Whether we’re talking about improving educational attainment in school, focusing on wellbeing, or securing permanence for looked after children, at CELCIS we know that helping children and young people to establish, develop and sustain healthy, positive relationships is really important. Nurturing, stable relationships for children and young people is at the heart of our work to improve their journey through care, and ultimately this will give them the best chance of a better and brighter future. Because this is key to looked after children’s health and wellbeing, relationship-based practice is woven through all aspects of our work.
And it’s certainly the case in our throughcare and aftercare work. For instance, our contribution to the development of the Staying Put Scotland Guidance (Scot Govt. 2013) emphasised the need to nurture and sustain positive relationships, particularly when young people are moving from care to independence. It’s really encouraging to see the government guidance acknowledge and promote this.
I’m currently researching how the Staying Put policy is used within residential care. I’m looking at this across a number of local authorities, and one of the initial findings is the emphasis and importance placed on relationships as a key foundation to Staying Put.
That’s why we were really proud to support Iriss and be part of the ‘Relationships Matter’ JAM in January 2015. Since then we’ve been working with a number of key organisations at local and national level. Every presentation we’ve delivered at learning and development sessions with frontline practitioners, strategy and planning meetings with senior officers, or national events and conferences, we’ve highlighted and discussed the importance of relationship-based practice. We’ve heard and shared inspirational stories where workers (and young people) are ‘reclaiming’ the power of relationships as the life-changing factor for young people, hopefully inspiring, empowering and encouraging others.
It’s often said that what goes around comes around, and if you wait long enough things come back into ‘fashion’. Well, it’s perhaps wrong to suggest that relationship-based practice has been ‘out of fashion’ but a culture of risk-averse practice and managerialism make it a little more difficult to own and promote it. Sadly, the losers in that situation are some of our most vulnerable young people.
What I find really encouraging though is that thanks to this website and other channels, we’re now having regular conversations about how we put relationships back into the heart of practice. That can only be good news for our looked after young people and care leavers.
To find out more about our work visit us at: http://www.celcis.org
Kenny McGhee, Throughcare & Aftercare Lead, CELCIS