Memorandum submitted by the National Centre
for Excellence in Residential Child Care (NCERCC)
INTRODUCTION TO
NCERCC
NCERCC is a major collaborative initiative to
improve standards of practice and outcomes for children and young
people in residential childcare in England.
NCERCC is a principal point of reference and
facilitates dialogue across the whole residential sector of England.
NCERCC works collaboratively with key stakeholders: providers,
practitioners, commissioners, researchers, regulators, children
and young people are involved it its work.
Feedback from users indicates that NCERCC is
fulfilling its key objective of impacting significantly on the
sector and thus on the life chances of children and young people
in residential care.
NCERCC provides
Up-to-date information on significant policy,
research and practice developments:
— Opportunities to exchange and promote
good practice.
— The means to highlight issues critical
to the well-being and life chances of children in residential
child care.
— Access to practical tools and materials
for service and practice improvement.
Website: www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc
SOURCES OF
EVIDENCE
FOUNDATION DOCUMENT
1
1. WHAT WORKS
IN RESIDENTIAL
CHILD CARE?
http://www.ncb.org.uk/Page.asp?originx_3878zp_281027214486h24p_2007534826u
What works in Residential Child Care, a summary
of decades of research, address the two prominent themes in the
literature: what makes a difference for residential child care
practice and what makes a difference for placements.
What works for Residential Child Care practice?
These fundamentals that need to be present in
Residential Child Care practice and thus form the basis for workforce
development and regulation.
— Culture—perform best with concordant
societal, formal and belief goals, strong positive staff cultures
and strong positive children's cultures or at least that did not
undermine the work of the home.
— Homes which meet the personal, social,
health and educational needs were much more likely to be safe
places for children.
— Theories for practice—a clear
theory or philosophy is essential.
— Clarity of purpose—this should
be found in the Statement of Purpose and define the primary task—What
are we here for? What are we doing?
— Leadership—clear and coherent
leadership is fundamental.
— Relationships—between staff
and children—the hallmark is feeling cared for with understanding,
sympathetic, comforting, consistent and individual attention.
— Relationships between children—peer
relationships are a core component needing positive, successful
skill and understanding of formal and informal group work from
adults.
— Relationships with family members—working
with the family "in mind"—not necessarily direct
work but always aiming to strengthening connections.
— Countering institutionalisation—daily
life is built from an active attempt to produce systems that best
match children's wants and needs.
— Therapeutic support—the "therapeutic"
in daily life and by access to specialist services—"Therapy".
— Staff involvement—where staff
feel empowered
What works for Residential Child Care placements?
There are better outcomes when needs are matched
to placement.
There are three groups of needs but as every
child needs a unique way of having their needs met so there is
no one thing we can say is Residential Child Care. Any local,
regional or national strategy for Residential Child Care will
need to ensure that all three tiers of intensity are available
so that matching of needs to placements can occur. It is concerning
that Price Waterhouse Coopers in their study of Children's Homes
and Fostering http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RW74.pdf.
none of the highlighted local authorities had
conducted the necessary audits of need and placement activity
that would underpin a placements strategy. NCERCC knows of few
local authorities who have conducted such audits but those who
have are ensuring that their strategy will ensure access to all
three tiers.
(a) Children with relatively simple or straightforward
needs
These children need either short-term or relatively
"ordinary" substitute care.
Why are they a child in care?
Their families may be stable and supportive
but there has been a crisis or difficulty and they need short
term, days or weeks, of support.
What do they need?
Good quality daily care and support.
How will they behave?
There can be a reasonable expectation that the
child will return home and resume their usual lifestyle.
Where will they be placed?
Usually fostering, but there are many children
who have preference for residential child care or are unsuited
for fostering and so can go to a short break or short stay mainstream
children's home.
What is a short break children's home?
Short breaks are often part of a wider package
of care, which can involve health and education services and other
agencies and are for children with learning disabilities and allow
carers and families to "take a break". The children
will have permanent and substantial physical and /or learning
disabilities but will not be very challenging in their behaviour
or require expert nursing care.
Short stay mainstream children's homes
Short stay mainstream children's homes provide
time-limited care for children. These homes may serve different
purposes; a child may need looking after because of unplanned
or unforeseen events; or they may be waiting for a long-term place
to become open; or it may be for assessment.
(b) Children or families with deep rooted, complex
or chronic needs with a long history of disability, difficulty
or disruption, including abuse or neglect
These children require more than simply a substitute
family care.
Why are they a child in care?
There may be longer times when these children
need stabilising, from weeks and months to years. They may have
been a child in care before.
What do they need?
They need individualised care in a safe and
containing environment, provided by grown ups who are consistently
thoughtful about each child's care. There will be clear boundaries
and limits with some negotiated flexibility.
How will they behave?
Their behaviour may be unsafe, self-harming
or unpredictable and need to be managed in order to stabilise
their lives.
Where will they be placed?
Long term mainstream children's homes
These homes provide care for a child for a substantial
period of time, possibly until the child reaches adulthood. Most
homes provide children with a key worker who will work with a
child to ensure that their needs are being met in line with their
Care Plan. This will include how a child's emotional, educational,
social and health needs will be met. There will also be consideration
given to the contact a child will have with their family and friends.
These homes tend to provide care for groups of children and a
key task for workers within the home is balancing the needs of
each individual child with the needs of the group.
Children's homes for children with disabilities
Some children with disabilities have complex
needs resulting from disability rather than a lack of parenting
capacity. They require specialised long-term care that can provide
care, education and health needs often in one place.
Residential Special Schools
Residential Special Schools provide an enriched
educational experience but also address children's disability,
and/or social, emotional psychological and behavioural needs.
Residential Special Schools can be children's homes too if young
people live there more than just term time. There will specialist
staffing and provision.
(c) Children with extensive, complex and enduring
needs compounded by very difficult behaviour who require more
specialised and intensive resources
These children with "high cost: low incidence
needs" require particular care and specialist settings. The
children have serious psychological needs and behavioural problems
that can overshadow other goals.
Why are they a child in care?
Their needs may have been obvious from an early
age and be the result of physical or sexual abuse. They may be
involved with Youth Justice or mental health teams.
What do they need?
Intensive support and treatment with care, education
and health all on one site and directed to creating a change in
the child's and families circumstances.
How will they behave?
They will find it hard to sit still, often easily
be verbally and physically aggressive, unpredictable, irrational,
or unable to reason and show little concern for others. They can
be out of touch with their emotions and show little or no sense
of guilt or apology.
Where will they be placed?
These children need a place with a therapeutic
community, an adolescent mental health unit, a small "intensive
care" residential setting, secure unit or occasionally a
place that is just for them on their own but still residential
child care.
What is a Therapeutic Community?
Within a clear set of boundaries concerning
time, place and roles there will be very close relationships between
children and grown ups with frequent sharing of information and
open resolution of problems, tensions and conflicts. Daily life
will be purposeful tasks—therapeutic, domestic, organisational,
educational—and there will be a shared commitment to the
goal of learning from the experience of living and/ or working
together
What is an adolescent psychiatric unit?
The focus here is on health and they are often
close to or part of hospitals. The staff are mostly nurses and
doctors, but there are social workers and teachers too. Young
people will have needs such as a psychiatric illness, eating disorder,
suffering from post-traumatic stress, or complex conditions that
may include learning difficulties and behavioural problems. Some
have experienced abuse or have difficult family and social circumstances.
What is a secure children's home?
Secure Children's Homes are specialist residential
resources offering a high quality of care, education, assessment
and therapeutic work. These are the only children's homes allowed
to lock doors to prevent children leaving. Such restriction of
liberty is a serious matter and entry is only by having a legal
order from a Court made to protect the child or the community.
What is a one-bedded children's home?
Some homes are specifically registered and designed
to have just one child living in them. For some children, living
with a group of other children is not the best way in which to
meet their needs. They need to have the opportunity to have the
specialist support that residential child care can provide, but
without the complexities that group living might bring. Their
placement will follow an assessment and be meeting a specific
treatment or care need. A key difference between foster care and
a one bedded home is that a team of staff are employed to work
with the child in the children's home. The staff members do not
live on site and go home at the end of their shift.
FOUNDATION DOCUMENT
2
Excellence in Residential Child Care
http://www.ncb.org.uk/Page.asp?originx_5945eq_86679079225686b29o_2008481625c
The seminar was an opportunity to map out a
vision for residential child care, create a picture of what excellent
residential care would look like and to identify which developments
would need to be actively supported to deliver excellence for
all young people.
This report should be read as a companion to
the report summarising the discussions that took place in the
Autumn 2007 Children's Residential Network regional meetings,
which is being published at the same time. http://www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc/ncercc%20news/ncercc_crn_full_report.pdf
In this way NCERCC aims to provide a view of
the sector as it is seen currently and the future developments
needed.
These two documents taken together are intended
to provide a foundation for discussions deriving from Care Matters
and the Children and Young Persons Bill. They have implications
for workforce development.
The high level invited participants to the seminar
identified that there were four priority areas that need to be
focussed on in order to achieve Excellence in Residential Child
Care. These were:
— Clear Strategy for Care.
— Ensuring Stability of Placement.
— Good Career structure/qualifications
(What should qualifications include?).
Clear Strategy for Care
It is imperative that all involved recognise
the value of Residential Child Care. In order for the strategy
to be successful there would need to be a national approach to
Residential Child Care, and this requires support across all political
parties.
In addition to those responsible for Residential
Child Care policy, practice and provision, there needs to be commitment
from local neighbourhoods, communities, families and children
and young people.
A financial commitment from budget holders demonstrating
the value placed on Residential Child Care is essential. The strategy
may be unsuccessful if there is limited capacity and resources
to commission and to provide good Residential Child Care services.
There is a concern that venture capitalists may have a dominant
and adverse effect on the development of a strategy for care.
The strategy would need to be based on research
identifying needs and potential provision. The outcome of this
auditing should inform a ten-year plan with clear expectations
and subsequently informing the flexibility and additional capacity
required. The commissioning process should follow the format identified
in Care Matters.
Staff would need to be well trained and there
would need to be consideration into how to ensure that "good"
care staff are recruited.
Ensuring Stability of Placements
Placement stability was identified as imperative
for excellence in Residential Child Care. In order for this to
be achieved for children and young people, there needs to be a
thorough assessment of the placement needs of the individual.
Placements must be planned and subsequently there must be choice
in the available placements so that these needs can be met.
There was recognition that a change in decision
maker or commissioner may have an effect on the success of the
strategy. All those involved and all structures need to be in
congruence in order for placements to achieve stability. It is
the meeting of needs which should define commissioning and funding.
Good Career Structure/qualifications (What should
Qualifications Include?)
There needs to be a thorough training in the
theory and practice underpinning Residential Child Care and a
recognised qualification. This qualification must be professional
not vocational, recognising Residential Child Care as having its
own theoretical framework and distinct child care practice.
There must be reflective leadership and management
and they must also have a training path. National Occupational
Standards need to be linked with curriculum knowledge and activity.
The profession needs to have national pay scales
to reflect experience and qualifications. Research tells us that
qualified professionals are motivated to remain in Residential
Child Care.
In order for this to be successful, specific
organisations must be on board and in support of the strategy.
It would need to be supported by Government, providers, CWDC and
Academic Bodies. It will require explicit attention to developing
an increased positive perception of the status of Residential
Child Care workers.
There were fears that certain things may get
in the way of achieving this aim. Funds would be needed to implement
this development. A commitment to implementing and sustaining
a strategy is imperative and a major concern was those who would
need to fund this priority may panic at the cost implications.
Alternatively, rather than recognise that Residential Child Care
meets the needs and wishes of many young people and needs supporting
to deliver outcomes, money may be redirected into other services
such as fostering or to bolstering existing training NVQ packages.
Without a strategy this could not succeed. It
could not be left to market forces. The inability of the sector
meeting the National Minimum Standards target has proven the need
for national training delivery accessible to all personnel
Funding Follows Child
There must be a Governmental commitment to legislation
and funding strategies (including Health Services), which endorse
Residential Child Care as a positive choice. Agencies need to
co-operate with each other and learn from each other: cooperation
not competition. There needs to be access to funding for Looked
After Children. Trained staff need to be able to assess needs
using evidence based evaluations and there needs to be subsequent
professional analysis.
The cultural view of Residential Child Care
must shift. If Residential Child Care is perceived as the last
resort the changes identified in the seminar will not be successful.
FURTHER EVIDENCE
RELATING TO
THE TERMS
OF REFERENCE
OF THE
SELECT COMMITTEE
1. CARE PLACEMENTS
The Impact of Market Forces on the operation and
capacity of the residential child care sector
Full report http://www.vcsengage.org.uk/PDF/NCERCC%20Full%20Report.pdf
This report sets out the findings of quantitative
and qualitative research into the impact of market forces on the
operation and capacity of the residential child care sector. A
further survey has recently been completed by the Independent
Children's Homes Association that shows a continuing concern regarding
the resilience of the Residential Child Care sector.
This research provides an insight into the current
situation of Residential Child Care provision. The views of voluntary,
local authority and independent providers, and of those commissioning
their services, were collected via two questionnaires and examined.
The full findings are reproduced in Appendix One of this evidence
document.
These findings are set in the context provided
by a literature review of recent overviews of commissioning, and
the residential child care sector; and by a survey of current
developments in the participation of young people in their care
and welfare planning within residential care facilities.
Current government thinking is to promote the
use of "contestability" as a concept and practice for
all services, including the residential child care sector. It
states that there should be a distinction between purchasers and
providers in public services; and that the service should be open
to providers to have an opportunity to compete for public contracts.
Following on from the Gershon report concerning public sector
efficiency commissioners of all children's services are required
to ensure that—over and above a child centred focus—the
best value for money is obtained in terms of both quality and
price.
Responses to the questionnaire clearly support
the observation that, whilst it would be misleading to reduce
"contestability" to the single idea of competition,
current commissioning arrangements focus more keenly on price
than any other factor. The specific effects of this upon the voluntary
sector are given in the report; and the effects are compared with
those for the local authority and independent sectors.
Concern is expressed by providers from all the
sectors that this focus should equally be on practice. The research
shows that providers are highly concerned about recent developments
in the commissioning of residential child care. Their concern
relates to the current definition and operation of commissioning
and the ways in which it has the potential to adversely affect
provision and practice.
Providers report that they perceive an imbalance
of stress on costs over practice as the operating factors in deciding
placement. In order to continue to prosper providers have to have
regard for how they think the market for services is changing,
rather than thinking about how they can operate more effectively
as a sector.
This research reports provides an insight into
the position of the voluntary sector as, of all the three sectors—local
authority, independent and voluntary—it is experiencing
the most severe effects of the current commissioning arrangements.
The data shows that about half of respondents within the voluntary
sector are experiencing a downturn in levels of occupancy and
a decrease in turnover and, of these, 50% have identified their
current position to be poor. The research identifies various reasons
for this.
Two factors that can be emphasised are full
cost recovery and the use of funds. Both are factors not present
in the independent or local authority sectors. Some proposals
for the voluntary sector to address their situation, notwithstanding
these hurdles, are proposed at local, regional and national level.
The research includes a view of the effects
of these factors on daily life. This is explored from a young
person's view in the section "Participation and consultation
in residential child care in England". From the research
undertaken, it was clear that the sector of placement was not
an influential factor in the level of participation of young people
in their plans and the delivery of their care and welfare.
The voluntary sector was neither better nor
worse than other sectors in this respect. All sectors have much
to do to improve the participation of young people and proposals
are included in that section of the report. Indeed, there is potential
for the voluntary sector to take a distinct lead on developing
this aspect of residential child care; and thereby to achieve
some redress from the current decline in placements as the value
of participation is identifi ed by commissioners.
Both commissioners and providers report a need
to establish a joint understanding of the work of both commissioning
and residential child care. Providers and commissioners share
a common goal but are not as yet engaged in common work concerning
the quality and reliability of care nor in spelling out what the
important component parts of that care are, beyond the legislative
requirements that care should be safe.
It is clear that there is a widely accepted
need for the development of sound partnerships that are built
on best practice and do not expose either side of the relationship
to undue risk, especially at the expense of the care offered to
a young person. Through providing local, regional and national
coordination, the voluntary sector can be proactive in developing
a strategy that all sectors and commissioners can use. With commissioners
and providers jointly working to recognise and acknowledge the
future role for the residential child care sector in general and
the voluntary sector in particular in the years ahead, and with
each agreeing to contribute to making it happen, much needed thinking
time would be spent on the content and the substance of the services
rather than on negotiating the best financial deal.
2. SOCIAL PEDAGOGY
Introducing Social Pedagogy Into Residential Child
Care in England
http://www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc/ncercc%20practice%20documents/introducing_sp_into_rcc_in_england_feb08.pdf
Discussions about the potential of social pedagogic
ideas, especially in Residential Child Care have until recently
been confined to academic circles and a growing number of practice
settings.
The White Paper Care Matters included
a proposal for piloting projects to examine the effectiveness
of Social Pedagogy in Residential Child Care explaining that the
pilots were to focus on adapting social pedagogical approaches,
as practiced in Residential Child Care settings in continental
Europe, with a view to significantly improving outcomes for children
in public care.
This report is an evaluation of a project commissioned
in advance of Care Matters by the Social Education Trust (SET)
in September 2006 and managed by the National Centre for Excellence
in Residential Child Care (NCERCC). The project was and is the
first research study into the implementation of Social Pedagogy
into England. It aimed to develop knowledge of the theories behind
social pedagogic approaches, build the confidence of Residential
Child Care workers and discover possible ways of translating social
pedagogic approaches into meaningful practices in English Residential
Child Care settings.
Nine Residential Child Care settings participated
in a programme of practice development training facilitated by
Social Pedagogue consultants from Germany and Denmark. The overall
outcome of this pilot project, as seen through the eyes of the
facilitators and participants, was highly positive.
The key aims and objectives of facilitating
a better understanding of the relevance and possible translation
of social pedagogic approaches into the English Residential Child
Care context and increasing staff confidence in relating to the
ideas and translating them into their every day practice in this
project, have been met.
At the beginning of the project almost half
of the participants had none or very limited knowledge of social
pedagogic approaches, according to the responses to an initial
baseline questionnaire. The main expectations of the participants
were to gain more insight into Social Pedagogy, how it could be
transferred into their current practices, and what new inspirations
the project could bring to their practice. Almost 60% of the participants
described themselves and their work colleagues as being positively
receptive towards practicing pedagogically while about 40% described
themselves as being neutral or less than positively receptive.
By the end of the project, over two thirds of
the participants stated that they now had a more solid understanding
of the essence of Social Pedagogy. For some they regained, for
others renewed, the importance of having authentic, appreciative
relationships when working with young people in Residential Child
Care settings. A third of the participant's affirmed that they
had already taken on many aspects of a social pedagogic approach
in their current practice. Participants spoke of experiencing
their dreams and motivations being rekindled in choosing to work
with young people in residential settings.
Almost 70% of the participants were able to
connect to, translate and use aspects of the themes in Social
Pedagogy that they were introduced to, immediately in their everyday
practice.
Participants report the biggest impact of this
project was either a reconfirmation or gaining of new perspectives
on how to meet the needs of young people in Residential Child
Care without needing to discard the knowledge and experience they
had already built up. On the contrary they felt that they could
refine and develop their existing knowledge, skills and teamwork,
by consciously embracing and implementing a more social pedagogic
approach in their everyday practice.
As one participant put it "over the years,
`the head' for example, staff policies, risk assessments, children
coming in as a last resort, has dominated how I perceive and work
with the young people. I have rediscovered `the heart' and can
see working with these young people with a renewed perspective".
Participants felt that the most problematic
barrier to taking on a social pedagogic approach was how young
people in Residential Child Care and those who chose to work with
these young people are perceived in the wider English society,
where coming into Residential Child Care is frequently seen as
the last resort. In comparison, much of continental Europe perceives
Residential Child Care as the best option for meeting some young
people's needs for safety and development opportunities.
The participants reported that other barriers
such as risk assessments, strict regulations in relation to safeguarding
procedures, and fear of false allegations made by young people,
put limitations on being able to completely translate social pedagogic
relationships into current practice. Even with a commitment to
child-centred working, participants felt that changing the culture
within Residential Child Care will be in a context of facing increasing
challenging and complex behaviour from young people.
Participants welcomed the appreciative, holistic
child/centred approach Social Pedagogy offers and felt that the
possibility of creating real changes for the young people in Residential
Child Care for the better in England was achievable.
3. WORKFORCE
3(a) Training and Qualifications in the Residential
Child Care Sector
Full report available from CWDC
The project focuses specifically on Workforce
Development within Residential Child Care (RCC) and examines:
whether there is evidence that there is a lack of available and
accessible training, what steps can be taken to enable employers
to meet National Minimum Standards. This research was undertaken
by the Social Care Association and NCERCC.
National Minimum Standard for Children's Homes
29.5:
"A minimum ratio of 80% of all care staff
have completed their level 3 in the Caring for Children and Young
People NVQ by January 2005. Staff may hold other qualifications
that require similar competencies, and these may be courses developed
locally which are accredited. New staff engaged from January 2004
need to hold the Caring for Children and Young People NVQ or another
qualification which matches the competencies or begin working
towards them within three months of joining the home"
The need for a trained workforce has been a
recommendation made in many reports regarding Residential Child
Care. The inclusion of NVQ III into the National Minimum Standards
as the stated accreditation and with targets set for percentages
of the workforce in each setting has been a strategy for addressing
this continuing need. The CSCI 2007 annual report on the state
of social care shows that 70% of staff in children's homes and
80% in Residential Special Schools meet the required Standard
which must be borne in mind is a minimum. This result follows
the same route as previous attempts to professionalise the service,
for example, the 1992 Residential Child Care Initiative did not
lead to a net increase of qualified leaders in the workforce,
with many transferring to fieldwork practice on qualification.
There have been additional concerns that the
NVQ, though establishing the competence of a worker, may not have
been sufficient to meet the needs of young people. This study
shows concern regarding the relevance of training to the task,
the needs of their staff and unit. There is a perceived mismatch
between the complexity of the work and the content and structure
of the available training for this staff group. Although training
targets are being pursued across the sector, there are concerns
they do not provide an adequate training for purpose as currently
structured and delivered. Other UK countries have a wider expectation
of training and qualification.
The project aimed to identify the numbers in
the work force, numbers qualified, turnover rates and clarify
where roles overlap with other Sector Skills Councils; to establish
training capacity, availability of assessors and verifiers, sources
of training and effectiveness of qualified workers; to identify
the qualifications which are due for 2008, by seeking the information
from staff and managers; to obtain views about future needs for
training for Residential Child Care; and to map current qualifications
and identified gaps, establish examples of excellence and recommendations
for improvement and for qualification development.
This would enable the project to give an overview
of the current situation that could be used to build up a detailed
picture on which a training strategy could be based.
The study elicited a response rate significantly
higher than those responding to similar consultations/ requests
for information from government agencies. It covered more than
20% of registered residential places for children and young people
and an estimated 4.5% of all staff working in this sector. Base
line data has been established on which future information can
build a more detailed and comprehensive picture.
Although the percentages meeting National Minimum
Standards were close to the stated target, the study shows that
in reality outcomes are not as secure. Whilst more than a quarter
reported no difficulties in accessing training, almost a further
quarter highlighted the difficulty of a lack of availability of
assessors and verifiers. This is thought to be a significant deficit
in capacity and may warrant further scrutiny as will the differences
found between social and educational settings.
For some the key impediment was the price of
training with smaller proportions reported general access as an
issue and the locality of educational institutions or assessment
centres. Often in addition were the problems associated with finding
staff cover for training and the cost this entailed.
A significant minority knew little concerning
how to access information regarding availability of accreditation/assessment,
a situation made less clear still given the finding that provision
is patchy across the country. The study shows that by no means
is there universal and equal access. The need for a more unified,
coherent approach that delivers easily accessed information about
courses and availability is emphasised by respondents in this
study. In-house training was recognised as beneficial in terms
of budget and access. Quality assurance is achieved through a
national on-line under- pinning knowledge resource, which is seen
as helpful. The back-up provided by a regional training, support
and consultancy service allied to the regional commissioning of
placements would be welcome.
The study notes a lot of training activity towards
qualification. The sector is busy about the task of ensuring staff
have suitable qualifications and are competent to practise. With
a turnover estimated at a high of 26% in the sector, qualification
performance may be only 7% net each year. This situation seems
exacerbated by the numbers of part time staff.
Responsibilities for ensuring that agency staff
are kept up to date do not seem to be effective. The aspiration
for the NVQ award to be portable even though development is yet
to be achieved and will need to be for this group of workers.
The situation may well persist until all social
care staff as well as social workers must be registered with the
General Social Care Council. These registration arrangements will
need to be in place to ensure that requirements for updating knowledge
and skill are met.
Counter to general perception, none of the respondents
to the questionnaires indicated they had difficulty in replacing
staff that have left. Moreover, the data shows that in the sample
over the last year more have been employed than the number leaving.
NCERCC considers this finding demands further research given that
the Children's Workforce Strategy found the issue of turnover
is an impediment to access to training.
This is given added valency when understanding
a new recruit works at only 60% of their productive potential
when first appointed, only reaching 100% after a year in post.
In addition to the disruption to care and the financial costs,
managers also find rates higher than around 15% unmanageable,
meaning that turnover presents a multi-faceted burden. Given that
rates as high as 26% have been recorded for residential care staff
and that turnover rates in general are around 10 to 15%, managers
are clearly facing difficult challenges.
The key findings from this project are:
— The key task for the future is to
match the talent of staff with the complex requirements of contemporary
Residential Child Care and to ensure that the training provided
is capable of preparing people adequately for this task.
— There is a need for a fundamental
redesign and delivery of professional training courses focussed
on Residential Child Care. The proposed review by CWDC of the
structure of qualifications, due to take place by 2008, along
with the development of regional commissioning structures, provides
an opportunity to redesign professional courses to build on current
good practice and achievement that meet the requirements of Residential
Child Care in the 21st Century.
— Any revised training programmes should
consist of a combination of core modules supplemented by specialist
subjects that will provide the Residential Child Care workforce
with a range of specialist skills which can be deployed in the
different fields of operation and are transferable as they grow
and develop.
3(b) Fit for the Future?
Residential child care in the United Kingdom
http://www.ncb.org.uk/ncercc/ncercc%20practice%20documents/ncercc_fitforthefuture_nov06.pdf
This four-nation study, concerned with recruitment,
morale, and retention, suggested some future directions for maintaining
and improving the morale and job satisfaction of staff across
the residential child care sector. An adapted version of the conclusions
and agendas for future action are included here.
A major theme is the similarity in findings
for the studies across all four nations. It was crucially important
that each of the research teams set out to gather information
that enables the commonalities and differences in residential
child care to be identified especially noteworthy given some of
the structural differences in the development of the residential
child care sector, differences that have been growing in recent
years.
Structural factors are reflected in the pattern
of unit ownership, statutory, voluntary and independent, and other
major differences such as different levels of qualification. In
this aspect Northern Ireland stands out with its very large proportion
of staff holding a recognised social work qualification. There
are other differences; Scotland, for example, retains a much higher
proportion of residential schools in the child care sector.
The results showed few differences between the
range of child care settings in terms of morale and job satisfaction
and the issues that were raised by the residential child care
staff who participated in the research.
In highlighting the high levels of morale and
job satisfaction among residential child care workers and their
managers the report acknowledges that there is no cause for complacency.
Teamwork features as a prominent factor that affects staff experiences
of their job. Support from colleagues as well as managers was
very important for these workers' sense of job satisfaction. More
importantly these factors together contribute towards the quality
of care that children and young people receive in a range of residential
settings, and are therefore critical determinants of the outcomes
of the residential care experience.
Based on a cohort of nearly 1,200 residential
child care workers and their managers, the research highlights
the commitment of the sector to provide good-quality care and
to produce the best outcomes for the children and young people
who live in a residential setting. Well-motivated staff with high
levels of morale and job satisfaction are more likely to create
high-quality care and best outcomes. This research identifies
what residential child care staff consider the most important
factors leading to high levels of motivation, morale and job satisfaction.
There are no particular surprises in the factors they identify
and the ratings given to their relative importance. The findings
of this research confirm many of the findings from previous studies.
In this sense they confirm what is already known but provide more
contemporary evidence of continuing importance.
What motivates residential child care staff
most is being able to take a pride in their job. It is therefore
very important to them that the young residents make progress
both while they are living in residential settings and after they
leave. While the number of children living in residential settings
has reduced significantly over the past 15 years since, for example,
the Utting (1991) and Skinner (1992) reports, and with there being
no growing evidence of single children living in designated residential
settings, it remains the case that residential child care continues
to be defined as group care. Previous research evidence (Whittaker,
Archer and Hicks 1998) demonstrates the crucial importance of
teamwork in group care settings. The current research affirms
the continuing centrality of teamwork as a key determinant of
both motivation and staff morale. Residential staff who contributed
to this research were clear that effective teamwork remains dependent
on the level of support available to the team, both individually
and collectively. Effective teamwork is also linked to quality
of leadership available to a team, particularly the contributions
of unit managers and other senior staff who have responsibility
for providing immediate support and guidance.
These findings pose the question as to how best
to develop both effective teamwork and leadership in residential
child care settings. This research attempted to identify what
relationship might exist, for example, between morale and job
satisfaction, teamwork and leadership, and qualifications and
training. The findings suggest that while residential staff do
not see qualifications in themselves as important contributors
to morale, they do see training as very important. This finding
is consistent with previous research by Sinclair and Gibbs (1998)
showing that the extent to which training can develop effective
teamwork and leadership is a crucial link, which will be returned
to below. This research does suggest that investment in training
by employers can be perceived as a reflection of the extent to
which residential child care is valued. Knowing that the work
is valued is one of the top three determinants of morale identified
across the four nations. While it remains difficult to be more
than tentative about the relationship between these factors, this
research highlights the continuing importance of:
— teamwork and leadership (both now
work strands for NCERCC); and
— qualifications and training (both
now work strands for NCERCC).
In each of the four studies, residential staff
were consistent in their emphasis on the crucial importance of
teamwork both to staff morale and to the quality of care provided
to young residents. This research identified what residential
child care staff considered as the key factors in effective teamwork.
Consistent approaches to working with young people that were flexible
enough to meet individual need were seen as the core of effective
teamwork. Staff emphasised the importance of stable membership
of a team seeking to maintain consistency in their approach.
This reflects concerns about recruitment and
retention in the sector, particularly in relation to staff turnover.
Concerns were also expressed about the impact of sickness and
absenteeism and the need to use agency staff to cover the shifts
of absent staff, in relation to problems of maintaining consistency.
The key question centres around who is defined as a team member,
because effective teams are based on consistent and stable relationships.
This is reflected in the importance attributed to communication
and information-sharing as critical factors in effective teamwork.
Across the four nations, staff tended to place greater emphasis
on the importance of "informal" systems such as discussion
between staff while working together on shift and in handovers.
Nine out of 10 staff on average found formal team meetings helpful,
or very helpful in ensuring effective communication within their
staff teams. This reflects the fact that regular team meetings
have become a significant feature of residential child care practice.
Kahan (1994) reminds us that staff learning
depends on existing practice in their workplace and their opportunities
for organised and systematic training. She also emphasises that
the whole staff team must be committed to good-quality care and
that all working practices should be directed towards that goal.
She calls this the "competent workplace" (Kahan 1994:
p256). But how is this to be achieved? The evidence from this
research indicates that regular team meetings and handover meetings
at the end of each shift contribute towards effective teamwork.
Again this is consistent with earlier Department of Health funded
research (1998), which emphasises the crucial importance of teamwork
in delivering good outcomes for young residents.
Messages from Research concludes that effective
teamwork reflects positive staff cultures in children's homes
and that these cultures require "regular attention"
(Department of Health 1998: p32). There is little clear evidence
about how people learn to work together and become an effective
team. We may well know more about what happens to outcomes for
children when teams are ineffective than about the components
or ingredients of effective teamwork. There is some consensus
that establishing clear objectives for each children's home is
likely to generate a healthy culture. Agreement between staff,
described as "congruence", about what are seen as helpful
responses by staff in looking after children, does not articulate
the processes that are effective in arriving at these agreements.
Training can facilitate learning to work together as a team (Crimmens
1997; Walton 1994).
The research demonstrates clear links between
the importance of the teamwork and high levels of morale and job
satisfaction that are more likely to lead to good outcomes for
looked after children. This indicates that it is imperative to
invest in developing effective teams as a normal aspect of supporting
residential child care workers in their practice.
This research suggests that residential staff
are able to share work problems with colleagues and, for example,
are able to effectively debrief after critical incidents involving
violent or aggressive behaviour. It is also evident that the majority
of staff feel able to approach their managers with work problems.
Informal supervision and individual supervision were also seen
as helpful.
However, the evidence in this research of the
availability of regular supervision indicates that provision remains
patchy and inconsistent across the sector. This must represent
a cause for concern. Formal supervision remains an important element
of support for staff and provides opportunities for the exercise
of effective leadership as well as staff development. The role
of formal supervision continues to be debated within residential
child care. This research indicates that we may need to know more
about the full range of support systems available to staff working
in residential child care settings in order to effectively evaluate
the potential and importance of formal supervision. Since the
research this has been attended to by NCERRC developing specific
supervision practice development materials.
The government recognises that people want well-designed
jobs with appropriate support, development and respect. The Department
for Education and Skills (2005a) has developed a tool-kit for
managers, which aims to "establish a shared set of skills,
knowledge and behaviours towards which managers from any sector
and across a range of settings can work".
Campbell (2005) sees effective management and
inspiring leadership as essential to bringing about new arrangements
in children's services, especially in the management of multi-agency
teams. He suggests (p1) that all managers "need to breathe
life into workforce development". Managers are seen as "Children's
Champions", leading change as well as developing their teams.
Again the issue of effective management and leadership is linked
to the delivery of better outcomes for children. There is recognition
that poor leadership produces high staff turnover, which is expensive
and demoralising.
Previous research (Hills and others 1998) evaluated
the impact of the Residential Child Care Initiative (RCCI) designed
to implement the Utting (1991) recommendation that all managers
of children's homes and their deputies should be qualified to
DipSW standard. The research found that managers who participated
and achieved professional qualification experienced greater self-confidence.
While participation did not enhance their basic competences, the
managers experienced a sense of enhanced status and authority,
particularly from a better understanding of theory to back up
their work. There was also some evidence of a more positive view
of training and a willingness to pass their learning on to colleagues
(Department of Health 1998). This evidence suggests that leadership
is learnt, and that investment in the professional development
of managers of children's homes will enable them to be more effective
leaders.
The quality of leadership may provide an explanation
for the higher levels of staff morale and job satisfaction in
Northern Ireland identified in the four nations study. It is not
the possession of qualifications in themselves that is the determining
factor. The enhancement of knowledge and the expectations of what
constitutes the role and task of managers and supervisors in children's
homes, which comes from the learning processes involved in acquiring
qualification, may lead them to be more effective in supporting
and leading staff. They may also develop a more positive attitude
towards professional education and training based on their own
experiences. This then becomes part of a team culture that encourages
and supports all staff to engage in professional education and
training.
The NCERCC conference 2008 will launch practice
development material addressing management and leadership and
these will complement others regarding teamwork and groupwork.
Residential child care staff recognise that
effective outcomes for children are dependent on more than their
individual and collective input. They recognise the importance
of being actively involved in the external world of each child
they look after, particularly with respect to their families and
social networks. Some dissatisfaction was expressed by staff who
participated in this research in relation to the quality of contact
with other professionals and the extent to which they are seen
as part of wider child care "teams". This raises some
concern about the capacity of residential child care staff to
effectively contribute to the interdisciplinary, interprofessional
and multi-agency practice contexts required by the modernising
agendas. The question of developing teams that are fit for purpose
will be picked up below in looking at training and qualifications.
Evidence from this research contributes towards
the continuing debate about the relationship between qualification
and training. Residential child care staff have a clear understanding
of their preferences on a spectrum of training from "in-house"
to that offered more formally in educational institutions. In
each of the four national cohorts, more than two-thirds of residential
child care staff rated training as a very important factor in
promoting high levels of staff morale. By comparison, less then
one-third rated qualifications in themselves as important. The
research evidence is that the highest level of staff morale is
recorded in Northern Ireland, which also has the highest percentage
of staff holding a recognised professional qualification in social
work. The latter reflects a clear and explicit commitment to a
fully qualified workforce in Children Matter (Social Services
Inspectorate 1998), which linked high levels of relevant qualifications
to better outcomes for children. The puzzle is that this link
between qualifications and outcomes for children and the political
commitment that follows is by no means unique to Northern Ireland.
It was a key recommendation of both the Utting (1991) and Skinner
(1992) reports, and was reiterated in Utting (1997). It is also
at the core of contemporary commitments to workforce development,
which will be evaluated more closely in looking at current moves
towards the development of a children's workforce.
With the possible exception of Northern Ireland,
this research confirms that levels of qualification of residential
child care workers, as opposed to their managers, continues to
fall short of benchmarks established for example in England and
Wales by the Utting report (1991). A benchmark of 80% of residential
child care workers who have been awarded the NVQ 3 in Caring for
Children and Young People is enshrined in the National Minimum
Standards for residential child care in England. A similar standard
exists in each of the other nations in this study. NVQ 3, or its
equivalent, remains the basic qualification for the registration
of residential child care workers with the English General Social
Care Council. Therefore, the acquisition of formal qualifications
remains at least one key indicator of the claim to professional
status by any occupational group. In consequence, there continues
to be a problem in reconciling the positive perception of training
among residential child care staff demonstrated in this research
with a comparable enthusiasm and commitment to the acquisition
of relevant qualifications.
Respondents to this research raise a range of
concerns about the relevance of the existing qualifications framework,
namely the NVQ 3 and the professional qualification in social
work. Equally, concerns are raised about the relevance of existing
training programmes, both to the residential child care task and
to meeting the needs of young residents. Questions are raised
about the quality of existing training and this research provides
some evidence of demands for training to be more specifically
tailored to the residential child care environment.
Apart from the availability and relevance of
training, lack of motivation and confidence among residential
child care workers is cited as a barrier to participation in training
programmes. These changes will, however, require significant commitment
on the part of residential child care workers, their supervisors
and managers to meet the challenges of the new agendas. One of
the challenges of registration, for example, is the expectation
that a social care worker must take responsibility for maintaining
and improving their knowledge and skills (General Social Care
Council 2002). This reiterates an earlier observation by Kahan
(1994, p259):
Staff who have chosen to work in child care
should expect to augment their knowledge and understanding by
undertaking some individual study. This may intrude to some extent
in to their own time, but this is the nature of working in a way
which aspires to the professional. (Kahan 1994, p259)
The Residential Forum (1998) emphasises that
residential child care workers should take part in training provided
by employers, and that personal time needs to be invested in professional
development as a commitment to lifelong learning. There also appear
to be some expectations that individual staff should contribute
towards the costs of their education and training with a target
of meeting 15% of the cost of their own qualifications by 2005
(Campbell 2005). Kahan (1994) acknowledges that these are particularly
tough expectations for residential workers already struggling,
for example, with the demands of shift working.
Additionally, the very nature of the residential
child care task, which requires that staff are available across
24 hours of each day, is seen as inhibiting effective training.
The availability of resources to provide staff replacement costs
is identified as a major obstruction. There was, however, little
indication of existing commitment to training staff in the workplace
as recommended by De Silva (2000) as a strategy for overcoming
some of the obstructions identified above.
Workforce issues including the recruitment and
retention of staff were identified. Shift work and the rota seem
to be inevitable causes for concern. Problems with maintaining
a full staff team through turnover in team membership and absenteeism
were reflected in concerns about dependence on agency or bank
staff and the potential for inconsistent staffing impacting adversely
on the quality of care and outcomes for young residents. Staff
were also concerned about additional stress associated with looking
after children and young people with challenging behaviour, particularly
when this included aggressive and violent behaviour towards staff
and residents. There was a recognition across the four nations
that these difficulties were compounded in the absence of staff
who were experienced, trained and qualified, capable of working
consistently with colleagues in a group care setting.
While recruitment is seen as a particular difficulty,
often dependent on local labour market circumstances such as the
demand for women's labour, this research provides a number of
positive indicators of the relative stability of a core workforce
across the four nations. There was little sense that staff continue
to work in residential child care because of an absence of alternative
employment. While concerns were expressed by both workers and
their managers about the perceived low status of the sector, more
than eight out of 10 respondents in this research were happy to
tell others that they work in residential child care. The nearly
seven out of 10 respondents who affirmed that they intended to
remain in post over the coming year reinforces this finding. The
Welsh researchers suggest that this is something of a paradox
between the public perception of residential child care and the
realities of working in the sector as indicated by many of the
responses in this research.
While many of the factors, such as shift working,
will continue to be seen as relatively unattractive, the length
of service of a significant proportion of the sample in this research,
coupled with their views and opinions, suggests that there is
a relatively stable workforce committed to longer-term employment
in the sector. This is consistent with the findings of Berridge
and Brodie (1998: p126) who found a "core of residential
stalwarts surrounded by a wider group who have been in post for
only a short time".
However, the evidence also indicates an ageing
staff profile, raising the question of how to attract new staff
into work in children's homes. While this research does not underestimate
the actual and potential difficulties of recruitment and retention,
it is important to highlight the existence of a solid foundation
of committed residential child care staff, which should form the
base for future developments in the sector.
One key factor that repeats itself throughout
this research is the commitment by residential child care staff
to provide the best possible care for children and young people.
"Residents' progress" is among the top-ranking factors
that motivate residential staff.
However, this research also demonstrates that
the behaviour of young people, particularly when it is aggressive
or violent, negatively affects levels of morale. This is being
addressed in forthcoming e-learning materials being produced by
SCIE and NCERCC.
One factor, which compounds the problems of
managing difficult behaviour, is a perception on the part of residential
staff that children and young people continue to be admitted to
the care system in accordance with the availability of beds. Therefore
the volume of unplanned and emergency admissions to residential
child care settings across the four nations remains a major cause
for concern. Other documents are referred to in this evidence
that address his matter.
While residential staff remain concerned about
the disruptive potential of both violent and aggressive behaviour
and unplanned and emergency placements, they remain committed
to making effective helping relationships with young people. This
commitment is reflected in the expectation of residential staff
across the four nations to be more involved in therapeutic work
with children and young people. The evidence from this research
may again be paradoxical in this context, and this may relate
to unclear or contradictory expectations that are unresolved in
the ways in which the residential role and task is interpreted
by teams of workers in different settings. Both Ward (2003) and
Smith (2005) emphasise the potential for therapeutic work in all
activities involving children and young people. Smith (2005: p2)
emphasises the "conscious use of everyday opportunities"
to engage meaningfully in the lives of children and young people.
Collective failure to make use of therapeutic activities is nowhere
more evident than in the educational outcomes of the majority
of children and young people who are looked after by the state.
This report consistently expresses concern that
across the four nations the importance attached to supporting
children's education by residential child care staff is lower
than expected. What is of even greater concern is that staff who
report that they are not currently involved in helping the children
they look after to attain educationally do not think they ought
to be any more involved. This issue is receiving attention from
NCERCC and forthcoming practice materials will address the methods
of supporting learning.
Yet the research demonstrates that residential
child care staff are committed to meeting the needs of the children
they look after. They must turn this broad commitment into professional
activities that demonstrate their ability and willingness to meet
the challenges of 21st century agendas, including the collective
ability to meet the expectations of membership of any wider children's
workforce. A commitment to holistic working requires helping children
make the most of their talents and potential. We recognise that
a significant proportion of children arrive into children's homes
with existing multiple and complex deficits (Department of Health
1998). It might be that the first thing we are required to do
is to assess what assets the child brings and to focus on building
them up from a position of their strengths. It is imperative therefore
that residential child care workers have an effective understanding,
for example, of child development in order to ensure that they
are capable of meeting complex needs. Through the work of NCERCC
this matter has been addressed in the revisions of the National
Occupational Standards that underpin the IQF and QCF being developed
by CWDC.
APPENDIX ONE
FINDINGS—THE IMPACT OF MARKET FORCES
ON THE OPERATION AND CAPACITY OF THE RESIDENTIAL CHILD CARE SECTOR
Full report http://www.vcsengage.org.uk/PDF/NCERCC%20Full%20Report.pdf
There were sufficient responses from each sector
to ensure the sample was useful for research purposes, providing
a broad representation of the sector. As much data came to the
researchers after the deadline for returns as before it. This
additional information can either be added to an extended analysis
or provide a comparative sample.
PROVIDERS OVERALL
There were, in total, 76 responses from providers
and 20 from commissioners.
Providers were asked for their factual position
in the market-place and for their perception of how work in the
residential child care sector is changing and their response to
any changes. Providers' opinions were also sought to account for
why changes are taking place in the residential child care sector.
FACTUAL POSITION
Taking all the providers together, the total
number of settings responding to the research were 295; and the
maximum number of placements was 1,937. The sectors' response
rates to the questionnaire were: voluntary, 16%; local authority,
39%; and independent, 45%. Children's homes were represented by
68% of responses and residential special schools by 32%.
REPORTED CHANGES
The overall view pointed to a small downturn
in occupancy over the last two years.
Currently, the average level of occupancy is
79%; and 38% of respondents state that their current percentage
level of occupancy is less than it has been over the last two
years. For some (13%), there has been an increase in the level
of occupancy; whilst 33% have experienced the same levels.
When assessing business in terms of turnover,
the majority (59%) of providers are maintaining their level of
turnover, whilst 26% report a decrease. A higher turnover is reported
by 15% of respondents.
A total of 53% of providers state that they
are getting sufficient referrals, against 47% who say they are
not.
As a consequence of the changes identified,
21% of providers judged their current position in the market-place
to be poor. For 10%, their assessment of the situation is that
it is "getting worse" whilst 11% state that they are
"at risk"; 40% referred to their situation as "improving"
and 39% as "strong".
RESPONSE TO
CHANGES
Providers identified the changes they were making
as a response to external factors.
Of the six changes, a "change in staffing"
and "increased spending" were the most frequently cited
(24% and 22% respectively). Other changes made were a "change
in facilities" (16%) and a change in pricing (15%). "Decreased
spending" and a "change in property" accounted
for 12% and 11% respectively.
It is not clear, from these qualitative statements,
whether the changes are being made in order to address the changes
in rates of occupancy, referrals or other criteria identified;
or whether these changes were stimulated by other considerations.
PROVIDERS' OPINIONS
TO ACCOUNT
FOR CHANGES
IN THE
RESIDENTIAL CHILD
CARE SECTOR
Providers selected those factors that they think
commissioners take into account when considering placing a child
with their organisation.
The strongest factors were "quality of
outcomes" (18%); "fee levels" (18%); and "previous
experience of dealing with a provider" (18%).
The "provision of registered education
and care" was identified by 14% of respondents as being a
factor in influencing the commissioning process.
In overall terms, 35% of respondents identified
the "increasing complexity" of the residential sector
as a major factor or trend influencing residential child care.
There was also a strong response to other suggested
factors and a substantial proportion (24%) referred to "the
impact of the Filkin letter"; 22% to "smaller/individual
settings/packages" and 19% to "shorter-term placements".
The question "Is price any more of a motivator now than in
the previous two years?" elicited agreement from 78% of respondents:
with 43% strongly agreeing and 35% agreeing. Those disagreeing
made up 11% of respondents. This level of agreement is the highest
margin drawn out by the research in this report.
SUMMARY
— The data shows a decrease in occupancy
and referral levels, with some providers (21%) assessing their
current position to be poor.
— Taking the figures as a whole, the
picture is mixed. Some providers are experiencing increased use
of residential child care while others are experiencing a small
but distinct decline.
— The figures indicate grounds for
uncertainty within the sector as to the likely use of residential
child care in the future. If these trends were to continue, the
sector would decline steadily and the situation become serious
in a few years.
THE VOLUNTARY
SECTOR
Factual position
The voluntary sector within residential child
care returned 12 (16%) of the questionnaires. The respondents
operate within four children's homes and ten residential special
schools.
Taking the voluntary providers together, the
number of settings responding to the research were 16 (with an
average of four); and the maximum number of placements was 471
(with an average of 39).
Reported changes
Currently, the average level of occupancy is
79%; and 58% of respondents (compared to 38% in the overall trend)
state that their current percentage level of occupancy is less
than it has been over the last two years. For some (8%), there
has been an increase in the level of occupancy; whilst 33% (the
same as for the overall trend) have experienced the same levels.
When assessing business in terms of turnover,
38% of providers are maintaining their level of turnover (as against
59% for the overall trend); whilst 54% report a decrease in turnover
(as against 26% for the overall trend). A higher turnover is reported
by 8% of respondents.
Alongside the reported decrease in occupancy
levels, 31% of providers state that they are getting suffi cient
referrals (as against 53% for the overall trend); and 69% say
they are not (as against 47% for the overall trend).
As a consequence of the changes identified,
half of the voluntary providers judged their current position
in the market-place to be poor. A quarter of this group assessed
their situation to be "getting worse"; whilst another
quarter stated that they are "at risk". In contrast,
42% referred to their situation as "improving"; and
8% as "strong" (as against 39% for the overall trend).
Response to changes
Providers identified the changes they were making
most frequently in response to external factors as: a "change
in staffing", "increased spending" and a "change
in facilities" (24%, which is the same as for the overall
trend, 21% and 21% respectively).
Other changes made were a "change in property"
(12%); "decreased spending" (12%, which is the same
as for the overall trend); and a "change in pricing"
(9%).
Providers' opinions to account for changes in
the residential child care sector
Providers selected those factors that they think
commissioners take into account when considering placing a child
with their organisation.
The strongest factors were "fee levels"
(26%) and "previous experience of dealing with a provider"
(19%).
The "provision of registered education
and care" was identified by 15% of respondents as being a
factor influencing the commissioning process and "quality
of outcomes" by 11%.
"Other" was cited by 22% of respondents.
The voluntary sector showed a similar trend
to that found by providers overall, in that 37% of respondents
identified the "increasing complexity" of the residential
child care sector as a major factor or trend influencing residential
child care.
There was also a strong response to other suggested
factors and a substantial proportion (26%) referred to "smaller/individual
settings/packages". Twentyone per cent responded to "shorter-term
placements" and 16% to "the impact of the Filkin letter".
The question "Is price any more of a motivator
now than in the previous two years?" elicited agreement from
83% of respondents (as against 78% for the overall trend); with
50% strongly agreeing and 33% agreeing.
Summary
— The data shows that about half the
respondents within the voluntary sector are experiencing a downturn
in levels of occupancy and a decrease in turnover, and of these
50% have identified their current position to be poor.
— As with the overall trend, there
is a strong identification of fee levels in accounting for placement
decisions.
THE LOCAL
AUTHORITY SECTOR
Factual position
The local authority sector within residential
child care returned 30 (39%) of the questionnaires. The respondents
operate within 29 children's homes and one residential special
school.
Taking the local authority providers together,
the number of settings responding to the research were 57 (with
an average of three) and the maximum number of placements is 361
(with an average of 14).
Reported changes
Currently, the average level of occupancy is
87%; and 17% of respondents state that their current percentage
level of occupancy is less than it has been over the last two
years. For some (17%), there has been an increase in the level
of occupancy; whilst 50% have experienced the same levels.
When assessing activity in terms of turnover,
the majority (73%) of providers are maintaining the same levels,
whilst 15% report a decrease in turnover. A higher turnover is
reported by 12%.
Of the local authority providers, 92% state
that they are getting sufficient referrals, as against 8% who
say they are not. This is markedly higher than for the voluntary
and independent sectors.
In contrast to the position within the voluntary
sector, only 4% judge their current position to be "getting
worse" and none are "at risk". A third, 33%, referred
to their situation as "improving" and 63% as "strong".
Response to changes
Providers identified the changes they were making
most frequently making in response to external factors as: a "change
in staffing" and "increased spending" (38% and
32% respectively).
Other changes made were a "change in facilities"
(16%); a "change in property" (8%); and a "change
in pricing" and "decreased spending" (3% each).
Providers' opinions to account for changes in
the residential child care sector
Providers selected those factors that they think
commissioners take into account when considering placing a child
with their organisation.
The strongest factors were "available bed
space" (25%) and "quality of outcomes" (23%); with
"previous experience of dealing with a provider" identified
by 13% and "provision of registered education and care"
by 9%.
"Fee levels" were identified by 9%
as being a factor in influencing the commissioning process, the
lowest amongst all sectors.
In overall terms, 43% of respondents identified
the "increasing complexity" of the residential child
care sector as a major factor or trend influencing residential
child care.
There was also a strong response to other suggested
factors and a substantial proportion (26%) referred to "shorter-term
placements". Twenty-one per cent referred to "smaller/individual
settings/packages" and 10% to "The impact of the Filkin
letter".
The question "Is price any more of a motivator
now than in the previous two years?" elicited agreement from
67% of respondents; with 21% strongly agreeing and 46% agreeing.
Those disagreeing made up 18% of respondents. So cost has been
placed significantly lower down the list of important factors
by this sector than others have done.
Summary
— The data shows that the local authority
sector is more confident generally and identifies itself as being
in a strong current position.
THE INDEPENDENT
SECTOR
Factual position
The independent sector within residential child
care returned 34 (45%) of the questionnaires. The respondents
operate within 27 children's homes and 17 residential special
schools.
Taking the independent providers together, the
number of settings responding to the research were 222 (with an
average of 11) and the maximum number of placements was 1,105
(with an average of 33).
Reported changes
Currently, the average level of occupancy is
73% (the lowest amongst all sectors); with 50% of respondents
(compared to 38% in the overall trend) stating that their current
percentage level of occupancy is less than it has been for the
last two years. For some (12%), there has been an increase in
the level of occupancy whilst 18% have experienced the same levels
(as against the overall trend of 33%).
When assessing business in terms of turnover,
55% of providers are holding (similar to 59% for the overall trend);
whilst 24% report a decrease in turnover (similar to 26% for the
overall trend). A higher turnover is reported by 21% report (the
highest reporting this of all sectors).
Alongside the reported decrease in occupancy
levels, 32% of providers state that they are getting sufficient
referrals (as against 53% for the overall trend); and 68% say
they are not (similar to the voluntary sector and against 47%
for the overall trend).
As a consequence of the changes identified by
providers, 24% judged their current position in the market-place
to be poor. For 9%, their assessment of the situation is that
it is "getting worse", while 15% state that they are
"at risk". In contrast, 45% referred to their situation
as "improving" and 30% as "strong" (as against
39% for the overall trend).
Response to changes
Providers identified the changes they were making
most frequently in response to external factors as: a "change
in pricing" and a "change in staffing" (23% and
18% respectively). "Increased spending" and "decreased
spending" both accounted for 17%.
Other changes made were a "change in facilities"
(14%) and a "change in property" (12%).
Providers' opinions to account for changes in
the residential child care sector
Providers selected those factors that they think
commissioners take into account when considering placing a child
with their organisation.
The strongest factors were "fee levels"
(23%) and "previous experience of dealing with a provider"
(22%).
The "provision of registered education
and care" and "quality of outcomes" were both identified
by 17% of respondents as being a factor in influencing the commissioning
process.
"Other" was cited by 9%.
In overall terms, 36% of respondents identified
"the impact of the Filkin letter" as a major factor
or trend influencing residential child care. This was the highest
of all sectors.
There was also a strong response to other suggested
factors and a substantial proportion (29%) referred to "increasing
complexity"; with 21% responding to "smaller/individual
settings/packages"; and 14% to "shorter-term placements".
The question "Is price any more of a motivator
now than in the previous two years?" elicited agreement from
84% of respondents (almost the same as for the voluntary sector
and against 78% for the overall trend) with 6% disagreeing.
Summary
— The data shows that half the respondents
from within the independent sector are experiencing a downturn
in levels of occupancy, with 24% reporting a decrease in turnover
and 21% an increase.
— As with the voluntary sector, there
is a strong identification of fee levels in accounting for placement
decisions.
June 2008
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