Jeremy Roche

Extending the Social Exclusion Debate An Exploration of the Family Lives of Young Carers and Young People with Me

In this article the authors explore the day-to-day lives of two groups of young people. Both were the subject of research activities carried out between 1997 and 2000. The outcomes of that work into the lives of young carers and young people with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) have been extensively documented elsewhere; here we draw out some of the common factors that serve to socially isolate and exclude young people who are heavily reliant on, or are drawn into supporting, home-based caring relationships. We argue that the current social exclusion debate’s primary focus on the public sphere (with an emphasis on such matters as homelessness and school exclusion) neglects the ways in which young people can experience similar forms of disadvantage in the private sphere. A more critical analysis of the impact of social exclusion on young people requires a wider perspective, which examines and clarifies the interconnectedness of the public and private domains of young people’s lives. The research presented in this article highlights the ‘common experience’ of young people’s exclusion in the private and public sphere and raises further issues regarding young people’s invisibility and professional practice and unease when faced with the complexity of young people’s lives.

Children's rights: In the name of the child

Abstract Childrens rights literature has problematized the imagery of family privacy, the operation of the welfare principle, and the childs participation in decision-making processes, and, recently, has questioned the relationship between rights and culture. This literature has revealed how languages of right as well as welfare have been and can be deployed to deny and silence. Here, in order to assess the degree to which the child can be considered a social participant, I consider the extent to which the law recognizes and respects the autonomy rights of the child - the child as legal actor. However, concern for the childs autonomy rights in theory must not blind us to the observation that in social practice there is no single voice of childhood: if the law is able to hear only the conventional the voices of outsiders will be lost. The question of rights and social difference is central: in plural society the languages of right carry very different meanings and consequences. None the less the languag...

The Children Act 1989: Once a parent always a parent?

The Children Act 1989 changes the way in which the legal system approaches the welfare of children affected by divorce. Central to these changes is the new concept of parental responsibility and the “presumption of no order.” This article examines whether the Act will work to the benefit of children and questions the model of co-operative parenting recommended by some commentators. At the same time it points out that to focus on the “primary carer” alone does not resolve all the issues. It concludes by arguing that imposed co-operation could be a recipe for continual conflict and that there will be circumstances where a court order, and a clarification of who has responsibility, could be best for the child and the primary carer

Every Child Matters: ‘tinkering’ or ‘reforming’—an analysis of the development of the Children Act (2004) from an educational perspective

This article presents an analysis of the factors shaping implementation of the Children Act (2004). Specific attention is given to examining the reoccurring themes and debates generated through a number of child abuse inquiries. A connection is made between these themes and debates and the emergence of the Every Child Matters agenda. The implications of the Act are considered from an educational policy and practice perspective. Three specific areas of development concerned with multidisciplinary work, workforce reform and ‘extended schools’ are considered, demonstrating how aspects of the Every Child Matters agenda appear to be unfolding in practice.

Allowing Children a Voice: A Note on Confidentiality

Abstract During the Cleveland controversy there was much public focus on the relationship between the state, personified by the local authority social worker, and the family, represented by the parent. As such this would not have been that different from the tragedies surrounding many young children and their families which have resulted in official enquiries and reports over the past 15 years. However in Cleveland there was another figure–that of the crusading doctor. This figure enjoyed more professional power and prestige than social work and was thus able to force onto the agenda, of both public debate and social work action, the question of the sexual abuse of children and its prevalence. Yet despite this special feature of Cleveland1 the aftermath was depressingly familiar. In the debates which followed Cleveland the child was pushed off centre stage and only appeared in the company of the adults. The child was the means by which parent and social worker were adjudged failures or successes. Once thi...

Children and the Law

This entry outlines the diverse constructions of children and childhood in law, a diversity that operates at the national as well as the global level. The law positions children in very different ways and there is a tension between the laws traditional positioning of the child as a legal object and the emergent childrens rights discourse which emphasizes the need to address the child as a social and legal subject. Public concern with the moral and physical welfare of children has played a key role in promoting childrens interests and law reform affecting the public and private spheres. The welfare principle is central to legal adjudication in disputes involving children though in the juvenile delinquency field it is less prominent. When the law should treat children as if they were adults and what procedural rights children should have are complex and contested issues. The developing emphasis on the childs voice leaves courts and legislators with a dilemma. The idea of the child as a legal subject raises difficult questions around children making use of the law for their own self-defined purposes as well as challenging prevailing notions of childhood incompetence and the correctness of judicial paternalism.

Beyond Problematisation—Young People, Citizenship and a New Approach to Service Delivery

ABSTRACT This article considers the citizenship claims of young people and the consequences of these claims for the delivery of services to young people. In doing so, an analysis is offered as to how various problematising discourses of youth have shaped matters of policy formulation and service delivery. Although recent responses to service development have argued for the introduction of participative and empowering forms of practice, it largely remains the case that representations of the period of youth, which depict young people as ‘troubled’ and ‘troublesome’, predominate; these representations underpin ideologically driven commitments to control and regulate youthful behaviour. In turn, problematising discourses have produced problematising service responses. Change will only occur when such discourses are strategically challenged, resisted and responded to. In order to achieve this a different socio-political style and approach to developing policy and practice is required that actively promotes the citizenship rights of young people.