Child care

Empty Promise?

Stephen Richard — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 20:59:24 +0000

Empty Promise?

Primary Author or Creator

Marion Macleod

Stephen Richard Sun, 09/12/2021 - 21:59

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Date Published

Thu, 08/05/2021 - 12:00

Category

Social welfare

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

The Promise is the key driver of the Scottish Government’s policy in relation to family support and out-of-home care for children. It is largely based on information drawn from the views and opinions of people who have experience of care – but research data and other empirical evidence has being given lesser prominence in creating policies.

This has led to an emphasis on responding to whichever issues arise from those expressing views rather than developing strategies based on the overall political, economic and social context in which problems arise.

The key role of public services in bringing about the extent of change needed should be strongly emphasised and the critical contribution that the social work profession can and does make should receive greater priority. In addition, the application of research knowledge and sustained commitment to workforce development are critical components of an effective approach.

Instead the strategy often feels like it is based on responding to subjective feelings with value-based language. That this work is disconnected from the work on a National Care Service makes little sense – a National Care Service could be pivotal in providing holistic and integrated support to children and their families.

More details

― Many of the actions the Scottish Government proposes through The Promise are somewhat peripheral in terms of achieving major systemic change. In contrast, some fundamental problems are barely, or only superficially, referenced.

― A childhood compromised by severe and sustained adversity, or by persistent disruption and unsettlement, is likely to reduce the chances of positive and optimistic life outcomes in adulthood.

― The separation of social work with children from support for adults adds another unnecessary layer of complexity and results in families receiving services in an inconsistent, fragmented and uncoordinated way.

― The changing pattern of out-of-home care also should be recognised. More and more children are being cared for within their extended families. Kinship carers should receive adequate financial assistance but should also have access to the information, advice and support that enables them to give the best possible care.

― The Promise may have worthy intentions but it offers few imaginative or sufficiently far-reaching ideas to achieve the fundamental realignment to which it aspires.

― A road map without a clear direction of travel, that underestimates the distance to be travelled and that overlooks obstacles to be overcome along the route is, unfortunately, likely to lead to the wrong destination.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Empty-Promise.pdf

Keywords

Child care

Children

Social work

National Care Service

Language English

Child Care or Caring About Children?

Stephen Richard — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 06:40:12 +0000

Child Care or Caring About Children?

Primary Author or Creator

Marion Macleod

Stephen Richard Mon, 09/06/2021 - 07:40

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Date Published

Sun, 09/05/2021 - 12:00

Category

Social welfare

Women

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

Few in politics and in government now dispute the central importance of getting support for children in their early years right if we want to create a wellbeing economy with healthy and productive citizens in the future. But, in reality, Scotland has a system of support for children in their early years which is a patchwork of initiatives, fixes, legacy services and omissions. What we do not have is a single, well thought- through integrated service. This is what Scotland’s children need. This report will highlight the problems in the system as it is and propose how they can be fixed and a comprehensive, integrated system introduced as part of a comprehensive, all-ages National Care Service.

More details

Get the policy context right

― Children’s right to a good start in life should be at the heart of policy with clear and specific entitlements reflecting the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

― Optimal child health and development should be the clear purpose of early years service provision – getting parents back to work is secondary

― Integrate governance and delivery of all early years provision from a single department or body at national level holding overall responsibility to holistic centres in all communities through local authorities

― Adapt the European social pedagogy degree for Scotland and incorporate its principles into work with young children and their families

― Upskill the entire early years workforce to degree-level qualification as there is a strong correlation between staff skill and children’s outcomes

― Emphasise secure attachment to primary care giver as central to everything the service does

― Introduce parenting and child development as a part of social education in all schools.

Ante-natal

― Invest in preconception health, education, counselling and care for all prospective parents

― Monitor family provision from first contact to make sure the home context is provided with the resources and support necessary to promote a child’s healthy development and learning

― Focus contact on relationship-building and trust not compliance and enforcement, with a single consistent point of contact throughout the early years

― Establish holistic and integrated family support centres in all communities, providing early education and care, child health advice and support, parent learning and opportunities for play and creativity

― Create residential support centres pre-birth for families with chaotic home lives, providing both stability, wellbeing support and training

― Focus on the rights of the child to a good and equitable early life experience and the role of parents as the primary protectors and safeguarders of these rights

― Ensure a generous parental leave option in both time and money

― Stress the importance of the father’s involvement and make that possible with equitable treatment.

Post-Natal

― Create an integrated system of financial social protection and high quality support services for parents and make sure this service means there are no essentials poor families cannot afford

― Services must be inclusive of all children with additional support needs of any kind

― Focus services on strengthening families so children are only taken into care as a last resort; investment in stabilising home life is more effective and sustainable

― Where taking a child into care is unavoidable minimise the disruption to that child, make the experience consistent and stable and work intensively to improve the home environment so the child can return quickly and successfully

Early Childhood

― All children and parents should have the right to early childhood education and care (ECEC), on up to a full-time basis, from the end of the period of parental leave entitlement, or earlier if family circumstances require this

― Both high quality family based care and group care should be provided; promoting attachment and resilience should be the foundation of any ECEC service and this in turn should provide the foundation for a new National Care Service

― Subsidise ECEC and make the cost to parents income related, with a maximum total cost for any family and free provision for those on the lowest incomes

― The public sector must be the primary provider and outsourcing must only happen where other providers can demonstrate the same quality and effectiveness (including future attainment, confidence, risk management, resilience, pro-social behaviour, cooperation and emotional health)

Kindergarden

― From age three, establish a kindergarten stage which emphasises play, creativity, exploration and social interaction, not formal attainment

― Children should remain in kindergarten until aged seven and commence formal education then; the school starting age should be changed to reflect this, in line with international evidence

Keywords

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Children

Child care

National Child Care Service

Language English

Renew: Six policies that can refresh the Scottish Government’s domestic agenda

Stephen Richard — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 09:26:21 +0000

Renew: Six policies that can refresh the Scottish Government’s domestic agenda

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Sat, 09/04/2021 - 10:26

Date Published

Fri, 05/26/2017 - 12:00

Category

Democracy

Scottish government

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

This paper proposes six policy ways to renew the Scottish Government’s domestic agenda through fresh and eye-catching policy transformation after 10 years in power at Holyrood.

More details

The Scottish Government has been in power for ten years. It has also just faced an election in which there were some clear signs of discontent about the risk of stagnation and a perceived lack of ambition.

All governments must renew themselves if they wish to remain relevant; the Scottish Government is no exception. It swept to power in a swell of optimism and has, until now, strengthened and consolidated its position by continuing to talk the language of hope and progress.

However, people may be beginning to question whether there has been sufficient progress to sustain their hope. The Scottish Government requires an eye-catching refreshed agenda to persuade them that their hope remains well placed. Common Weal has been publishing policy papers on domestic policy throughout this parliament and has built up a suite of well researched and popular proposals.

This short paper proposes six ‘collections’ of policies that the Scottish Government should embrace and pursue as a way to let Scotland know its ambition has not dimmed and its radicalism remains in place.

1: Create a Scottish National Investment Bank and use it to finance an era of green reindustrialisation.

2: Build the homes and infrastructure that people need and rebuild the town centres they deserve.

3: Create a world-class childcare system.

4: Take democracy seriously and give more power to citizens.

5: Send out the right signals.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Renew-Six-policies-that-can-…

Keywords

Scottish National Investment Bank

Language English

An Equal Start: A plan for equality in early learning and care in Scotland

Stephen Richard — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 08:23:47 +0000

An Equal Start: A plan for equality in early learning and care in Scotland

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Tue, 08/17/2021 - 09:23

Additional Author(s) / Creators

John Davis, Rona MacNicol Lynn McNair, Jamie Mann Melissa O’Neill, Ben Wray

Alternative Published Date

January 2016

Category

Education

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

his report is a plan for delivering this change through a National Childcare Service in public provision, as a replacement for the fragmented, haphazard and unequal nature of the childcare sector at present. The report provides a comprehensive, costed strategy for achieving this transformation.

More details

The target to double childcare provision will require radical changes to the infrastructure to deliver that care. Current architecture cannot be easily or simply scaled up. Current plans would place the burden of funding the changes on Local Authorities without giving them additional resources to cover it. A National Childcare Service could be established by 2020 to deliver these services. The buy-out and nationalisation of private childcare services would be optional though services that refuse would have to demonstrate that they meet or exceed the standards of care offered by the national service to qualify for state funding. In societies that have high levels of equality, fairness and prosperity, early years learning and care is treated with the same seriousness as school education. Setting our ambitions any lower than this would be a dereliction of our responsibilities to future generations of Scots.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/An-Equal-Start-Full.pdf

Keywords

Child care

Early years education

National Child Care Service

Language English