Leadership in Residential Child Care

In one enquiry after another, there has been a call for an increasein the proportion of qualified staff in residential child careservices, as one of a range of solutions to the difficulties thathave beset the service. Leadership in Residential Child Carecompares and assesses courses available for professional socialwork training and explores the ways that training contributes tothe quality of care in the sector. Drawing on an evaluation of theResidential Child Care Initiative, the authors examine the dilemmasconcerning the provision of qualification training for residentialcare staff today. They address issues such as:
* the loss of qualified staff from the sector
* different models of professional competence that qualificationseeks to achieve
* the role qualification and training can play in enhancing thestatus of what is sometimes seen as the Cinderella element in childcare provision
Leadership in Residential Child Care discusses issues ofconsiderable relevance to managers and trainers seeking to maximisethe value they derive from the training provided to residentialchild care staff. The experience of special courses developed underthe Residential Child Care Initiative will be of interest to allthose concerned with the development of the sector from thoseconsidering the training needs of residential care staff, toteachers and tutors in universities and colleges of highereducation providing social work qualification programmes.

List of tables vii

About the Authors ix

Foreword xi

Acknowledgements xiii

1 The qualification debate 1

2 The evaluation of RCCI: research methods 31

3 Local authority training strategies and staff secondment 49

4 Issues in DipSW programme design, content and delivery 71

5 Teaching and learning: residential child case staff and their experience of DipSW programmes 88

6 Making the DipSW relevant for residential child care workers and managers 112

7 Returning to work 141

8 The return of secondees: the impact on the work environment 159

9 Training the residential child care managers of the future 190

Bibliography 215

Index 219

an intelligent and worthwhile book, which I would recommend"..(Children & Society, Vol.15 2001)

"...a very useful and accessible review..." (TherapeuticCommunities, Vol.21, No.4, 2000)

Dione Hills and Camilla Child, both of The Tavistock Institute. In one enquiry after another, there has been a call for an increase in the proportion of qualified staff in residential child care services, as one of a range of solutions to the difficulties that have beset the service. Leadership in Residential Child Care compares and assesses courses available for professional social work training and explores the ways that training contributes to the quality of care in the sector. Drawing on an evaluation of the Residential Child Care Initiative, the authors examine the dilemmas concerning the provision of qualification training for residential care staff today. They address issues such as:

• the loss of qualified staff from the sector
• different models of ?professional competence? that qualification seeks to achieve
• the role qualification and training can play in enhancing the status of what is sometimes seen as the ?Cinderella? element in child care provision

Leadership in Residential Child Care discusses issues of considerable relevance to managers and trainers seeking to maximise the value they derive from the training provided to residential child care staff. The experience of special courses developed under the Residential Child Care Initiative will be of interest to all those concerned with the development of the sector?from those considering the training needs of residential care staff, to teachers and tutors in universities and colleges of higher education providing social work qualification programmes.