Editorial

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

Remember? 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 … Read more

Last month we said, “Thankyou” to Bill Stevenson, who had looked after the technical side of the Webmag for the last six years. This month we say, “Welcome” to Jeremy Curtis, who is taking over the role. You will have noticed some of the changes he is introducing already. Jeremy makes a living from IT … Read more

Six years ago this month the Waterhouse Report was published. It listed a catalogue of abuse which children had suffered while in care. The most extraordinary aspect of the publication of the Waterhouse Report was not the appalling catalogue of abuse or the sheer scale of the whole thing but the mad scramble to check … Read more

Changing Ways of Thinking It has been interesting to watch the way that Professor Al Aynsley-Green, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has tackled his role as children’s champion. He is quite a showman, with an eye to ways of grabbing the attention of the media, for example by wearing a hoodie, and in his public … Read more

  A New Phase: Now We Are Six This issue marks the sixth birthday for the Webmag, and another turning point in its development. Over the last six years the Webmag has achieved a lot. It has published about a thousand articles and received several million hits. We hope that they represent a lot of … Read more

Honours Childcare workers have done well in the New Year Honours List. They include : – Sarah Kearsley-Wooller for her work with Hope House Hospice, – Peter Ward, an Advisory Committee member from Central Scotland, – Isobel White from Save the Children, – Edith Blake from the Highland Children’s Panel – Gillian Strachan from NCH … Read more

This year, FICE is holding its biennial Congress in Sarajevo, and as in Glasgow in 2004, there will be a parallel congress for young people. The FICE website is now up and running, and early bookings are advised if you want to take advantage of cheap rates. Click here for an attachment being circulated to … Read more

It looks as if a corner may have been turned. The Minister’s spokesman announced at the National Children’s Bureau conference on 9 November that the Government had decided to set up a National Centre for Excellence in Residential Care for England. This decision may be a few years late, in the wake of Scotland’s action … Read more

The title of the project seemed like wishful thinking for quite a while. There was momentum at the start, but the idea appeared to have got well bogged down as its enthusiasts were tied up in other responsibilities. The choice of title – put forward by Adrian Ward – seemed ironic. But the idea was … Read more