Why people come into residential social work and why some stay in it. By John and Marilyn McDonnell

 From Why Care?: A volume of articles on the values underlying residential work, edited by David Lane and Keith White, RCA Annual Review 1980, p. 37-41 If it is not doing too much violence to a useful quotation: “Some people are born residential social workers, others become residential social workers, whilst some have residential work thrust … Read more

Press release: Alfie’s magic hat: Fun at the zoo. Published by Sirenia Books.

PRESS RELEASE For immediate release A  new children’s story book has been published for babies and infants that includes signing, or sign language. Designed for hearing children pre-speech, ‘Alfie’s Magic Hat: Fun at the zoo’, the first in a series, recognises the increasing interest in using ‘signing’ to help babies and infants communicate, pre speech. … Read more

“On Literature” by Dr Keith White

Thankfully for those of us who live alongside, and try to understand, support and care for children, whether as parents, teachers, counsellors, therapists, or social workers, know that there is a range of sources of knowledge and wisdom available to help us. Such resources are over and above our own intuitions, common sense and experience.  … Read more

National Commissioning Conference Chair’s introduction 2015. By Jonathan Stanley

Reflection, appropriation, acceleration, activation, democracy and dialogue. The National Commissioning Conference Training is undoubtedly amongst the best programmes of any conference. The reason is that the programme is put together by those doing the task for those doing the task. It’s the place we come to hear who is doing what. It’s a place of … Read more

Group working models – What does a psychologically informed planned environment bring to a traumatised child? by Morwenna Rogers.

Humans are social beings. Historically individual humans are weak, at risk from predators and incapable of surviving for long in nature without others. By being part of a family network; a community or some form of functional group i.e. hunter-gatherer societies, was and still is the safest way to survival. This is thought to be … Read more

Unintended Consequences. by David Lane

Paper given at the Child Care History Network Hinsley Hall, Leeds: 3 July 2015 Introduction The Hinge Factor by Erik Durschmied is about a number of key conflicts which the author  believes changed the course of history, such as Agincourt and Waterloo. One of the obvious ones in British history is the Battle of Hastings, … Read more