Ruth Sinclair

Framework for the assessment of children in need

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the new Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need which has recently been published by the Department of Health in England (DH, 1999; 2000). Although this has been developed to address current concerns within the English child care system, the concepts within the Assessment Framework seem very relevant to the theme of today’s conference, Planning to Care.

The views of young people in Northern Ireland on anti-sectarianism.

This article reports the findings from a series of “Talkshops”—interactive facilitated discussions—undertaken with 114 young people from six secondary schools serving one town within Northern Ireland. The young people first met with the researchers in their own schools, then an elected group came together in combined Talkshops and, finally, a group of six young people, one from each school, met with the researchers to help analyse the data and prepare a presentation on the results. Through the Talkshops the young people explored their views on sectarianism, and the factors they felt helped such attitudes develop; they considered how this impacted on their day‐to‐day lives and how they had learned to deal with difference. They also considered how things could be different in the future, suggesting ways to promote anti‐sectarianism. The article reports the views of the young people, concluding with their summary statement—the message these young people wanted to be heard by adults within Northern Ireland.

The Education of Children in Need: the impact of the Education Reform Act 1988, The Education Act 1993 and the Children Act 1989

abstract This paper indicates some of the contradictory messages contained in the Children Act 1989, the Education and Reform Act 1988 and the Education Act 1993 in particular with regard to the role of the local authority and the rights of children. The concept of ‘children in need’ within the education system is examined and the key groups of young people who are ‘children in need’ are identified. Concerns about the education provision to ‘children in need’ are highlighted using the results of two recent research studies undertaken by the Bureau, Children in Residential EBD Schools and Adolescents Assessed by Social Services. The paper concludes with a postscript on more recent government policies for pupils with problems.

Developing evidenced-based policy and practice in social interventions with children and families

This review article focuses on a series of reports commissioned by Barnardos, the largest childrens charity in the UK.1 The series examines ‘what works?’ in different forms of social intervention with children and families. The publication of these reports is very timely. There is growing interest, indeed a demand, from many quarters for a strengthening of the evidence base that informs social policy. This, in turn, has opened a debate among researchers and users of research about what constitutes evidence. What sort of information enables us to make claims that a particular initiative works? This series considers the question of appropriate research methodologies and in so doing raises many further questions, which are the theme of this review.

Safeguarding Children Across Services: Messages from Research

This Messages from Research follows a well-established pattern of such publications that summarise several major research projects funded by the Department of Health and Department of Education on clearly identified aspects of children’s social care. The key objective of these publications is to help ensure that policy-makers, service commissioners, practitioners and clinicians have access to the latest evidence base on key aspects of policy and practice in childcare. The Messages from Research reviews aim to be authoritative, and to be scrupulous in the summation of often-complex research findings, while being relevant and meaningful to those working directly with children or in planning services for them. This report focuses specifically on 15 research studies commissioned by the government in the wake of the Victoria Climbie inquiry and the death of Peter Connolly. Each of the research studies has been summarised briefly by the researcher authors, with the key messages identified. The review also contains useful summaries of rigorous evaluations of major interventions to effect changes in outcomes for children. The findings from the studies are brought together under five key themes:

Consulting with children and young people: Building on what we know

Abstract Consulting with children and young people about issues that directly affect them is not only their right but is increasingly seen as best practice. But what are the outcomes from participation; how do we consult and interpret what children are telling us; how can the views of children inform policy and service development in Northern Ireland. I These were some of the issues discussed at the National Childrens I Bureau second annual childrens conference in Northern Ireland held in October 2001. The aims of the conference were to: