SCIE/NICE recommendations on looked after children: Promoting the quality of life of looked-after children and young people

Training for professionals

Evidence suggests that the experiences and needs of looked-after children and young people are not well understood by all the professionals who come into contact with them. Developing national training curriculums, with levels appropriate for a wide range of professionals, will increase understanding of this diverse group of children and young people and can do much to support high-quality care, promote educational stability and achievement, and encourage timely access to services to help maintain or improve emotional health and wellbeing.

Recommendation 50 Develop a national core training module

Who should take action?

Children’s Workforce Development Council.

• What action should they take? Open

  • Agree a core training module at national level to inform professionals and carers about the needs of looked-after children and young people. This module should include developing understanding and awareness of:
    • the reasons why children and young people enter care, including babies and young children (with reference to attachment theory)
    • safeguarding issues
    • the impact of entering care on children and young people, including babies and young children
    • relationships with siblings (see also recommendations 15, 20 and 24)
    • care provided by family and friends (see also recommendations 39 and 40)
    • the impact of trauma and distress on the behaviour and development of looked-after children and young people and their ability to form meaningful relationships during childhood and as they move into adulthood
    • bereavement and loss
    • the impact of the carer’s own experiences on their parenting style and ability to care for and relate to children and young people
    • the roles of professionals who work with looked-after children and young people
    • how to work effectively in multi-agency settings (see also recommendation 6)
    • differing accountability within and among agencies
    • good practice in recording information on looked-after children and young people to support better care planning (see also recommendations 20–23)
    • how to support educational attainment, including higher education (see also 41–45)
    • how to encourage engagement in activities outside the school curriculum and in the community, including creative and leisure activities.
  • Pay particular attention to developing reflective practice as an integral part of professional training for those working with looked-after children and young people.
  • Monitor the quality and impact of training.

Recommendation 51 Train social workers to support looked-after children and young people in education

Who should take action?

• Social Work Reform Board.

• What action should they take? Open

  Work with education providers to include a module on looked-after children and young people in the educational setting in initial social worker training. This should include:

  • the importance of a stable and settled educational experience
  • a basic understanding of the educational system including the structure and processes of the special needs system(27)
  • how to encourage educational attainment, including further and higher education and knowledge of entitlements to access and funding
  • how to support carers to get the best from the education system for the children and young people in their care
  • awareness of the importance and impact of extra-curricular and enriching activities for looked-after children and young people.

Recommendation 52 Train independent reviewing officers to support looked-after children and young people in education

Who should take action?

• Social work managers.

• What action should they take? Open

  • Ensure all independent reviewing officers undertake a core training module which includes all issues identified in recommendation 50 (core training) and which also covers:
    • the educational system (including the special needs process) and its structure, and the impact of moving schools and part-time timetables on confidence and attainment
    • the importance of a stable education and how to provide it
    • monitoring and evaluating the quality of health assessments, personal education plans (PEPs), personal education allowances (PEAs), individual education plans (IEPs) and pastoral support plans (PSPs)
    • holding professionals accountable for decisions taken at a case review and ensuring all relevant recording is of sufficient quality to describe the interventions required
    • understanding the implications of policy and legislation about looked-after children and young people
    • motivating and influencing others within care agencies and schools to develop effective support for looked-after children and young people
    • understanding the importance and impact of extra-curricular creative and leisure activities for looked-after children and young people.
  • Monitor the quality of training content and its delivery, and evaluate its impact on the quality of education and care of looked-after children and young people. Feed the outcomes into future planning and delivery of courses.
  • Ensure the independent reviewing officers service is monitored for quality.

27.

For further information, see Department for Children, Schools and Families (2010) Promoting the educational achievement of looked after children: statutory guidance for local authorities. London: Department for Children, Schools and Families.