Description
Book SynopsisThe perfect guide for new workers entering residential childcare. Adopting a case study approach, this book contains a collection of stories of good practice told from the point of view of the residential care worker that help to demonstrate how they deal with dilemmas and make effective decisions in the moment.
Workers in residential childcare have to quickly understand the complexity of how young people's early neglect, abuse and relational trauma impact their lives. There are also conflicts and relationship challenges in abundance. This collection of stories illustrates good practice told from the point of view of the residential care worker and demonstrates their thinking in action around ethical dilemmas, different courses of action taken and why they made these decisions. This book also talks about how effective communication with other adults in the team can de-escalate risk and how to carry out dynamic risk assessments.
The users can apply their knowledge obtained from this book through the use of reflective questions which offers relevant neutral material where workers can take a step back from the emotive situations they are currently working in and reflect on the hypothetical. It is also intended that the scenarios in this book can be used as a springboard for further learning or as scenarios in an interview.
Trade Review"Supervisors and practice teachers have long struggled to support workers and students to bring appropriate theory to residential child care, and often revert to what they know from casework oriented approaches. This small book confirms what I have always believed to be at the root of this difficulty, and that it that there is just too much going on in the life-spaces where adults and children come together in the course of everyday living to be able to package it in the nice clean ways that students, workers and managers would like to think we should be able to... The book should be a boon to practice educators and supervisors supporting students and workers as they embark on what Abbi Jackson recognises as the ‘unique privilege’ of life-space work."
-- Mark Smith * Professor of Social Work, University of Dundee *
"This unique book provides in depth perspectives on the complex task of effectively caring for children living in residential care. It is written in a heartfelt way and is immensely useful for all staff working in such settings or those considering or supporting these roles. The overarching emphasis is on placing children, and the trauma they have experienced, at the very centre of the task of the residential child care worker. It does this by the skilful use of fictional case vignettes, “Today’s Events” and reflective tasks for workers and staff teams to undertake. Personal challenges for staff are acknowledged including how sometimes this complex work can test our ability to remain the ‘adult in the room’. In doing this it provides the possibility to work in not just a trauma informed way but in a trauma responsive way."
-- Dr Janet Melville-Wiseman * Principal Lecturer in Social Work & Member of the Association of Care Experienced Social Care Workers (ACESCW) *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Communicating micro skills – self-reflection
Mark
Zanita
Millie
Stewart
Peter
Bohemia
Josh
Sorrell
Hakim
Poppy
A Thing called Love
The Earned Wisdom of Children
End Notes
Residential Childcare Theory
Interventions
