Improving Educational Outcomes for Children Looked after at Home : Use of 'Improvement Methodology'

CELCIS has been working with a number of local authorities throughout Scotland using 'Improvement Methodology' to improve educational outcomes for looked after children. Improvement Methodology works on the principle of applying and studying small changes which can be tweaked until improvements can be measured. A 'test of change' is carried out by implementing Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycles. Here we introduce the use of the methodology in this context, and share the experiences of City of Edinburgh Council, which was the first local authority to take part in this work

Improving Educational Outcomes for Children Looked after at Home : The Perspectives of Designated Managers for Looked after Children

The educational attainment of looked after children in Scotland remains low compared with children who are not looked after, especially for children who are looked after at home. This briefing describes an action research programme led by CELCIS, exploring how the barriers to looked after children’s learning can be overcome. Designated Managers for looked after children (DMs), pastoral staff and education officers in four local authorities were asked to describe the learning journey of the looked after children within their schools. Staff from early-years’ centres, primary schools and secondary schools were consulted. The consultation was intended to inform current work by CELCIS using improvement methodology to test practice aimed at achieving positive educational outcomes for looked after children

Recognition of Prior Learning and Looked After Young People : a Follow-Up Study [Research Briefing]

Following on from a pilot and research evaluation in 2012, use of the SCQF’s ‘My Skills My Future’ (MSMF) toolkit was rolled out in East Renfrewshire in 2014. Training was provided by CELCIS, and feedback for the process was provided by the senior educational psychologist responsible for initiating the roll-out. The toolkit was used with any young people regarded as ‘vulnerable’, whereas the earlier pilot had focused solely on looked after children. The 30 professionals who received training were drawn from different agencies, including social work, education and third sector organisations. Feedback was largely positive, with many professionals reporting that they valued the toolkit; however, timing was said to be crucial, and summer term was not an ideal time for work to take place in schools. Use of the toolkit is continuing to be promoted and monitored by the local authority

Recognition of Prior Learning and Looked-after young people : Final Report

This report describes the findings from a study designed to test out an application of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for young people from a looked-after background. The potential advantages of RPL profiling could have positive effects on the educational outcomes of the looked-after child. Many looked-after children leave school with few or no formal qualifications, but these same young people often have full and varied life experiences. These experiences may have led to a set of wider achievements that could be recognised by the RPL process. The study was commissioned by Education Scotland, and included a pilot project and a research evaluation. The work was carried out by the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) between January and June 2012, with additional expertise and training provided by the Learning Enhancement and Academic Development (LEAD) team at Glasgow Caledonian University

Recognition of Prior Learning and Looked After Young People : Briefing RB-2012-02

This research briefing describes the findings from a research pilot designed to test out an application of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for young people from a looked-after background. RPL is a profiling process, which may be used to benchmark skills developed in informal settings against academic qualifications. Professionals from a variety of backgrounds within children's services undertook multi-agency RPL advisor training. They learned to benchmark experiences and skills gained in the wider community with the equivalent SCQF level and Curriculum for Excellence 'experiences and outcomes', and went on to carry out profiling with young people. Eight advisors and eight young people completed the research evaluation

Children looked after away from home aged five and under in Scotland: experiences, pathways and outcomes. Insights for policymakers and practitioners

Statistics from 2018 (Scottish Government 2019) show that 14,738 children were looked after in Scotland (at 31st July 2018). Many children who become looked after away from home will return to their parents, but for some the decision is taken to permanently place them with kinship carers, long-term foster carers or adoptive parents. Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland is the first study in Scotland to investigate decision making, permanence, progress, outcomes and belonging for all children who became ‘looked after’ in 2012-2013 when they were aged five and under (n=1,836). Of those 1,836 children, 1,355 were looked after away from home, and 481 were looked after at home. The study included analysis of data from questionnaires completed by social workers, carers or adoptive parents, interviews and focus groups with decision-makers, interviews with carers and adoptive parents, and ‘play and talk’ sessions with children. This briefing paper summarises key findings on the histories, progress and outcomes for a sample of the 1,355 children three to four years after they became looked after away from home. It draws on three sources of information: social worker survey data for 433 children, caregiver survey data for 166 children, and the Children Looked After Statistics (CLAS). It investigates the association between patterns of maltreatment, placement status, and children’s subsequent wellbeing, offering insights for policymakers and practitioners. Key findings The children in this sample experienced significant levels of maltreatment before becoming looked after away from home. There is no evidence to demonstrate that the threshold to accommodate children aged five and under is low. Alcohol and substance misuse, mental health difficulties and domestic violence frequently contributed to compromised parenting capacity. This was often within a context of multiple family difficulties. Neglect was a significant feature of the childhood experiences of parents of children on an adoption pathway. Key predictors of children’s later permanence status included disability, experience of maltreatment, the age at which they became looked after, and the childhood experiences of their parents. Three to four years after becoming looked after away from home, children were reported to have rates of emotional and behavioural difficulties two to three times greater than their peers. Children who were accommodated and placed with carers and adoptive parents earlier, and who remained there, were generally doing better at school and had more friends. Levels of support for children in kinship care, foster care, and with adoptive parents varied, with kinship carers and the children in their care receiving less support

Improvement methodology : how can it be used to improve educational outcomes?

Improving Learning Outcomes: government statistics indicate that being looked after has a negative impact on school attendance, exclusions, attainment and positive destinations; looked after children face many barriers to learning; support within school is coordinated by the Designated Manager

Providers\u27 response to child eating behaviors: A direct observation study

Child care providers play an important role in feeding young children, yet little is known about children’s influence on providers’ feeding practices. This qualitative study examines provider and child (18 months −4 years) feeding interactions. Trained data collectors observed 200 eating occasions in 48 family child care homes and recorded providers’ responses to children’s meal and snack time behaviors. Child behaviors initiating provider feeding practices were identified and practices were coded according to higher order constructs identified in a recent feeding practices content map. Analysis examined the most common feeding practices providers used to respond to each child behavior. Providers were predominately female (100%), African-American (75%), and obese (77%) and a third of children were overweight/obese (33%). Commonly observed child behaviors were: verbal and non-verbal refusals, verbal and non-verbal acceptance, being “all done”, attempts for praise/attention, and asking for seconds. Children’s acceptance of food elicited more autonomy supportive practices vs. coercive controlling. Requests for seconds was the most common behavior, resulting in coercive controlling practices (e.g., insisting child eat certain food or clean plate). Future interventions should train providers on responding to children’s behaviors and helping children become more aware of internal satiety and hunger cues

Providers’ response to child eating behaviors: A direct observation study

Child care providers play an important role in feeding young children, yet little is known about children’s influence on providers’ feeding practices. This qualitative study examines provider and child (18 months -4 years) feeding interactions. Trained data collectors observed 200 eating occasions in 48 family childcare homes and recorded providers’ responses to children’s meal and snack time behaviors. Child behaviors initiating provider feeding practices were identified and practices were coded according to higher order constructs identified in a recent feeding practices content map. Analysis examined the most common feeding practices providers used to respond to each child behavior. Providers were predominately female (100%), African-American (75%), and obese (77%) and a third of children were overweight/obese (33%). Commonly observed child behaviors were: verbal and non-verbal refusals, verbal and non-verbal acceptance, being “all done”, attempts for praise/attention, and asking for seconds. Children’s acceptance of food elicited more autonomy supportive practices vs. coercive controlling. Requests for seconds was the most common behavior, resulting in coercive controlling practices (e.g., insisting child eat certain food or clean plate). Future interventions should train providers on responding to children’s behaviors and helping children become more aware of internal satiety and hunger cues

Children looked after away from home aged five and under in Scotland: experiences, pathways and outcomes

Introduction: This report has been completed as one part of the Permanently Progressing? study. The study is the first in Scotland to investigate decision making, permanence, progress, outcomes, and belonging for children who became ‘looked after’ at home or were placed away from their birth parents (with kinship carers, foster carers or prospective adopters) when they were aged five and under. Phase One ran from 2014-18 and was designed to be the first phase in a longitudinal study following a large cohort of young children in to adolescence and beyond. The research was funded by a legacy, and Phase One was undertaken by a team from the universities of Stirling, York, and Lancaster, in conjunction with the Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland. It is anticipated that Phase Two will commence in 2020. A core focus of the overall study is the concept and experience of permanence, and within Scotland there are different routes to permanence for children3 , including remaining with or being reunified to birth parents. The aim of this particular strand was to investigate the experiences, pathways, and outcomes4 of children who became looked after away from home, together with the factors associated with achieving permanence. In this context, the concept of permanence refers to physical stability (a child remaining with a committed, long-term caregiver), legal permanence (a caregiver having legal responsibility for a child), and an emotional attachment between a child and the caregiver, which together may give children a sense of emotional or ‘felt’ security, continuity and belonging. This report presents important new findings on the characteristics, histories, decision making, and outcomes for 433 children who became looked after away from home during 2012-13, and remained (or were again) looked after away from home one year later