is LA and decreasing, 5% is voluntary and decreasing.

CWDC

2 important developments • LMCS – Group Living component for RCC managers • Professional Standards for RCCWs welcomed by sector Learning culture and organisations

Developing the evidence base for the future

What Works in Residential Child Care

Note a different emphasis DCSF

Targeted Mental Health in Schools Project ‘focusing on interventions which already have a track record of success …’

rather than

‘hunches, assumptions or precedent’.

bridge the gap consider research-based evidence alongside practice-based evidence

So how can the RCC sector respond?

1. Tell the story of RCC

• Explaining requires knowledge and understanding.

• Facts are remembered in relation. • A social activity within a relationship rather than a solely a delivery of one aspect of care.

So how can the RCC sector respond?

2. Parenting and Child-focussed

Crucial difference of a social to a medical model - a task that is done

for

and

with

young people. . ‘

What matters is that ‘daily life within the home is built from an attempt to produce systems that best match residents’ wants and needs.’

So how can the RCC sector respond?

3. Communicate in ways others can understand

• Commissioners were sensing and thinking types • Providers were more intuitive and feeling types. • Providers need to creatively communicate in ways others can understand and use.

There is urgent need for well constructed, robust, rigorous research which is reflective of the current RCC

No substitute for a placement strategy based on research data and trend forecasting.

What might be the emerging messages?

• No loss of provision/decommissioning without an impact assessment. • Universalist/generalist community-based services AND capacity to recognise and meet higher level needs. • Spot purchasing or tendering? No one provider can meet all needs, need diversity and thus need consortium? Better still co-production and co-activity.

• National contracts – in need of saving – for sake of a few clauses much good work could be discarded. NCERCC Reg 34 template soon.

• Cost Calculator to be used by all – level playing field

3 areas needing urgent attention 1. Education

• Ofsted Annual report - a valid observation • Quality Protects - There is a clear link between a young person’s association with the quality of care and their satisfaction with schooling and general happiness.

• DCSF National Strategies analysing data. We are promised an analysis of Children in Care’s overall underachievement but deconstructing the figures to the various needs groups.

• Establish the measure of ‘value-addedness’ for RCC in general and apply a comparator for individual placements and young people.

• SMART education planning, attendance matters, school and home distinct, full or modified curriculum, support integration

3 areas needing urgent attention 2. Outcomes – 2 aspects

• Ofsted – the new inspection framework should have descriptors of each grading, be made public. This would unite Govt, regulator, provider, commissioner and young people. • Each provider should have a diagnostic assessment that directly constructs the Placement Planning

3 areas needing urgent attention Mental Health

• NICE/SCIE guidance mid-February – need to engage

Contact Details:

National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care (NCERCC) National Children’s Bureau 8 Wakley Street London EC1V 7QE E-mail: jstanley@ ncb.org.uk

www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc Tel: 020 7843 1168 Fax: 020 7278 8340 •