I Hinson Langford, C. P., Bowsher, J., Maloney, J. P. and Lillis, P. P., 1997. Social

Rees Centre Newsletter #2 January 2013 CONTENTS Research Updates: Rees Centre recruits foster carers as interviewers In press: review on peer contact and support between foster carers Publication of review on maltreatment and social understanding Events: Rees Centre Public Seminar Series Special lecture: Professor Peter Pecora University of Oxford Department of Education Seminar Series Rees Centre News: First Rees Centre seminar Conference presentations Reviews Foster Care in the News Young Voices CONTACT THE REES CENTRE Phone: +44 (0)1865 274050 Email: [email protected] Website: http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk Blog: http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/blog/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReesCentre

RESEARCH UPDATES Rees Centre recruits foster carers as interviewers On 5th December 2012 we held our first training for carer-interviewers at the Rees Centre. The training reflects our commitment to engaging carers in our work – not just in making use of our results, but also to be involved in conducting the research. Ten foster carers from local authorities and independent fostering providers attended the session, which included a discussion about the benefits and challenges of different types of interview, as well as plenty of opportunities for carers to practise interviewing each other. Our next training session will be held in Warrington on 30 th January 2013, and we look forward to working with all of our new team members in our forthcoming research programme. In press: review on peer contact and support between foster carers Following on from our review of the literature on motivations to foster, we will soon be publishing a review of the international research on peer contact between foster carers. The review was undertaken in order to identify the ways in which foster carers come together, the forms of support and learning that this provides and the subsequent impact on outcomes. The report will outline key findings from the literature:  Peer contact between carers fulfills a number of important support needs: the need for emotional (the provision of caring and empathy), instrumental (concrete assistance), informational (assisting with problem-solving) and appraisal (positive feedback) supporti. In addition, peer contact can serve to counter the sense of isolation that is often experienced by foster carersii.  Only three studies have examined the direct links between peer contact and benefits for carers, children and placements. Two studies showed that peer contact and the resulting perceptions of being supported predicted a greater likelihood of continuing a career as a foster carer iii,iv and a third study indicated links between greater peer contact and a lower likelihood of depressionv.  Local authorities and independent foster care providers offer a range of forms of peer contact acknowledging that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is unlikely to be of benefit. Provisions for foster carers to meet with each other include local support and advocacy groups, training sessions, mentoring and buddying schemes. The Fostering Network Publication, ‘Learning Together: Learning from each other’vi describes ways in which the benefits of contact between foster carers can be enhanced. These include:  Pairing new carers with a more experienced carer which can benefit both parties, particularly where this relationship is formalised in the form of a mentoring scheme.  Opportunities for carers to share experiences and problem-solving approaches, which have been shown to bolster their sense of efficacy and reduce feelings of isolation.  Offering local groups and online alternatives where carers are more geographically spread (e.g. in rural areas). PDF copies of the published review will be sent to all members of our email list and will also be available for download on the Rees Centre website. Hard copies will be available on request from [email protected] .

Publication of review on maltreatment and social understanding Nikki Luke’s paper on the links between childhood maltreatment experiences and the ability to understand the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of others has been published online by the psychology journal Developmental Review. The review – co-authored by Professor Robin Banerjee of the University of Sussex – includes details of 51 international studies, and reveals a complex profile whereby a generally poorer level of social understanding in maltreated children masks a small number of specific strengths. It includes a discussion on the role that individual differences in parenting experiences might play in explaining the results, suggesting that some skills may be more important than others when trying to survive in a hostile environment.

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EVENTS Wednesday 16 January 2013 5.00-6.30pm, 15 Norham Gardens (Seminar Room A) Rees Centre Public Seminar ‘What are we trying to achieve in foster care?’ Professor Robbie Gilligan, Professor of Social Work and Social Policy, Associate Director Children's Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin Professor Ian Sinclair OBE, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, University of York and Consultant to the Rees Centre, University of Oxford Shirley Trundle, Families Group Department for Education See our blog for further details on this talk and the chance to post questions for our speakers.

Tuesday 19 February 2013 4.00-5.30pm, St Antony’s College, Woodstock Road (Nissan Lecture Theatre) **SPECIAL LECTURE AND DISCUSSION LED BY PROFESSOR PETER PECORA** Part of the University of Oxford’s Inter-departmental Seminar Series on ‘Children and Youth in a Changing World’ ‘Improving the outcomes of children and young people in out of home care: practice and research- based strategies’ Professor Peter Pecora, Professor of Social Work, University of Washington and Managing Director of Research Services, Casey Family Programs, Seattle Attendance is free but by prior booking only: please email [email protected]

Wednesday 20 February 2013 5.00-6.30pm, 15 Norham Gardens (Seminar Room A) Rees Centre Public Seminar ‘What can schools do to realise expectations?’ Professor David Berridge OBE, Professor of Child & Family Welfare, University of Bristol Professor Peter Pecora, Professor of Social Work, University of Washington and Managing Director of Research Services, Casey Family Programs, Seattle Dr Peter McParlin, Child Psychologist

Monday 4 March 2013 5.00-6.30pm, 15 Norham Gardens (Seminar Room A) Part of the University of Oxford Department of Education’s Seminar Series ‘Research on childhood well-being: gender and racialised identities’ Professor Ann Phoenix, Co-Director Thomas Coram Research Institute, Institute of Education University of London, Co-Director Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre

Wednesday 20 March 2013 5.00-6.30pm, 15 Norham Gardens (Seminar Room A) Rees Centre Public Seminar ‘Leaving care: outcomes for fostered young people’ Professor Sonia Jackson OBE, Emeritus Professor of Social Studies and Education, Institute of Education, University of London Professor Mike Stein, Research Professor Social Policy Research Unit, University of York Robert Tapsfield, Chief Executive, The Fostering Network

Drinks will be served after each of these events.

REES CENTRE NEWS First Rees Centre seminar The first Rees Centre Public Seminar was held on 21st November 2012. Professor Stephen Scott, of King’s College, London, spoke about his work on the Fostering Changes training programme and evidence of its links with children’s secure attachments. Professor Kathy Sylva, of the Department of Education, University of Oxford, outlined the use of the SPOKES (Supporting Parents on Kids’ Education) programme, giving details of how it might be used with foster carers to improve children’s reading. Finally, Sara Worth, of the Fostering Services in Bath and NE Somerset, responded to the two presentations and provided some examples of how her service uses training with foster carers. A lively audience discussion followed.

Sara Worth, Stephen Scott and Kathy Sylva

Judy Sebba has produced a blog post, which summarises the talks and outlines some of the key questions raised during the discussion. We invite you to read the post and leave your comments: http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/how-does-foster-care-work-improving-outcomes-and-wellbeing- through-support-and-training-in-parenting/

Conference presentations On 7 December 2012 Nikki Luke spoke about her work on peer reputations, social understanding and empathy in abused and neglected children at the ‘Working with Children in Care: Perspectives from Practitioners and Researchers’ conference in Oxford, organised by The Anna Freud Centre and the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. The conference featured some very honest and moving accounts from two parents of children taken into care.

On 11 December 2012 Judy Sebba spoke at ‘Recruiting Foster carers: tackling delay’, the 3rd Annual Broadcast conference in London. Judy reported on the key findings of the research review on ‘Why people become foster carers’ and then participated in the panel with Robert Tapsfield from The Fostering Network. The presentation can be found on our website.

On 11-16 December 2012 Judy visited Israel to contribute to a conference organized by the Israel Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Education, and to meet with officials and service providers. The conference was about evidence-informed practice and was attended by service providers, practitioners and researchers.

Judy met with the four main fostering service providers in Israel who are independent but commissioned by government. Only 25-30% of children in care are fostered and nearly a half of these are in kinship care. The majority of children in care are in residential homes though fostering services are expanding. The fostering services work with all racial groups and cultural and religious matching of families to children and of professionals where possible are major issues.

On 18 January 2013 Judy is presenting a workshop on the work of the Rees Centre at the North of England Education Conference in Sheffield.

On 12 February 2013 Nikki will be speaking at a CAMHS research seminar about her research on the social and emotional development of children in foster care, and directions for future work in this area.

On 15 February 2013 Judy and Nikki will address the Best Practice Seminar of the Institute for Childhood Trauma and Recovery on the subject of ‘Working with vulnerable children in mainstream schools’.

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REVIEWS Fostering unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people Jim Wade, Ala Sirriyeh, Ravi Kohli and John Simmonds BAAF, 2012; £14.95

This is the first major study examining the experiences of asylum seeking children in foster care in four local authorities in the UK. It draws on data from extensive fieldwork and charts the journeys through foster care from arrival, assessment and placement to education, health, support and moving on, as well as the pivotal role played by role foster carers and social workers.

The authors explain that the aim of foster care for this population is somewhat different to other looked after children: besides providing a secure base and preparing them for independent living, the aim is also ‘to nurture and support young people in the resettlement process’ (p.111). Resettlement involves enabling asylum seeking young people to adapt to their new lives in the UK; this includes supporting their language skills, providing access to education and health services and promoting peer and professional support networks. Foster carers and social workers face the complex task of working with asylum seeking young people to achieve these aims, while supporting them to come to terms with the difficulties they may have faced in the past and preparing them for an uncertain future which may include return to their country of origin (the majority of asylum seeking children are granted leave to remain until they are 17.5 years old).

The study also finds that the progression trajectories of asylum seeking children are very different to other looked after children and that they tend to do better than their peers but only if they don’t have significant behavioural or emotional difficulties.

This report represents an important first step in understanding the challenges and outcomes for asylum seeking young people in foster care, and paves the way for further research with this vulnerable group.

Reviewed by Aoife O’Higgins, Rees Centre Doctoral Student

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FOSTER CARE IN THE NEWS  Michael Gove on ‘The failure of child protection and the need for a fresh start’ – Department for Education, 16th November 2012 http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/speeches/a00217075/gove-speech-on-child-protection-  Does the foster care leaving age need a rethink? – The Guardian, 26th November 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-care-network/2012/nov/26/foster-care-leaving-age-rethink?CMP  Children’s Minister Edward Timpson writes to foster carers – Department for Education, 12th December 2012 http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/e/edward%20timpson%20mp%20letter%20to%20foster %20carers.pdf  Care system fails young offenders: report – BBC News, 18th December 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20763473  Children in care inquiry: live discussion roundup – The Guardian, 27th December 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-care-network/2012/dec/27/children-care-inquiry-live-discussion-roundup  Benefit cuts ‘will see more children taken into care’ – The Independent, 7th January 2013 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/benefit-cuts-will-see-more-children-taken-into-care- 8440235.html  New Year honours for foster carers – The Fostering Network, 7th January 2013 http://www.fostering.net/news/2013/new-year-honours-foster-carers

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YOUNG VOICES The Office of the Children’s Rights Director for England has published the results of a survey of children’s views on fostering. Based on the views of 363 children and young people in foster care, the report includes children’s thoughts on what they would change about fostering and what helps them to settle into a foster placement. Importantly, the report includes numerous quotes from the young people themselves; one child’s words give a general summary of the range of messages on what could be improved about foster care: “It should feel like your own family because then it feels like home.”

There was general support for the Government’s plan to give foster carers more say in day to day decisions: “Foster carers should get the same rights as your mums and dads. They’re the ones who are looking out for you 24/7.”

Children were asked for their views on ‘permanence’ in foster care. The general view was that a sense of stability was a good thing, but it was important that young people felt their options were open: “They should let you know you can stay in this place as well as let you know you can move if you want to – permanence is not really permanence.”

We end here with some thoughts on what would help young people settle into a placement: “If you are brought into someone else’s home, you don't know them, so a welcome pack would help you get to know them better.” “Foster carers clear about what behaviour they want, being friendly, kind.” “A welcoming family who are ready to take on new challenges.”

Further details of the report can be found at https://www.rights4me.org/en/home/latest-news/report-fostering- and-adoption.aspx Back to top i Hinson Langford, C. P., Bowsher, J., Maloney, J. P. and Lillis, P. P., 1997. Social support: a conceptual analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25(1), pp.95-100. ii Blythe, S.L., Jackson, D., Halcomb, E.J. and Wilkes, L., 2011. The stigma of being a long-term foster carer. Journal of Family Nursing, 18(2), pp.234-260. iii Rhodes, K. W., Orme, J. G. and Buehler, C., 2001. A comparison of family foster parents who quit, consider quitting, and plan to continue fostering. Social Service Review, 75(1), pp.84-114. iv Sinclair, I., Gibbs, I. and Wilson, K., 2004. Foster carers: why they stay and why they leave. London: Jessica Kingsley. v Cole, S. A. and Eamon, M. K., 2007. Predictors of depressive symptoms among foster caregivers. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(3), pp.295-310. vi The Fostering Network, 2009. Learning together: learning from each other London: The Fostering Network.