Every Child Matters outcomes: What Do They Mean for Disabled Children and Young People?

To date, little attention has been paid to the appropriateness of the Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes framework to disabled children. This article reports findings from a research project which sought the views of disabled children and their parents about their desired outcomes. Twenty-nine children and 90 parents were interviewed. The findings indicate that ECM outcomes are appropriate to disabled children but can have different meanings. In addition, the need to recognise the importance of maintaining outcomes, as well as progress, is highlighted

Implementing the United Kingdom's ten-year teenage pregnancy strategy for England (1999-2010): how was this done and what did it achieve?

In 1999, the UK Labour Government launched a 10-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy for England to address the country's historically high rates and reduce social exclusion. The goal was to halve the under-18 conception rate. This study explores how the strategy was designed and implemented, and the features that contributed to its success. This study was informed by examination of the detailed documentation of the strategy, published throughout its 10-year implementation. The strategy involved a comprehensive programme of action across four themes: joined up action at national and local level; better prevention through improved sex and relationships education and access to effective contraception; a communications campaign to reach young people and parents; and coordinated support for young parents (The support programme for young parents was an important contribution to the strategy. In the short term by helping young parents prevent further unplanned pregnancies and, in the long term, by breaking intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and lowering the risk of teenage pregnancy.). It was implemented through national, regional and local structures with dedicated funding for the 10-year duration. The under-18 conception rate reduced steadily over the strategy's lifespan. The 2014 under-18 conception rate was 51% lower than the 1998 baseline and there have been significant reductions in areas of high deprivation. One leading social commentator described the strategy as 'The success story of our time' (Toynbee, The drop in teenage pregnancies is the success story of our time, 2013). As rates of teenage pregnancy are influenced by a web of inter-connected factors, the strategy was necessarily multi-faceted in its approach. As such, it is not possible to identify causative pathways or estimate the relative contributions of each constituent part. However, we conclude that six key features contributed to the success: creating an opportunity for action; developing an evidence based strategy; effective implementation; regularly reviewing progress; embedding the strategy in wider government programmes; and providing leadership throughout the programme. The learning remains relevant for the UK as England's teenage birth rate remains higher than in other Western European countries. It also provides important lessons for governments and policy makers in other countries seeking to reduce teenage pregnancy rates. BACKGROUND METHODS RESULTS CONCLUSION

Problematising parent–professional partnerships in education

The value of, and need for, parent–professional partnerships is an unchallenged mantra within policy relating to ‘special educational needs’. In spite of this, partnerships continue to be experienced as problematic by both parents and professionals. This paper brings together the different perspectives of two disability researchers: one a parent of a disabled child while the other was a teacher for 20 years of children with the label autism. The paper deconstructs the concept of partnership and then, drawing on the expertise of parents, suggests how enabling and empowering parent–professional relationships might be achieved

Problematising parent–professional partnerships in education

The value of, and need for, parent–professional partnerships is an unchallenged mantra within policy relating to ‘special educational needs’. In spite of this, partnerships continue to be experienced as problematic by both parents and professionals. This paper brings together the different perspectives of two disability researchers: one a parent of a disabled child while the other was a teacher for 20 years of children with the label autism. The paper deconstructs the concept of partnership and then, drawing on the expertise of parents, suggests how enabling and empowering parent–professional relationships might be achieved

Risk and teenage parenthood: an early sexual health intervention

Purpose - This paper outlines the development of a resource designed to support practitioners, who were not sexual health specialists, but who worked with young people who may be at risk of teenage pregnancy or parenthood. Its aim was to enable practitioners to carry out an assessment using a screening tool, and to use educational interventions designed to reduce risk-taking behaviour or refer to a sexual health specialist. We report a research project to examine the perceptions of practitioners who had used the resource. Design/methodology/approach – The resource was based on a local needs assessment and developed by a multi-agency working group. The research utilised an on-line questionnaire and telephone interviews with practitioners. Findings - Practitioners reported using the screening tool with young people with an average age of 13.1 years. They thought the educational interventions provided knowledge and helped with communication, self-awareness, reflection, confidence, attitudes and values clarification. Research limitations/implications - The project was based in one county in England. A sample of seventeen per cent of the practitioners responded to the questionnaire, and they might be those who had engaged most, or most positively, with the resource. Three practitioners undertook interviews. The views and behaviours of young people are yet to be evaluated. Originality/value - Within a climate of limited resources, the findings suggest that the project was providing an acceptable proportionate universalist, early sexual health intervention for young people

Key worker services for disabled children: what characteristics of services lead to better outcomes for children and families?

Background: Research has shown that families of disabled children who have a key worker benefit from this service and recent policy initiatives emphasize the importance of such services. However, research is lacking on which characteristics of key worker schemes for disabled children are related to better outcomes for families. Methods: A postal questionnaire was completed by 189 parents with disabled children who were receiving a service in seven key worker schemes in England and Wales. Path analysis was used to investigate associations between characteristics of the services and outcomes for families (satisfaction with the service, impact of key worker on quality of life, parent unmet need, child unmet need). Results: The four path models showed that key workers carrying out more aspects of the key worker role, appropriate amounts of contact with key workers, regular training, supervision and peer support for key workers, and having a dedicated service manager and a clear job description for key workers were associated with better outcomes for families. Characteristics of services had only a small impact on child unmet need, suggesting that other aspects of services were affecting child unmet need. Conclusions: Implications for policy and practice are discussed, including the need for regular training, supervision and peer support for key workers and negotiated time and resources for them to carry out the role. These influence the extent to which key workers carry out all aspects of the key worker's role and their amount of contact with families, which in turn impact on outcomes

Supporting the Participation of Disabled Children and Young People in Decision-making

Increasing children's and young people's participation in decisions, about their own care and about service development, is a policy priority. Although in general participation is increasing, disabled children are less likely to be involved than non-disabled children and it is unclear to what extent children with complex needs or communication impairments are being included in participation activities. This article presents research exploring factors to support good practice in participation and discusses policy and practice implications

Neuroscience and family policy:what becomes of the parent?

This article discusses the findings of a study tracing the incorporation of claims about infant brain development into English family policy as part of the longer term development of a ‘parent training’, early intervention agenda. The main focus is on the ways in which the deployment of neuroscientific discourse in family policy creates the basis for a new governmental oversight of parents. We argue that advocacy of ‘early intervention’, in particular that which deploys the authority of ‘the neuroscience’, places parents at the centre of the policy stage but simultaneously demotes and marginalises them. So we ask, what becomes of the parent when politically and culturally, the child is spoken of as infinitely and permanently neurologically vulnerable to parental influence? In particular, the policy focus on parental emotions and their impact on infant brain development indicates that this represents a biologisation of ‘therapeutic’ governance

Resilience and survival : black teenage mothers 'looked after' by the State tell their stories about their experience of care

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Nadia Mantonavi, and Hilary Thomas, 'Resilience and Survival: Black Teenage Mothers ‘Looked After’ by the State Tell their Stories About their Experience of Care', Children & Society, Vol. 29 (4): 299-309, July 2015, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12028. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.‘Looked after’ young people are among the most disadvantaged members of our society. While their disadvantaged status should not be ignored, poor outcomes are often emphasised at the expense of good ones. This paper reports a study that adopts the concept of resilience to understand the narratives of the participants’ experience of care and foster care. A total of 15 young mothers, aged 16-19 and mainly from black African backgrounds, were interviewed. Despite lacking a ‘secure base’, informants invested in a sense of moral identity and a source of self-directedness, which enabled them to move from victim of circumstances to individuals who overcome their circumstances.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio