This presentation outlines the current position in England in respect of children's residential provision, takes a close look at leadership and resource issues as they relate to the quality of outcomes for young people and considers the prevailing issues in respect of the quality of car

Hicks, Leslie

University of Lincoln Institutional Repository

1Factors influencing the quality of residential child careLeslie HicksUniversity of Lincoln, UKlhicks@lincoln.ac.uk1Presentation outline Quality issues in England Research overview: Leadership, resource use and outcomes in residential child care (some slides are background only) Key messages Prevailing issues for quality of residential child care2Residential child care:  changing contextSize PurposeOrganisationStandardsInspection3Residential provision in England c6,000 live in residential homes (boys: 64%, girls: 36%) Most are over 12 years old (average age of residents: 14.6) Duration of placements is similar to foster placements, although fewer last longer than a year – 19% compared with 33% More than a quarter have at least  five previous placements More likely to be living away from local communities (than foster care) 63% placed in private or voluntary provision High levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties  Lower attainment levels in Key Stage examinations than other childrenSource: DfE (2014) 4Chief driver of reform: ‘attainment’5From government: How the new regulatory framework will make a difference‘An opportunity to move away from prescription and towards supporting professional judgement by:• setting out in regulation the outcomes that children must be supported to achieve while living in children’s homes;• replacing the current National Minimum Standards with a Guide to the regulations that will explain and supplement the requirements stated in the regulations; and • streamlining and modernising the current regulations on management and administrative processes to allow managers and staff in homes to focus on providing quality care for children.’2Research overview• Leadership, resource use and outcomes in residential child care• Research team: Leslie Hicks, Ian Gibbs, Sarah Byford, Helen Weatherly• Part of the government funded research initiative ‘Costs and effectiveness of services for children in need’7In the ‘Leadership’ study we aimed to: Describe and measure the practice of managers, use of resources, and costs Assess the impact of these on: morale and unity of staff group; quality of the residential environment; changes in the young people over one year Assess the applicability of findings to practice and to the experience of staff and managers8Ways of thinking about quality of care in children’s homes Structure – stable characteristics of providers of care, resources available, physical and organisational settings Process – activities that take place between those who provide care and those who receive it Outcomes – aspects of well-being (social, psychological and physical) that can be linked to care provided9Data collection and analysis Quantitative – use of 14 questionnaires at two points in time Qualitative – interviews with managers of homes and with staff groups Economics – costs data from each home and organisation Multi-level modelling (MLM), nesting each level of analysis10Diversity: care hours (per young person per week)11Range Mean Median SDCare hours 1Total staff hours to young people37 - 254 83.4 71.5 52.2Care hours 2Total staff hours to registered beds37 - 221 65.3 57.2 34.5Economic analysis: summary Higher costs significantly associated with location (South) and high staff:resident ratio Better outcomes associated with longer lengths of stay, for those who reported lower ‘pressure to temptation’ prior to entry to the home Total costs per resident per week were not found to be related to young people’s wellbeing Costs and outcomes of homes were similar across sectors123What do effective managers of children’s homes do?• Much more than (but including) the administration of a bureaucratic system• Create, maintain, develop and influence their staff teams – coherence• Share roles and responsibilities –empowerment balanced with responsibility and authority• Establish a collaborative culture which they lead and develop• Enable goal-oriented practice• Work across the boundary of the home, with wider networks, including parents and carers13Effective managers and their organisations• Establish credibility• Maintain autonomy• Identify and access sufficient support• Identify and access sufficient supervision• Be involved in wider strategic management• Identify and access external development                                                 opportunitiesFeel valued and respected within the parent organisation14Effective managers’ ways of working with young people• Positive approaches• Consistency across the group while focusing on individual needs• Knowing and understanding young people’s needs and characteristics• Building relationships –• internally and externally15Drawing together the different levels of analysis (MLM)Where managers had clear well-worked out strategies for behaviour and educationyoung people were: less likely to be excluded from school, or convicted or cautioned while in the home; expressed more favourable views about the social climate of the home; were happier on some measures; were seen as functioning better by their social workers.  staff: had higher morale; felt that they received clearer and better guidance; felt that the young people behaved better.  16Major differences in ways homes function; outcomes not determined by numbers of staff, or by costs of homesWhat matters? Managers are accepted as embodying good practice from within a clear ethosManagers have positive strategies for young people’s behaviour and education and can enable staff to reflect/deploy theseMain message? The influence of process on outcomes is paramount17Main findingsPrevailing issues for quality of residential child care in England• Managers: selection and appointment; support and supervision; capacity building; monitoring and endorsing practice• Staff: status, experience and qualification; risk; ratios; prior experience • Young people: care in groups; placement duration; risk and procedural requirements; strategies and support for practice; relationship of residential care to what comes next• Training: home and group oriented; learningsshared within homes; links between care standards, inspections, and providing care? 184Last words....... From a member of staff ....Leadership [here] is inspiring to fellow workers to striveto achieve best outcomes for young people. Leadershipis firm but fair, anti-discriminatory, empowering andopen. Some staff however do not like to be managedand cannot live up to the expectations the managerrequires. This can lead to friction within the staff team.Regular supervision and staff meetings take place.Manager [is] very good at delegating tasks and givingworkers 'ownership' of their own duties.19BibliographyBeecham, J. and Sinclair, I. (2006) Costs and Outcomes in Children’s Social Care, Messages from Research, London: Jessica KingsleyDepartment for Education (2014) Children’s Homes Datapack, London: DfEHicks, L., Gibbs, I., Weatherly, H. and Byford, S. (2007) Managing Children’s Homes: Developing effective leadership in small organisations,London: Jessica KingsleyHicks, L., Gibbs, I., Weatherly, H. and Byford, S. (2009) ‘Management, Leadership and Resources in Children's Homes: What Influences Outcomes in Residential Child-Care Settings?’, British Journal of Social Work 39 (5): 828-845 Hicks, L. (2008) ‘The role of manager in children's homes: the process of managing and leading a well-functioning staff team’, Child and Family Social Work, Volume 13 (3): 241-251Wallace, M. and Huckman, L. (1996) ‘Senior management teams in large primary schools: a headteacher’s solution to the complexities of post-reform management?’ School Organisation 16, 3, 309–32320Themes to considerWhat do you think of as ‘good leadership’ (GL) in children’s homes? What difference does GL make to staff teams (e.g. recruitment, retention, morale)?What difference does GL make to the quality of practice and outcomes for young people?What helps those working in children’s homes to become good leaders?21

Factors influencing the quality of residential child care

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