The attached report is significant in a number of ways. First and foremost, it records the introduction of social pedagogy into practice in England for the first time. The ideas have been bandied around for quite a while, as people have got used to the language of social pedagogy, but to apply the ideas in practice is a big step.Secondly, the report conveys an air of excitement and optimism, reflecting what we have experienced in conferences we have attended where social pedagogy is being considered. It is not that social pedagogy brings a magic wand that suddenly makes everything right through a new spell or new working methods. It is that the thinking underlying social pedagogy makes sense to workers of what they have been doing already, and makes their work more purposeful. This renews motivation. One of the workers quoted in the Executive Summary says the ‘head’ had dominated work, but social pedagogy thinking put the ‘heart’ back into the work, and that has been in short supply for some time in the UK.
Thirdly, this report was one of the last pieces of work funded by the Social Education Trust. The Trust was a funding body which decided to have a limited life and apply its funds where it thought it could best help children by introducing the values and ideas of social education / social pedagogy. It has now been wound up after a short but effective life, and we are hoping to publish a piece next month summarising and celebrating its achievements.
The report is another credit to the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care, which is steadily building itself a reputation in giving a lead in this field. Thanks are due to NCERCC for permission to republish the report.
Click here or on the report below to open the report.
