Young people, crime and school exclusion: a case of some surprises

During the 1990s the number of young people being permanently excluded from schools in England and Wales increased dramatically from 2,910 (1990/91) to a peak of 12,700 (1996/97). Coinciding with this rise was a resurgence of the debate centring on lawless and delinquent youth. With the publication of Young People and Crime (Graham and Bowling 1995) and Misspent Youth (Audit Commission 1996) the 'common sense assumption' that exclusion from school inexorably promoted crime received wide support, with the school excludee portrayed as another latter day 'folk devil'. This article explores the link between school exclusion and juvenile crime, and offers some key findings from a research study undertaken with 56 young people who had experience of being excluded from school. Self-report interview questions reveal that whilst 40 of the young people had offended, 90% (36) reported that the onset of their offending commenced prior to their first exclusion. Moreover, 50 (89.2% of the total number of young people in the sample), stated that they were no more likely to offend subsequent to being excluded and 31 (55.4%) stated that they were less likely to offend during their exclusion period. Often, this was because on being excluded, they were 'grounded' by their parents

Social Pedagogy: Developing and Maintaining Multi-Disciplinary Relationships in Residential Child Care

The task of building and maintaining effective multi-disciplinary relationships is a constant challenge for the residential child care sector in Scotland. The absence of effective multi-disciplinary collaboration has been cited regularly as a contributing factor to instances of poor and problematic practice. Social pedagogy has much to offer in terms of enabling the residential child care sector to address some of these issues and assist with the task of establishing effective multi-disciplinary relationships. This article will explore how this can be achieved in practice, drawing on research based on multi-disciplinary social pedagogy training delivered in Scotland. The evidence demonstrates that social pedagogy can begin to break down the very real barriers that often prevent residential child care practitioners from developing and maintaining multi-disciplinary relationships. It can assist with the task of developing a shared language and understanding; the creation of a clear focus on the developmental needs of children and young people; and a more nuanced approach to dealing with issues of risk. The messages from this article will hold relevance for the professions of residential child care, health and education and be applicable to practitioners throughout Europe and beyond

The health of children looked after by local authorities

There are some 40000 children ‘in care’ in England and Wales, i.e. being ‘looked after’ by local authorities and living in foster and residential homes. These children come from highly disadvantaged social backgrounds and are likely to experience more serious health problems than the wider population. Despite this, there is evidence to suggest that their health needs are frequently neglected. This is reflected in the dearth of research information. Health professionals play a key role in combating child abuse and are particularly concerned about future mental health, self-injury and high levels of pregnancy in this group of children. Health promotion is therefore vital, but is complicated by the fact that this group of children often do not attend school. The Department of Health has introduced a major initiative which has a strong health dimension to help promote better care planning and monitoring for children who have been separated from their parents. </jats:p