Dr Sharon Vincent

Objectives and methods Anecdotal evidence suggests a high prevalence of hoarding behaviours among care-experienced children (those in foster, residential, adoptive, or kinship care). This systematic review, aimed to examine the prevalence of hoarding among care-experienced children, their lived experience, and the effectiveness of any hoarding interventions for this population. Primary research articles were included on hoarding behaviours in care-experienced children, published in English in indexed journals from ever to September 2024. Results Three eligible uncontrolled, observational studies, including 374 children and 23 carers, were identified. While hoarding was not clearly defined, there were high levels of hoarding behaviours specific to storing food (26%), associated with confirmed maltreatment in care (Odds Ratio = 17.4). Empirical lived experience perspectives were few and polarised between views that food hoarding was punishment towards caregivers or a trauma-survival mechanism. We identified no interventions involving assessment or management of hoarding behaviours in this population. Conclusions There is a paucity of evidence about hoarding behaviours among care-experienced children and a small amount of poor-quality evidence suggesting a high prevalence of food-related hoarding. In contrast, stakeholder consultation suggests hoarding may be common, long-lasting, and involve not just food but many other objects. Further research is required to understand the extent and type of hoarding behaviours, and effective interventions. Care-experienced children experience health, educational, and well-being outcomes across the life course, which are much poorer than their non-care peers, and this research offers a new avenue of enquiry to understand and improve their experiences and lives.

Abstract

This paper adds to the limited evidence base around documentary representation of the wishes, feelings and views of children and young people involved in the child protection system. It presents the findings of a critical discourse analysis of 114 documents relating to 28 children and young people in the North of England who were the subject of a child protection conference (CPC) due to having experienced significant harm or the high likelihood of significant harm occurring. Three dominant and interlayering discourses were identified: a discourse of childhood, a discourse of participation and a discourse of professional social work practice. While some children and young people came to life in the reports and were afforded a unique identity, others were invisible and their views were marginalized. The findings support a dominant discourse of the unseen and unheard child, with participation normally mediated by power relationships between adults and children, and which marginalizes the experiences of children through a structurally constructed lens of risk and vulnerability. The findings signify the need to establish assessment practices and case reporting systems in which children are heard themselves as well as reported on by others.

This paper describes the findings and implications of interdisciplinary exploratory research conducted by social work and recordkeeping informatics researchers in Australia and the UK. It sought to identify the practices, systems, education and technologies that can foster rights-based, child-centred recordkeeping practices in child protection contexts, exploring the transformation and advocacy work that could be achieved in child protection case note recording and recordkeeping practices and systems through interdisciplinary collaborations. Drawing from qualitative interviews, focus groups and surveys with Social Work students, Social Work educators and practice educators, and with practitioners working in children’s social care (in England) and the child protection services system (in Australia), we identify how practitioners are prepared for keeping records that reflect children’s voices and experiences, and identify emerging best practices and persistent challenges. Focusing on the intersection of child rights, archival ethics, and participatory approaches, this paper adds to the discourse on critical archival studies concerning children and calls for an interdisciplinary approach to reimagine future possibilities for participatory and child-centred practice in which children are not just passive subjects but active collaborators in the recordkeeping process.

Introduction Child maltreatment affects a substantial number of children. However current evidence relies on either longitudinal studies, which are complex and resource-intensive, or linked data studies based on social services data, which is arguably the tip of the iceberg in terms of children who are maltreated. Reliable, linked, population-level data on children referred to services due to suspected abuse or neglect will increase our ability to examine risk factors for, and outcomes following, abuse and neglect. Objective The objective of this project was to create a linkable population level dataset, The Edinburgh Child Protection Dataset (ECPD), comprising all children referred to the Edinburgh Child Protection Paediatric healthcare team due to a concern about their welfare between 1995 and 2015. Methods The paper presents the process for creating the dataset. The analyses provide examples of available data from the main referrals dataset between 1995 and 2011 (where data quality was highest). Results 19,969 referrals were captured, relating to 11,653 children. Of the 19,969 referrals, a higher proportion were girls (54%), although boys were referred for physical abuse more often than girls (41% versus 30%). Younger children were more likely to be referred for physical abuse (35% of 0-4 year olds vs. 27% 15+): older children were more likely to be referred for sexual abuse (48% of 15+ years vs. 18% of 0-4 years). Most referrals came from social workers (46%) or police (31%). Conclusions The ECPD offers a unique insight into the characteristics of referrals to child protection paediatric services over a key period in the history of child protection in Scotland. It is hoped that by making these data available to researchers, and able to be easily linked with both mother and child current and future health records, evidence will be created to better support maltreated children and monitor changes over time.

This chapter begins by highlighting the rise of vulnerability as a term in social policy, and the three-level approach that is used to examine it. The first level is definitional, examining the possibility of defining vulnerability and vulnerabilities through a consideration of relevant literature and a number of recent policy documents. The second looks at how policy developments in Scotland and England have diverged, particularly since 2010, and how vulnerability has become more central to education policy in England. The third level focuses on practice, presenting research undertaken by the authors into a programme developed to support vulnerable children, young people, and families in Northern England as a case study exemplifying some of the factors affecting the effectiveness of programmes in which schools played an important but not central part. This practice perspective is still too often overlooked in discussions of policy and definition, and it is suggested that its inclusion will contribute to the ongoing debate about both how best to support vulnerable families and the implications for education and social justice.

Abstract

This paper presents the findings from an analysis of 56 significant case reviews (SCRs) in Scotland. In contrast to England and Wales where national analyses have been undertaken for many years, until this study was undertaken, the findings from SCRs had not previously been collated nationally. The paper discusses child, parent, environmental and agency factors that were identified in the SCRs and, whilst noting that the pathways to death or harm will be unique in individual cases, tries to further our understanding of the ways in which these different factors may interact to result in death or harm. A significant finding was the high number of SCRs that relate to the care and protection of children living in families whose lives are dominated by drug use and the associated issues this brings, including criminality and neighbourhood problems. Another challenging finding was the lack of suitable resources for the placement and support of troubled teenagers. Finally, a number of SCRs involved long‐term neglect and/or sexual abuse of school or nursery age children who had been known to statutory services for many years.

This paper adds to the limited evidence base around documentary representation of the wishes, feelings and views of children and young people involved in the child protection system. It presents the findings of a critical discourse analysis of 114 documents relating to 28 children and young people in the North of England who were the subject of a child protection conference (CPC) due to having experienced significant harm or the high likelihood of significant harm occurring. Three dominant and interlayering discourses were identified: a discourse of childhood, a discourse of participation and a discourse of professional social work practice. While some children and young people came to life in the reports and were afforded a unique identity, others were invisible and their views were marginalized. The findings support a dominant discourse of the unseen and unheard child, with participation normally mediated by power relationships between adults and children, and which marginalizes the experiences of children through a structurally constructed lens of risk and vulnerability. The findings signify the need to establish assessment practices and case reporting systems in which children are heard themselves as well as reported on by others.

Abstract

In 2001 a young child, who was known to child protection agencies, was murdered by her stepfather. Following a recommendation of an inquiry into her death, a ministerial multidisciplinary review of child protection across Scotland was carried out. The review aimed to promote the reduction of abuse or neglect of children and to improve the services for children who experience abuse or neglect. It was carried out by a multidisciplinary team and the report made 16 recommendations. The review was informed by a series of sub‐projects. This paper describes one sub‐project that aimed to collect the views of children and young people who might have been abused but might not have had contact with child protection agencies. The study was carried out in conjunction with ChildLine Scotland. Call data for one year were made available for quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis was carried out on the counsellors' notes on all calls relating to abuse and neglect taken during a 2‐week period. Children described significant levels of abuse and neglect. Many had told no‐one of the abuse and in particular had not contacted child protection agencies. The paper considers the implications of the findings for the child protection system. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

In common with the rest of the UK, child care and protection practice in Scotland has undergone unprecedented change over the last ten years, including a wide‐ranging three‐year Child Protection Reform Programme. In 2006, The University of Dundee's Centre for Child Care and Protection and Barnardo's Scotland Research and Development team were commissioned by the then Scottish Executive to undertake a process review of the Child Protection Reform Programme (Daniel et al., 2007). Drawing on findings from the process review, this article considers the impact of the Child Protection Reform Programme. The process review concluded that, in the view of the respondents, the Child Protection Reform Programme made a substantive contribution towards the improvement and delivery of child protection services in Scotland, particularly in terms of raising awareness and increased multi‐agency working. It was beyond the scope of the review to measure outcomes for children as a result of the reforms. Since the completion of the Child Protection Reform Programme, national policy emphasis has broadened from ‘child protection’ towards integrated support for children under the Getting it Right for Every Child reforms of children's services. The paper concludes with a discussion around where ‘child protection’ now fits within this context of universal support for children and argues that there is a need to ensure that the valuable work which was done to improve child protection services in Scotland under the Child Protection Reform Programme is not lost. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction: While child nursing students may expect to encounter child abuse and neglect and assume a safeguarding role when they qualify, those undertaking adult nursing courses may not expect to come into contact with children and may be even less likely to expect to encounter child abuse or neglect. This paper presents the findings of an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study. Students learn through experience and reflection and Mezirow's Transformational Learning Theory (TLT) was used to explain the various ways in which nine adult nursing students attempted to make sense of and learn from their experiences of encountering perceived child abuse and neglect during their community placement. Study aim: The study aimed to examine the learning journeys of undergraduate adult nursing students who encountered perceived child abuse and neglect during their community placement. Design: The research was located within an interpretative philosophical paradigm. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) provided an in-depth insight into participants' individual lived experiences. Setting and participants: The fieldwork was undertaken at a Higher Education Institution in the North East of England. Participants were in the first year of an undergraduate nursing programme. Method: Data were collected using semi-structured face-to-face interviews and analysed using IPA. Findings: The nine participants underwent a process of transformational learning after encountering perceived child abuse and neglect. They found the initial experience disorientating because it challenged their pre-conceived ideas about families and communities. They experienced a range of negative emotional responses, including anger and some expressed judgmental views towards parents. However, their frames of reference changed as they began to critically reflect on and process their experiences and they were able to recognize, albeit to varying degrees, that they had enhanced their knowledge and learnt from the experience. Their understanding of the role of the adult nurse changed and they recognised they had an important role to play alongside other professionals in safeguarding children. Conclusions: The findings highlight there is a need for HEIs to ensure students on adult nursing programmes understand they have a role to play in protecting children; they also highlight a need for more effective preparation and support.

Public inquiries have become a standard governmental response to managing matters of public interest and concern, including child abuse, in a number of countries, but questions have been raised over whether they are worth the time, money and resources. This paper examines experts' perceptions of the aims and outcomes of public inquiries, before moving on to consider whether there are more effective and efficient ways of investigating national scandals. Based on findings from a thematic analysis of the proceedings of a four-day expert summit, and semi-structured interviews with 16 participants who have been involved in child abuse inquiries in the UK and elsewhere, it concludes that public inquiries are not fulfilling all of their competing objectives. While a limited number of inquiries into the care and protection of children have had a positive impact on policy or practice, or successfully raised public awareness overall, there is little evidence of effectiveness. There is a need to: rethink the purpose, scope, methodology and impact of such inquiries to ensure that they are more effective and cost-efficient; place children, victims and survivors at the centre; and use a wider range of professional expertise and skills.

This paper presents findings of a pedagogical strategy for enhancing social work students’ knowledge and practice of ‘personal reflexivity’. Twenty-five MA students in England were presented ideas about ‘reflective practice’, ‘critical reflection’ and ‘reflexivity’ and encouraged to examine different interpretations including Archer’s theory of reflexivity as ‘internal conversation’. Archer’s Internal Conversation Indicator (ICONI) was used to determine students’ dominant reflexive ‘mode’. On programme entry, two students (8%) practised a communicative-reflexive mode, nine (36%) were autonomous-reflexives, six (24%) meta-reflexives and four (16%) fractured-reflexives. Four (16%) were unclassified. Sixteen students (64%) completed ICONI on two further administrations. Seven (44%) registered unchanged reflexive modes, whereas nine (56%) changed. Three (33%) unclassified changed to meta-reflexive, one (11%) from autonomous-reflexive to meta-reflexive and one (11%) from fractured-reflexive to meta-reflexive. Two (22%) meta-reflexives changed to autonomous-reflexives. One (11%) communicative-reflexive and one (11%) meta-reflexive became unclassified. Integrating Archer’s theorising into a pedagogical strategy for enhancing understanding of personal reflexivity encouraged students to identify their dominant mode. Resultantly, students were able to consider relevance of reflexive modes for reasoning, making decisions and being able to act within their value-commitments, beliefs and concerns within the constraints of social work contexts. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.

There has been an international drive to ensure social work students are research-minded. However, little is known about their experiences of undertaking independent research and even less is known about whether and how they go on to apply research skills in practice. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study which investigated the experiences of 22 postgraduate students who were studying at a university in the North East of England. Students’ written critical reflections and data from semi-structured interviews which were undertaken with four of the 22 students six to twelve months after graduation were analysed thematically. Participants experienced positive and negative emotions during their research journeys. They recounted powerful learning experiences and reported that they had been able to transfer some of their learning into practice. However, they also identified that newly qualified social workers face significant constraints to research-mindedness within the practice environment. The findings confirm the importance of providing students with experiential learning opportunities to allow them to produce as well as consume research. However, in order to fully bridge the research-practice gap there may be a need to facilitate new partnerships between higher education providers and local employers with a view to strengthening research capacity.

Introduction The United Kingdom's Department for Education's advice on behaviour focuses on the power of staff and the strength of the policy in challenging behaviour, via rules, sanctions and rewards. We designed a video-feedback intervention for staff teams in a special educational setting who were working with children with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour. The intervention aimed to raise reflective capacity on relational mechanisms that offer new response possibilities in everyday practices within trans-disciplinary teams. Method We conducted research with three teams (between five and seven participants in each). We report findings from two teams who were working with children (aged between 10 and 14) who staff identified as having behaviour that challenged. The intervention consisted of two video-feedback intervention sessions, using clips of good interactions between themselves and the child and a review. These sessions took place over three or four months. Qualitative analysis was conducted to analyse changes to the language and depictions of the children. Changes to the participants’ goals during the intervention were also analysed. Results The staff's focus on the child's challenging behaviour reduced. Children who were originally depicted as isolated became depicted in relationship with peers and staff. Participants became more curious about the child and his interactions in the school and home environment. The participant's personal goals emerged through their understandings of what it meant to be good. Conclusions Working with staff teams using video feedback can change the interactions around the child and the relational conceptualisation of the child and family. Further adaptations to the intervention are needed to raise critical reflection on the concepts that circulate around ‘behaviour’ that structure policy and shape everyday practices.

The North-East Social Work Alliance was formed in 2016 following a successful application for Government funding in the second wave of Teaching Partnerships. The formation of this Teaching Partnership enabled the development of new and innovative ways of working between higher education institutions and their partner agencies. Four years on this has resulted in a complex network of relationships combining well established existing partnerships with new partnerships and stakeholder arrangements that transcend institutional boundaries. This paper explores the impact the North-East Social Work Alliance has had on stakeholder relationships between one university and its partner agencies. By examining the perspectives of the university and its practice partners, it explores structural and operational relationships and critically examines the enhanced model of partnership working that Teaching Partnerships have facilitated. It concludes that overall Teaching Partnerships have promoted enhanced relationships between higher education institutions and their stakeholders. However, it identifies areas that should be addressed within future governance arrangements by Teaching Partnerships and similar partnership programmes internationally in order to maximise the impact such programmes have on social work education.

In the UK, children are entitled to have their views, wishes and feelings conveyed to a child protection conference in person or through professional representation. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study undertaken in a local authority in England which explored perspectives of attending a conference in person and investigated how children’s views were represented when they were absent. Findings emerged through interviews with four children, focus groups conducted with four social workers and four conference Chairs, and case record analysis of reports submitted to and generated in child protection conferences for twenty-eight children. Three interrelating discourses of childism, participation and autonomous professional practice emerged within an overarching conceptualisation of power and generational ordering. The findings support contemporary understandings of the privileging of protection rights over participatory rights within child protection practices and add to the limited international evidence base concerning the extent to which young children can express their views, wishes and feelings. They also suggest a need to evaluate the impact of strengths-based practice frameworks, and approaches for assessment and recording practices that promote authentic participation for children across all age ranges.

Evidence suggests children and young people who are looked after (LACYP) may have poorer health outcomes than children and young people in the general population, particularly in relation to mental health. This paper discusses findings from a survey of the health and well-being of LACYP in Glasgow. A structured questionnaire used in the 2010 Glasgow Schools Survey (GSS) was adapted and administered in face-to-face interviews with 130 young people aged 11–18 in 2014–2015 to investigate various aspects of health and well-being including physical activity, diet and sleep, smoking, alcohol and drugs, health feelings and worries, behaviours, attitudes and expectations. LACYP were more likely to report that they had tried drugs, slightly more likely to have scores indicating a high level of difficulties on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and less likely to report that they ate fruit and vegetables, used active transport methods to get to school and expected to go on to further or higher education; however, reported rates of physical activity, smoking and drinking were similar. LACYP were less likely to report that they had engaged in antisocial behaviour, truancy or bullying or been exposed to environmental tobacco smoke, less likely to worry or have low self-esteem, and more likely to rate their health positively. There were some variations according to placement type. The findings of this study present a more positive picture of the health and well-being of LACYP in Glasgow than might have been expected but should be treated with caution due to small sample size. Further research is needed to identify differences in relation to placement type and to determine whether being looked after might be associated with improved health and well-being outcomes for some children and young people.

This chapter begins by highlighting the rise of vulnerability as a term in social policy, and the three-level approach that is used to examine it. The first level is definitional, examining the possibility of defining vulnerability and vulnerabilities through a consideration of relevant literature and a number of recent policy documents. The second looks at how policy developments in Scotland and England have diverged, particularly since 2010, and how vulnerability has become more central to education policy in England. The third level focuses on practice, presenting research undertaken by authors into a programme developed to support vulnerable children, young people, and families in Northern England as a case study exemplifying some of the factors affecting the effectiveness of programmes in which schools played an important but not central part. This practice perspective is still too often overlooked in discussions of policy and definition, and it is suggested that its inclusion will contribute to the ongoing debate about both how best to support vulnerable families and the implications for education and social justice.

Maintaining case records is an essential and necessary component of children’s social work practice. Research and child abuse inquiries internationally have highlighted the need for child-centred and participatory approaches to case recording, yet consistently highlight significant deficiencies in child-centred case recording. This paper presents findings from a mixed-method study that sought to explore practitioners’ experiences of child-centred case recording and identify new and innovative solutions to enabling this. Data were collected through focus groups and surveys with social work practitioners who worked in child protection and child looked after (CLA) contexts in two Local Authorities (LAs) in the North of England. The findings suggest practitioners have developed creative ways to help achieve child-centred recording in challenging circumstances, which could be built upon and more consistently applied across organisations, based on the foundations of relationship-based, ethical and humane practice.

Repeat missing children pose a significant financial burden onto services, including the police, social services, and health providers. Recognising that 37 to 65 percent of missing child reports each year are repeats, efforts have been made by academics and practitioners to understand this societal problem. Research has identified the risks causing children to go missing and the harms that they experience, but these focus primarily on children missing from residential care only. This PRISMA (2020) scoping review of 76 studies explores strategies implemented to prevent repeat missing episodes, and the role/influence of the home environment (e.g., with parents/guardians, and foster or kinship care). Children go missing for different reasons and some of these are specific to the home environment: including a lack of freedom, and a desire to see family and friends. It remains unclear whether some risks and harms experienced are different considering the child’s residence. Different mechanisms seek to discover this information through direct liaison with the child via the police (safe and well checks) or with social services (Return Home Interviews). Both processes have inherent challenges that prevent them from being effective in reducing repeat episodes, through either failing to obtain the necessary information or sufficiently identifying risks and harms. Other examples of multi-agency interventions focus on only one police force area within England and Wales, and so they are not widely used or examined for their efficacy. This study recognises that children who go missing repeatedly, and do not live in residential care, are significantly overlooked in policy, practice, and research and so their needs and required support to prevent future occurrences are unknown.

Maintaining records about children and families who are the subject of social work intervention is a routinized aspect of everyday practice and has been recognized as vital in protecting children from harm and promoting their wellbeing. There is evidence that the fast-paced nature of statutory social work, as well as bureau cratic demands and difficulties with writing, can inhibit workers’ capacity to keep child-centered records, with inadequate record keeping having serious implications for protecting children from harm in the present and meeting their potential memory and identity needs in the future. This paper presents evidence from social work educators, as well as undergraduate, postgraduate, and apprentice social work students about their experiences of teaching and learning skills for child-centered case recording while at university and on placement. We highlight the interaction of university and practice learning, identifying key barriers to the complex task of maintaining child-centered records and outlining evidence from learners that there is a case for the prioritization of teaching skills for writing for practice within the university environment. We conclude by making recommendations as to how skills for child-centered recordkeeping could be more effectively taught, assessed, and embedded in pre-qualifying social work education.