Essex Safeguarding Children Board 2013 Conference

‘‘Putting ourselves in others’ shoes’? Obstacles and opportunities in working

together to protect children

Annie HudsonChief Executive

The College of Social Work

The ground to cover….

• Expectations and context

• Impediments and barriers

• Taking forward best practice – learning and doing …

• Your challenges in Essex?

Working together: context and expectations

Perennial challenges…..• Working together –catastrophic consequences if get ‘it’ wrong

• SCRs: ‘wicked issues’

• Public ambivalence + media default

Particular and contemporary ……• Changing expectations – Ofsted/Govt

• Stresses in ‘age of austerity’

• New threats, ‘new’ issues – eg CSE, teenagers

And opportunities too ….

• Post Munro ‘rebalancing’: professional vs state bureaucrat

• New Working Together (with gter oversight eg SCR)

• Greater local discretion: monitoring, learning adapting (Fish)

• Professionals leading practice – accountable + supported

• Trend data – NSPCC: How Safe are Our Children-63% decline 30 +yrs (Rate= 3.6 per million)

Working together: context and expectations

Impediments to effective WT

1- Intrinsic nature: family + professional systems ‘Bring all frailties as well as strengths’ (Reder)

• Risk, dysfunction + vulnerability • ‘Defence systems against anxiety’ (Menzies) • ‘Inured’ professionals’: (Camilla Batmanghelidgh)• Professional ‘systems’ mirroring family systems : ‘edge of chaos’?

• Change beliefs• Scepticism vs optimism, • ‘Start again’ syndrome• Changing courses/perceptions

• Power, status + authority – (Ferguson)

Impediments

2- Roles

• Values, skills, priorities –common purpose?

• Assumptions, stereotypes + prejudices

• Silos + fragmentation – partial views on life of the child

• Role shifts : eg. social worker as ‘navigator’ vs engaged relationships

• Process vs ‘well reasoned practice’

Impediments

3 - Operational imperatives • Busy’ness + business……dumping?

• Timescales and priorities

• Rapid decision making

• Information: not shared or reinterpreted or not ‘get through’

Taking forward best practice

1. Imagining life for children – holding child in mind • Everyone’s responsibility

• ‘Emotional pathways’ (UEA research) – non linear

• Checking out, challenging, reflecting

Taking forward best practice

1. Imagining life for children – holding child in mind

• Everyone’s responsibility

• ‘Emotional pathways’ (UEA research) – non linear

• Checking out, challenging, reflecting

Taking forward best practice

1. Holding the child in mind

2. Putting ourselves in others’ shoes

3. Emotional and intelligent systems

4. Using authority ‘well’

5. Relationships between universal and specialist services

Taking forward best practice

2. Putting ourselves in ‘others’ shoes

• Prioritising time and attention

• How can I learn more about what it is like to be/do…

• Work shadowing?

• Managing risk as a joint enterprise

3. Emotionally + intellectually intelligent systems

• Grit and Grip: open learning systems

• Using antennae : noticing, speaking, reflecting

• Research informed practice

• Messaging: narrative for families + agencies

• ‘It’s ok to change my mind’: surfacing uncertainty

Taking forward best practice

Taking forward best practice

4 – Using authority ‘well’

• Different forms: agency, professional + personal

• Not ‘either/or’ with helping

• Using well – • Always clear• Not ‘duck’ • Responsibility to others

• Execution on joint behalf

Taking forward best practice 5. Relationship between universal and specialist services

Connecting universal and specialist services

• Arena for greatest conflict/misunderstanding • Want it ‘our way’!

• ‘Working across’ roles + training

• Shared priorities – same ‘end games’

• Policies and processes – thresholds

This involves: • Children’s voices percolating all we do

• Invest in skills development for work with complexity + chaoso ‘Emotionally informed thinking spaces’ (Ferguson) o Making the unbearable bearable’ + more effective

• How we work: • Rebalancing agendas –from process to ‘good practice’• Grit in the system – constructive challenge • Confident + sensitive use of authority

• Diverse groups and needs –(Children’s Commissioner)

• ‘Inconvenient truths’ – explaining to others

Concluding comments

What are key impediments and barriers for you/your agency/Essex? What works well – why and how ?

Priorities for improvement ?