Transcript Developing Social Pedagogy within Residential Child Care

Tell me, and I forget;
Show me, and I remember;
Let me do, and I understand.
Experiences from the Pilot Projects of ThemPra
Sylvia Holthoff
Gabriel Eichsteller
ThemPra Social Pedagogy
Community Interest Company
Two approaches to exploring the benefits of social pedagogy for
residential child care:
 Social pedagogy seminars – 6-day course with 12 practitioners
from 7 children’s homes in North-West England;
 Social pedagogue placements – 12 days with a social pedagogue
working alongside 3 teams in South England;
‘Having the opportunity to undertake the social pedagogy pilot scheme
has been an enlightening experience. Encompassing a sound theoretical
context, alongside a very hands-on experiential training experience
has, I believe, given me a greater insight into the benefits of a
pedagogic approach. As a senior manager I feel resourced with new
tools and an enthusiasm to see a positive change in how residential
service provision will be viewed as a service of choice with trained and
respected staff.’ (participant of 6-day course)
A more systemic and systematic approach would provide more
potential in developing social pedagogy within children’s homes:
 Training: mixture of intense training followed by direct support
for individual homes
 Involvement: critical mass of ‘champions’, all levels involved
 Implementation: holistic approach considering every level
within a system
 Networking: maintaining enthusiasm, exchanging experiences
about implementation and generating more interest
3-year implementation strategy based on systemic change model
providing responsiveness and sustainability in structure and
atmosphere with the following elements:
 Training: 6-day course to provide foundations in social pedagogy
 Creating a Pedagogic Culture: Ongoing team development to
work with teams on process of implementing social pedagogy
theory and principles within their context
 Social Pedagogy Agents: further 2-day course to develop
change agents within each team
 Strategic development forums: various forums encourage all
people in the organisations to participate in the systemic change
processes, with feedback loops ensuring that forums are
connected
It is not possible to teach. But it is possible to create situations
wherein it is impossible not to learn.
Our approach aims to follow social pedagogic principles through our
Haltung:
 Dialogue – exploration between equals
 Emphasis on creating opportunities for learning (‘challenge by
choice’)
 Building on strengths and existing practice
 Valuing and respectful relationships with participants
 Theory meets practice (accreditation for further connection of theory
with practice)
 Enthusiasm and inspiration
Some of the experiences and impressions from practitioners
regarding the benefits of working with a social pedagogic approach:
‘The realisation that having a 'sense of community' within the
home, where each of us (staff and young people) have the same
goals, works so well and everyone seems happier. Much of this
has been brought about by using the 'common third'. Although
we have always undertaken activities with the young people,
staff have become more involved in these and are sharing the
fun.’
Some of the experiences and impressions from practitioners
regarding the benefits of working with a social pedagogic approach:
‘What I have learned through my recent reflection is that if you
enable the children to attempt to resolve their own conflict a
solution is often found. It might not always end in the way that
you would have expected or hoped. However, the process is
important as it gives them the beginnings of developing the tools
that will take them into adulthood. […] By me handing over the
authority to the group to participate in [the resolution], the
process was an empowering experience for all the children.’
‘I now give great emphasis to using the ‘Common 3rd’ approach to
building relationships with the young people. Seeking out
opportunities via a seemingly endless scope of activities will allow
for valuable bonding between two individuals or groups. By giving
way too much attention to non-urgent administrative duties I was
attuning myself to the office atmosphere of disillusionment. Some
staff members frequently use this space to air their grievances
regarding the young people and it is easy to become drawn into that
negative culture. To remedy this I decided to utilise my time more
effectively and get out of my own comfort zone. Since I was no
longer a Key Worker I made the most of building up positive
relationships with all the young people. I remarketed myself as
accessible and traded admin for activities with a sense of urgency!
This helped tremendously towards influencing a positive atmosphere
in the home, boosting my own morale and that of others. As I grew
in confidence I found myself directly challenging or preventing
negative practice by planning and agreeing intended outcomes of a
shift with my colleagues and the young people.’
‘When working with a child who is refusing to attend school I
now question myself about what it is I should give them to work
from and explore other situations I can create that may give
them more opportunity to learn. I also reflect more on how they
must feel and how their refusing to attend school is telling us
something rather than just them being defiant.
By taking a pedagogic stance with this situation I found that the
child would respond more by doing things that relaxed them and
that when they were in this space they were taking more in and
actually learning. For example, by taking the child to the local
shops to buy ingredients for a cooking exercise, they were doing
maths and learning life skills without even realising.’
“Pedagogy has enabled me to think more critically about how I use my time
when I am with the children. To really experience and share the living space
with the children for me becomes ever more important. This means to be fully
engaged and authentic in my relationships. One particular incident enabled me
to fully appreciate the time and experience I had shared with a young girl:
I was sitting in the playroom with the other children, and we started an activity
that involved someone tapping actions on a person’s back and made stories up
to the actions. There were four children and two adults involved, and we would
take it in turns to be tapped and be the person who tapped. This resulted in a
lot of laughs and enthusiasm to continue with each other. Gradually the rest of
the group began to leave the playroom, leaving the young girl and myself. We
both were still experiencing the excitement of the previous game. We were
looking at each other and she stood up and made a silly noise and waved her
hands about. I immediately stood up and did the same thing. She laughed and
said ‘copy me’, which I did, and then I said ‘copy me’, which she did.
This went on until her bedtime, and each time we would fall down together on
the sofa laughing uncontrollably. As she was going up to bed she called out
‘that was good, it has made me so happy, I’m going to go to bed happy tonight’.
I remained on the sofa and felt a warm glow inside. I felt happy, and this was
compounded when I heard what she had said.”
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
Set up in partnership with NCERCC, TCRU, FICE-England, and
Jacaranda Recruitment, the SPDN aims to:
 Be a democratic, inclusive grassroots movement
 Connect people and organisations active in developing social
pedagogy
 Provide a forum to explore issues affecting the further
development of social pedagogy in a solution-focussed way
 Encourage people to create change connecting social pedagogy
and their passion for children’s well-being