Published by The International Centre for Therapeutic Care
Editor Plan We received a beautiful brochure asking us to sponsor a child with Plan. The eight-page glossy had well written and nicely illustrated stories about children’s services in Tanzania, Togo, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Nepal and Sierra Leone, and it asked us to help make poverty history by being part of Plan. We hadn’t … Read more
This paper was given at a National Children’s Bureau Day Conference, held on 15th March 2000 and entitled Looking Forward to the Future : Agendas for Change in Residential Childcare, to launch a book called Positive Residential Practice : Learning the Lessons of the 1990s, edited by David Crimmens and John Pitts and published by … Read more
The Webmag has been going for over six years now, and we must have published over a thousand articles. Who refers to the musty piles of back numbers of hard copy magazines? The Webmag articles are all there at the touch of the Back Issues button. Modern technology makes them available. But unless you are … Read more
The pain of giving up a baby for adoption is still raw for some mothers 50 years later, as a fascinating two-part documentary showed. Love Child, was shown on ITV over two successive Sundays in January and was made by Testimony Films, Steve Humphries’ Bristol-based company renowned for producing oral history programmes. In the 1950s … Read more
A new Adoption Bill has been published which will enable those affected by adoptions to have the right to make contact with the blood relatives with whom they lost contact. So, mothers who gave up their children will be able to seek to make contact once the child is eighteen; so will siblings and grandparents. … Read more
I just love it when the veil of confusion is lifted from my eyes and everything becomes clear. Over the past year I have become concerned and even frustrated at times, as the residential care service seemed to be slipping back to the bad old days of the 1980s, when it was beset by bad … Read more
In the last month, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children has held two meetings: Monday 6 February – Respect and Anti-Social Behaviour: with presentations from members of Young NCB and the UK Youth Parliament, and Pam Hibbert (Barnardo’s) Monday 13 February – Youth Justice: with speakers Professor Rod Morgan (Chair, Youth Justice Board for … Read more
Mother and toddler groups, play groups or Tumble Tots – what’s best for children? One mother’s view. This is the first of a new column in which Valerie Jackson has invited a number of parents whose children are now well beyond nursery age to reflect on their choices for or against nursery care for their … Read more
Leanne kept disappearing from the children’s home on Saturday afternoons. If you want to read the first part, click here. On my cold and lonely walk back to the Assessment Centre I tried to review the possibilities about Leanne’s Saturday adventures. She was fourteen years old, petite, blonde haired and very pretty. She was also … Read more
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a social work student on a period of assessed practice learning is in need of a good practice teacher”. Although this is a reference to the words of the great Jane Austen, there is nevertheless a truth in the need to help the student make Sense as they … Read more
Childcare is a tired term, and there is an argument for using pedagogical or educational thinking to give children their space in society. A fascinating article appeared in the January edition of the National Institute Economic Review[1]. This is not a journal that I normally read, but the title of the piece Farewell to Childcare … Read more
Name of book: The Enemies of Jupiter Author: Caroline Lawrence Publisher: Orion ISBN No: 1842551647 Price: £4.99 First name of child reviewing the above book and their age: Toby aged 9 A score out of 10: 5 (1 being rubbish and 10 being fantastic/excellent) Please write a very short review: This book is about how … Read more