#flchildren

[learner-stories]

“The statement was proof that I had done the Caring for Vulnerable Children course and was more equipped for adopting or fostering.”

Alison is a DTC administrative assistant at the University of Edinburgh and currently works with Phd students in Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Research. She was first introduced to FutureLearn through Barnado’s, the adoption and fostering agency, as her and her husband are looking to adopt.

“One of the things that was suggested by Barnado’s was to do the 6 week course called Caring for Vulnerable Children on FutureLearn.”

“Whilst doing the Caring for Vulnerable Children course, it was fascinating to hear what was happening in people’s daily lives; people who actually work in social work and have that experience of dealing with vulnerable children.”

“Some of the things we were asked to do on the discussion forum meant we had to put in writing our own ideas, which isn’t always that easy, so it was good practice. We had a mockup of a young boy in a difficult home situation, we had to talk about in discussion forum what we would do in that situation and what made that child vulnerable.”

Alison also went on to purchase a Statement of Participation, in order to better demonstrate her commitment to adopting. “The statement was proof that I had done the Caring for Vulnerable Children course and was more equipped for adopting or fostering”.  

As part of the next phase in the adoption process, Alison and her husband have to commit to 12 months of volunteering with vulnerable children. To be approved to do this requires the completion of a very comprehensive befriending application. Alison therefore went on to do the How to Succeed at: Writing Applications course.

“We will be volunteering with children who are struggling or in a vulnerable situation at home. You get to spend time with a child every week. So doing the application course has helped me express myself better and hopefully improves our chances of being approved”.

“My husband and myself already volunteer with the Bethany Lunch-Time Care van in Edinburgh that goes out and gives free food and hot drinks to homeless people. We are already used to dealing with people who can be little aggressive or upset about things, and learned how you deal with that.”

When asked about some advice she might give to others looking to adopt, Alison says:

“Be honest about what you are able to give and also what you are looking for in terms of support from the adoption agency.  A child who has adults going in and out of their lives doesn’t want someone else coming in and out of it.”  

“We thought initially about volunteering with Barnado’s and we looked honestly at the setup they had. I didn’t feel comfortable with it because I couldn’t commit to their schedule.  We decided to instead do something with another organisation run by the Church of Scotland.  I felt more supported as the training suited my schedule better.”  

“Through the Church of Scotland, we’d be responsible for having input in a young person’s life whose parents have drug and alcohol abuse problems - I want to give the very best I can. I want to be in an environment where I was able to get that support that I needed, if and when I needed it.”

The How to Succeed in: Writing Applications course continues to benefit Alison even more widely, as she looks to progress her career at the University of Edinburgh, hoping to move towards the medical side and dealing with people who work in the NHS.  

“What I liked about the course was that you had to really reflect on yourself. I enjoyed the feedback given, the videos were good and made me really feel like I was connecting with the person who was teaching.”

Alison and her husband each take their own FutureLearn courses, allowing them to better explore both their common interests as well as their own.

[suzemcg-blog-blog]

Containment theory and Leadership

I’ve recommended Futurelearn’s free online courses before but continue to be astounded by the quality and thoughtfulness of them, so here is another recommendation. I’m currently doing the ‘Caring for Vulnerable Children’ course which is hosted by University of Strathclyde Centre for Excellence for Looked after Children in Scotland (CELCIS). I’m in the second week and I believe it’s not too late to sign up and catch up with previous weeks if you are interested. It’s all done on line and at your own pace. Not just the course materials but the opportunity to comment, reply and discuss responses with hundreds of other students from all over the globe make these course forums for great thinking and new ideas. The first week of the course dealt with the issues of assessing of risk, vulnerability and ‘good enough parenting’ and highlighted the tensions between a more traditional (my words) ‘community social work’ which recognises and works to address some of the structural inequalities affecting a family’s environment and the present state of affairs - a more surveillance oriented concentration on the relationship traits and deficits of the family. The course argues that this has arisen from the many reviews that have taken place over the years from Maria Colwell to Peter Connelly, and a growing culture of risk aversion. I would add in the sometimes scandalous media blame culture and myth making. The second week has been a real eye opener for me dealing with a potted history of child development theory. A fantastic presentation by Dr. Laura Steckley introduced me to Bion’s concept of Containment and it is this that has motivated me to write today. I hope I am not completely misinterpreting this often pejoratively used word in my attempt to explain it but know for certain I will be teaching grandmother to suck eggs at this point. Containment theory proposes that in the course of parenting, especially in the earliest baby phase, a process happens in which the baby’s inability to manage its own needs, for food or dryness for instance, gives rise to emotions of panic and fear. As the parent interacts with the baby to meet those physical needs the parent also transmits an emotional response of reassurance that problems are manageable, can be contained. This assists the growth in understanding of the external world to the baby and a belief in the manageability of things which enables the fear and panic response to be contained. Done well by parents this obviously has a lifelong benefit. The theory is not only helpful in understanding and encouraging good early parenting but can be used to help older children, young people and even adults to allay tantrums, terror and troubles in later life caused by the inability to feel things are containable. It was a passing remark of Dr. Steckley about another application of the theory, however, which made me want to blog about it. She mentioned that the concepts have been subsequently applied in all sorts of relationships and settings including education, social work and consultancy. It's even been applied to business settings.   That remark got me thinking about the many anecdotes I have heard from friends and colleagues working in all sorts of businesses and sectors, but most especially in the current Health and Social Care sector. There is a high degree of anxiety and stress in these sectors at the moment; target driven, subject to increasing competition and marketplace pressures, scrutinised by external organisations with their own targets and political pressures – it seems to me that the current management and leadership style is to hector and  drive. As the theory of containment suggests the lack of rational and creative thinking, poor self-belief and inability to ‘hold things together’ which result from poor containment could be the downfall not only of the people within it but of the business/organisation itself. These are the ways of thinking that have led to the Mid-Staffs hospital crisis and the alleged doctoring of statistics to cover up poor cancer treatment performance at Colchester (which subsequently was blamed on bad management and not corruption) . It’s high time our political and sector leaders learned something from the containment model and from good parenting skills. This is the link to FutureLearn’s course.  https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/vulnerable-children Finished week 2 now. Just about to start week one of a course hosted by the University of Los Andes on the great Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Look forward to some more  thoughts on leadership styles from ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’.