Rees Centre Newsletter #3 March 2013CONTENTS

Research Updates:Research profile: Ingrid HöjerResearch visit: Peter Pecora

Aoife O’Higgins: Rees Centre Doctoral studentEvents

Rees Centre News:Rees Centre seminars

Rees Centre blogConference presentations

ReviewsFoster Care in the News

Young Voices

CONTACT THE REES CENTREPhone: +44 (0)1865 274050

Email: rees.centre@education.ox.ac.ukWebsite: http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk

Blog: http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/blog/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReesCentre

RESEARCH UPDATESResearch profile: Ingrid Höjer

In January we welcomed a visit from Ingrid Höjer of the University of Gothenburg. Ingrid – who is Professor of Social Work at Gothenburg – is collaborating on some research with the Rees team. She has many years of experience as a social worker, of which 10 years were spent working as a foster care case worker. Ingrid’s dissertation ”Fosterfamiljens inre liv” (The inner life of the foster family), completed in 2001, addressed the impact of fostering on foster parents and their children. She then researched how sons and daughters of foster carers perceive the fostering experience. Ingrid also participated in an EU project – “Young people from a public care background – pathways to education in Europe” (YIPPEE), coordinated by Sonia Jackson and Claire Cameron from the Thomas Coram Research Unit in London. Since 2007, the situation for young people leaving placements in public care has been one of Ingrid’s main research interests, and she has published results from this research together with Yvonne Sjöblom, University of Stockholm. Ingrid is a member of the INTRAC network (International Research Network on Transition to Adulthood from Care).

Research visit: Peter Pecora

In February we were pleased to host Professor Peter Pecora, professor of Social Work at the University of Washington and Managing Director of Research Services, Casey Family Programs, Seattle. Peter has published his research extensively on topics such as child welfare, family foster care, risk assessment in child protection services and outcomes for out-of-home children and alumni from care. During his visit he met with senior managers from Core Assets who fund the Rees Centre, the Rees Centre research team and researchers from other universities including Bristol, London and Plymouth. He gave a guest lecture at St Anne’s College Oxford and contributed to the Rees seminar on what schools can do to realise the expectations of children in care. We learned a great deal from Peter and our work will be enriched and better linked internationally as a result of his visit.Links to videos and slides of Peter’s talks will soon be available on the Rees Centre website.Aoife O’Higgins: Rees Centre Doctoral student

The aim of my DPhil project at Oxford is to explore and understand the risk and protective factors and processes that affect the educational outcomes of children in care in England. As I started to read the literature I realised that defining risk was not straightforward and that there was no set way of doing this. So I’m currently checking what we know, or what it is we think we know. I’m hoping to bring these findings together in a systematic review of risk and protective factors. I will present these findings to a variety of stakeholders, including young people and professionals. If you are interested in this review, or if you know of specific research I should be looking at, do please get in touch.

The findings from my systematic review should help me formulate research hypotheses for my substantial investigations. For this, I am hoping to conduct various analyses on a large database testing my hypotheses and with that, shed further light on the risk and protective factors. I’m hoping that my findings can then be used for refining or developing social interventions that can have an impact on the educational outcomes of children in care.

Peer support review

In the last newsletter we reported on some emerging findings of our review on foster carer peer support. We are delighted that this has now been published – please see http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/research/publications/ for a downloadable copy. and we are working with fostering providers to set up a new study drawing on the findings. Some fostering providers are being invited to select from the recommendations in the review in order to improve their current practice in facilitating better outcomes from foster carer peer support. The recommendations from the review included:

Mentoring and Buddying: Pairing new carers with more experienced carers may benefit both parties, particularly where this relationship is formalised in the form of a mentoring scheme.

Building opportunities into existing provision: Regular training sessions for foster carers should include the opportunity for carers to share experiences and problem-solving approaches.

Offering local carer groups: Offer local groups where possible and online alternatives where carers are more geographically spread.

Developing respite schemes: Providers could explore the possibilities of developing ‘hub’ and ‘constellation’ communities in which one carer is approved for respite that is provided for that community of carers (drawing on the Mockingbird family model1).

The Rees Centre will be evaluating the impact of these interventions on carer retention, placement stability and well-being outcomes. If you are a fostering provider and would like to be involved in this study please contact Nikki Luke or Judy Sebba at the Rees Centre.

1 http://www.mockingbirdsociety.org/index.php/what-we-do/mockingbird-family-model

Siblings Together

The Siblings Befriending project is a partnership between Siblings Together [http://siblingstogether.co.uk] and Community Service Volunteers [http://www.csv.org.uk/]. The Project is a three-year pilot which aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new approach to re-uniting brothers and sisters separated through the care system. 80-110 individual siblings will be involved over a 3-year period starting in April 2013. Children and young people may choose to continue in the scheme for a year or more. The scheme involves two mentors working with each sibling group through visits to their homes and bringing them together for activities appropriate to their interests and preferences on a monthly basis. Each pair of mentors will work with one sibling group. The Rees Centre has been commissioned to evaluate the pilot through interviewing the young people involved, their carers, social workers and the providers of the scheme. We welcome Professor Ann Buchanan from the Social Policy Department of the University of Oxford, and Jo Dixon (seconded from York University) and Jade Ward (both from Catch22) to assist us in this exciting project.

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EVENTS

Wednesday 20 March 20135.00-6.30pm, 15 Norham Gardens (Seminar Room A)Rees Centre Public Seminar‘Leaving care: outcomes for fostered young people’Professor Sonia Jackson OBE, Emeritus Professor of Social Studies and Education, Institute of Education, University of LondonProfessor Mike Stein, Research Professor Social Policy Research Unit, University of YorkMark Rogers, Chief Executive of Solihull Council, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE)

Monday 3 June 20135.00-6.30pm, 15 Norham Gardens (Seminar Room A)Part of the University of Oxford Department of Education’s Seminar SeriesSafeguarding children in the early years: research messages for professionals in educationProfessor Harriet Ward, Director of the Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University, Co-Director Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre

Drinks will be served after each of these events.

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REES CENTRE NEWS

Rees Centre seminars

The second Rees Centre Public Seminar was held on 16th January 2013. Professors Robbie Gilligan and Ian Sinclair explored the topic of ‘What are we trying to achieve in foster care?’ Shirley Trundle of the DfE responded giving a policy perspective.

Our blog post on the session includes questions from some of our blog readers with responses from our speakers. We invite you to read the post and leave your comments: http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/what-are-we-trying-to-achieve-in-foster-care/

The third seminar took place on 20th February 2013. Professors David Berridge and Peter Pecora addressed the question ‘What can schools do to realise expectations?’ Dr Peter McParlin responded with a perspective from practice.

The blog post for this session provoked some lively discussion which can be seen online, along with a selection of tweets from our live Twitter stream of the session: http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/what-can-schools-do-to-realise-expectations/

Video footage of all of our seminars is currently being prepared and will be posted on our website.

Rees Centre blog

We welcome your comments on the following topics: ‘A critical conversation’ – guest post by Dr Peter McParlin and Ben Ashcroft

http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/a-critical-conversation/

‘The need for positive and planned decisions in foster care’ – guest post by Harvey Gallagher (NAFP)http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/the-need-for-positive-and-planned-decisions-in-foster-care/

‘Proud Parents’ – guest post for LGBT Fostering and Adoption Week from Nicola Hillhttp://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/proud-parents/

Conference presentations

On March 12 2013 Judy will be speaking to the University of Oxford postgraduate students’ conference on ‘Why research should always be informed by systematic reviewing of the literature and user engagement’.

On 18 March 2013 Nikki will be speaking at a CAMHS research seminar about her research on the social and emotional

development of children in foster care, and directions for future work in this area (rescheduled from February).

On 27 March 2013 Judy will address the National Virtual School Headteachers’ Conference at Bath Spa University, on the topic of ‘The implications of the impact of trauma and attachment needs for children and schools’.

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REVIEWS

51 MovesBen AshcroftKindle Edition, 2012; £3.54A memoir of time spent in foster care and a secure unit

I wish I could say that I enjoyed reading this book. It was like watching one of those movies where the central character slowly loses control of his/her life through no fault of their own and ends up in a very dark place. They’re the films I find most scary and Ben’s story is no different.

The book is a traumatic but important read for anyone involved in the care of our most vulnerable young people. You can’t say it was a roller-coaster ride; it was a rapid, breathless decline which tragically was avoidable.

Key lessons for me? The concept of child-centred strategies cannot be empty words on a piece of paper. The child’s opinions and feelings are paramount; they need to be listened to and be given the space to come to terms with their predicaments without brutal, face value judgment of their behaviours. The child must be nurtured.

It also struck me how small the timescale is to get the right support and understanding in place for a child in need. Ben went from being a joyful, optimistic, active child to a bewildered, lost and lonely soul in a very short space of time. The descent into despair and rage was merely the consequence of bewilderment which led to fear and resentment. We should work with pace and alacrity to avoid the abandoned stage.

We need to understand the implications of a child’s total lack of security and how it impacts on their behaviours and that the child will, most likely, be unable to verbalize their feelings of loss and despair.

I finished reading the book as the two boys that I care for returned home from school. I immediately told them they were magnificent and spent the next 2 hours playing football in the local park. Thank you, Ben, for reminding me that children need a childhood.

Reviewed by Mike Wilson, Foster Carer and Trainer, Rees Centre Carer-Interviewer

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FOSTER CARE IN THE NEWS

Youth contract extended to help young people in or from care – National Care Advisory Service, 15th January 2013http://leavingcare.org/news?page_ID=14&news_ID=449

Young people’s views on contact – The Who Cares? Trust, 22nd January 2013http://www.thewhocarestrust.org.uk/pages/082012-department-for-education-call-for-views-on-contact-and-sibling-placement.html

Young people describe their leaving care experiences – Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland, 24th January 2013http://www.celcis.org/resources/entry/picking_up_the_pieces_leaving_care_experiences

Government release 2013-2015 national minimum allowances – The Fostering Network, 29th January 2013http://www.fostering.net/news/2013/government-release-2013-2015-national-minimum-allowances

Councils are cutting funding for care leavers at university – The Guardian Social Care Network, 6th February 2013http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-care-network/2013/feb/06/councils-cutting-funding-care-leavers

‘Bedroom tax’ hits foster care – ITV News, 7th February 2013http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-02-01/bedroom-tax-victims-speak-out/

Next steps for the Care Inquiry – Care Inquiry website, 11th February 2013http://thecareinquiry.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/next-steps-for-the-care-inquiry/

How to get ahead in supporting the education of looked after children – The Guardian Social Care Network, 13th February 2013http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-care-network/2013/feb/13/how-to-get-ahead-looked-after-children?CMP=twt_gu

Edward Timpson speaks on the Children and Families Bill – YouTube, 25th February 2013http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDl_gWIlXqA&feature=youtu.be

Council launches drive to recruit ‘resilience foster carers’ for troubled teenagers – Children & Young People Now, 26th February 2013http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1076399/council-launches-drive-recruit-resilience-foster-carers-troubled-teenagers

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YOUNG VOICES

We end here the words of Amy, whose parents are foster carers with Core Assets.

“My name is Amy Harcourt. I live in North Wales and I am part of a Foster Family. I am fourteen years old and we have been fostering since I was nine. I enjoy fostering and am proud to be helping all the children that have came to us for the past 4-5 years.

The good things about being a foster family are that you are helping the children that come to stay with us. I also love that I always bond with the children and have a good friendship with them. I enjoy having another child in the house as well. It is sometimes like having a brother or sister. It was also nice having a child to play with when I was younger because I am an only child. I really enjoy helping the children as well and knowing that I and we as a family have made a difference to a child’s life.

The bad thing about being a foster family is that even though we do help them a lot some children can be really hard to look after. Sometimes it’s hard to get them to understand what is right and wrong. Sometimes they don't listen when you are trying to help them.

Even though fostering can be difficult sometimes I always have a little soft spot for the children. I really enjoy fostering and am very proud that we have made a difference to children’s lives and I hope to change more. I will always want to be a foster family, but sometimes regret it when the children are hard work. I am really happy to be a part of Core Assets and in the end don't regret becoming a foster family one bit.”

By Amy Harcourt

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