Leadership

Educational And Emotional Health Outcomes In Adolescence Following Maltreatment In Early Childhood

A full and active experience of school has a positive effect on the health and achievements of children who experienced abuse or neglect at an early age, according to this report by the University of Bristol. Leadership Briefing 12.11(143)

Researchers looked at the influence of community factors such as education for children to successfully adapt if they were maltreated before the age of five.

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      string(5722) "The attachment based mentoring project was born out of continued concerns regarding the achievement and inclusion of children in care and children in need. Published data and evidence from working on the ground clearly indicates that outcomes for these groups are significantly lower than their peers.The most recent national statistics from the DFE showed that in 2015 52% of looked after children and 49% of children in need achieved level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics in their end of year 6 tests compared to 80% of non-looked after children achieving the same standard. By the time children leave year 11 the gap has widened with only 14% of looked after children and 15% of children in need achieving 5A*-C including English and Maths compared to 53% of non-looked after children. Other statistics are equally concerning, children in care are five times more likely than non-looked after children to receive fixed term exclusions and children in need are three times more likely to have a fixed or permanent exclusion.Despite being offered extra support and intervention to meet learning needs and raise attainment, many of the vulnerable children we have worked with have struggled to engage with learning. For many vulnerable children their barriers to learning arise from difficulties with attachment and relationships. These observations from working with chidren are reflected in national statsitics.In 2015 61% of looked after children and 50% of children in need had a special educational need compared to 15% of all children. For both looked after children and children in need social, emotional and mental health was the most common primary need covering 38% of those with a statement or education and health care plan and 45% of looked after children with SEN support. This is in contrast to the needs identified in the child population as a whole – looked after children are three times more likely to have a primary need of social, emotional and mental health and are less likely to have specific learning difficulties or speech, language or communication needs. Addressing their primary needs relating to social, emotional and mental health has the potential to increase the ability of children to access the learning and social environment as well as developing greater resilience.The Attachment Based Mentoring modelAttachment based mentoring was developed to provide a different kind of support, not intended as a replacement for other interventions related to learning but as a means of enabling children to connect with the education on offer. The aim was to train staff to meet the specific needs of children in care and other vulnerable children, by providing them with a significant adult in school who is able to use coaching and mentoring to support their development.Following a successful pilot study Devon Education Authority agreed to fund the project. The course to train mentors takes place over two consecutive days with two half day supervision sessions spread over the following twelve weeks.The model of mentoring was designed to provide a balance of support and challenge as well as opportunities to develop resilience, drawing on research from the fields of attachment theory, solution focused coaching, social learning theory and resiliency. The model has 3 components: ‘Attachment and Relationships’, ‘Development’ and ‘Practical Support’, with the mentor acting as significant adult, coach and parent in school. All roles have distinctive features but in practice are interconnected.Attachment and RelationshipsThe attachment and relationship component has two strands. The first of which looks to provide a significant adult, or team of adults in school, who can provide a relationship with the child within which the child can develop feelings of safety, security, belong and trust. The significant adult provides a safe base for the child, from which they can begin to explore and settle to learn.The course covers the basics of attachment theory, including an exploration of different attachment styles which enables participants to have a greater understanding of the behaviours they might see at school and an increased awareness of the underlying needs that the behaviour may be communicating. This supports the development of an empathic approach to supporting students, in which adults are working to address underlying needs, not purely responding to behaviour. Looking at the different attachment types also helps to develop an understanding of the individual relationship needs of the children and how best to form a connection with them through mentoring.The second strand is primarily about the development of self-regulation. The course covers the development of self-regulation in early childhood, in particular through an understanding of the adult role in co-regulation and the key relational skills needed to support this.  The course includes an in depth analysis of key interaction skills and their role in supporting social and emotional development. Participants are given the opportunity to practice these skills and to consider how these skills will be used within the context of their relationship with the children they are working with and the school setting. In particular participants develop empathic listening and responding skills to support children to gain an awareness and understanding of their feelings and to think about and express their emotions.Development The development part of the model uses a coaching approach, specifically the solution focused way of working, to"
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Inclusion

Attachment Based Mentoring

20 Jun 2017

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Leadership Briefing issue 7.04 (76)"
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      string(5690) "language, to reason and make plans have already been laid.· Executive function skills, necessary for both learning and social interaction, begin to develop shortly after birth, with dramatic growth occurring between the ages of three and five years.· There is a short window of opportunity for certain types of development. If the types of experience upon which they depend do not occur within a pre-determined timeframe, children will not move on to the next stage of development and their long-term wellbeing will be compromised.· Early interactions between the primary caregiver and the baby play a significant role in establishing the normal range of emotional arousal and in setting the thermostat for later control of the stress response.· Both very high and very low levels of cortisol are indicative of abnormal development of the stress response and can cause long-term physiological and psychological damage.The impact of abuse on child development:· Exposure to domestic violence and/or parental substance misuse in utero can have a long-term negative impact on the unborn child.· High quality care can determine the extent to which children who are genetically predisposed to mental illness or learning disability, or who are exposed to abusive or neglectful parental behaviours, are affected.· Chronic exposure to trauma through aggressive, hostile or neglectful parenting can lead to stress system deregulation. Exposure to toxic stress in early childhood can cause permanent damage to the brain and have severe and long-term consequences for all aspects of future learning, behaviour and health.· Neglected children may experience chronic exposure to toxic stress as their needs fail to be met. This is compounded by a lack of stimulation and social deprivation.· Severe global neglect (i.e. severe neglect in more than one domain) during the first three years of life stunts the growth of the brain.· Adults who have been physically abused in childhood show poorer physical and intellectual development, more difficult and aggressive behaviour, poorer social relationships and are more frequently arrested for violent crimes than their peers.· Children who have been sexually abused may experience sleep problems, bedwetting or soiling, problems with school work or missing school, and risk- taking behaviour in adolescence including multiple sexual relationships.· Adolescents who have experienced abusive or neglectful parenting in childhood are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours such as substance misuse and criminal activity.Bringing the research evidence together: decision-making within a child’s timeframe:· One of the most important issues to confront in promoting better outcomes for abused and neglected children is a mismatch between three timeframes: those of the developing child; those of the courts and those of the local authority.· The birth of a baby is often a catalyst for change. Children who remain with parents who have not made substantial progress in overcoming adverse behaviour patterns and providing a nurturing home within a few months of their birth may continue to experience maltreatment for lengthy periods.· Social work decisions concerning permanence are made after lengthy and meticulous deliberations. There is a tendency for delays to occur once a temporary solution has been found and the pressure to resolve a crisis has been relaxed.· The Children Act 1989 embodies the principle enshrined in human rights legislation and policy that children are best brought up by their own families. Identifying the very few children whose parents will not be able to meet their needs within an appropriate timeframe requires professionals to set aside much of the culture of their training and practice.· On average, care proceedings take a year to complete; data collected between 2008 and 2011 indicate that courts in only eleven local authority areas meet the previous target of 40 weeks.· Factors that contribute to delays in completing care proceedings include: resource issues; waiting for parenting assessments and the results of attempted placements with parents; resolution of disputes and changes of plan.· Repeated assessments of birth parents are a major source of delay, as are sequential assessments of different groups of relatives. These are sometimes undertaken in spite of obvious contraindications. There is a stark contrast between the frequency of parenting assessments and the paucity of paediatric assessments to ascertain the impact of abuse and neglect on children’s development.· The more complex the case, the greater the proliferation of expert assessments and the longer the delay.· Professionals encounter numerous difficulties in trying to retain a focus on the best interests of the child: attempts to ensure that parents’ rights and needs are respected can conflict with those of their children.· Most children placed for adoption are aged two or older before they reach their adoptive families. This timeframe is at odds with research evidence that indicates that babies who are placed early for adoption are most likely to form secure attachments with new carers.· Delayed decisions mean that children experience the cumulative jeopardy of lengthy exposure to abuse and neglect; disruption of attachments with temporary carers; unstable placements at home or in care; and prolonged uncertainty about their future.· There is a relatively short window of opportunity in which decisive actions should be taken to ensure that children at risk of future harm are adequately"
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Leadership

Child Development And The Impact Of Maltreatment

15 Nov 2012

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Folder: Leadership Briefings Issue 2.05 (17)"
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      string(5695) "ResourceQUALITY OF CHILDCARE SETTINGS IN THE MILLENNIUM COHORT STUDYOriginal DocumentQuality of Childcare Settings in the Millennium Cohort Study. The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is the first new birth cohort study in the UK since 1970, and one of the largest studies of its kind. The study has been operating since 2000 and is following the lives of nearly 19,000 babies born between 2000 and 2002 in the UK. KeywordsEarly years, childcare, children’s centres.SummaryThis study set out to answer three questions:· What is the quality of the group childcare settings attended by a sample of Millennium Cohort Study children?· Is there a relationship between the quality of childcare received and children’s home background?· Which centre characteristics are associated with higher or lower quality of provision?In addition to answering the above questions, it is hoped the information collected as part of this study will also significantly enhance the value of data available to examine the impact of quality childcare in the future.Key Findings:· Overall quality of provision:· Quality of provision varies between excellent and inadequate. The biggest improvements have been made in the voluntary sector.· The quality of pre-school provision for children’s developing language and social interactions has got better. Provision for developing oral language and communications skills is good. However, provision for other aspects of literacy development, such as sound awareness, reading, and emergent writing skills are only adequate. Other than in the voluntary sector, there has been little improvement in literacy provision since the late 1990s.· The Foundation Stage is not yet making a big contribution to developing mathematical and scientific understanding.· Early childhood settings are good at providing nurturing environments for children, but less successful at offering provision that stimulates children’s cognitive development.· Early childhood settings are not meeting the diverse needs of the children, for example by providing activities which enable children of all abilities to participate in a satisfying and cognitively demanding way.· Variations in quality according to centre characteristics:· Local authority maintained status is linked to higher quality across all measures except provision for personal care routines.· Rooms with more children seem to offer better curricular provision, better interactions and better provision for language development. Group sizes of 30 or more seem to offer the best quality. However, the relationship between quality and size is complex.· The childcare qualifications of staff are an important predictor of quality, except, once again for the quality of personal care routines, such as toileting and hygiene. The presence of a qualified teacher is particularly important for educational quality. The percentage of staff without qualifications is negatively related to quality.· Three and four year old children experienced the highest quality provision in rooms that catered for the older end of the age-range, and which did not include children under 3. However, the evaluation of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative found that children under 3 get higher quality provision in mixed age rooms that also cater for 3 and 4 year olds. Thus, younger children may benefit from mixed age rooms: older children may not.· Children’s centres offer significantly better quality than other settings.· Being linked to a Sure Start Local Programme (SSLP) has a negative effect on quality, perhaps because services for children themselves are not the focus of SSLPs. Quality tends to be worse when the main focus is providing services for families rather than children’s learning.· Variations in quality according to user characteristics:· Children in group childcare tend to be from more advantaged families.· Families not using childcare are more likely to be Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi.· However, children from workless households, from lone parent households, those living in rented accommodation, and those with health problems all get higher quality provision.· Children from families that encourage learning at home also get better provision, probably because they enrol them in the best quality settings in the first place.   Action· Maintained settings should still be supported, as they offer the highest quality provision overall.· Settings in all sectors need support to improve quality of provision for children’s developing skills in literacy, mathematics and science; to plan for children’s individual learning needs; and to offer an environment appropriate for our racially and culturally diverse society.· The development of a well-qualified childcare workforce is vital for improving quality, in particular, for providing a challenging and appropriate educational environment for 3 and 4 year old children.· Assess the impact of group size on children’s outcomes, as well as on quality, when this information is available, particularly with regard to social development and emotional security.· The continued development of Children’s Centres should be supported· Centres should be encouraged to plan staffing to allow for high adult involvement with each child for at least some time during every session.· Make sure that a focus on childcare and education provision is kept, alongside the provision of other services , such as health and family support.     NotesAuthorRaspal Chima, Questions PublishingDate CreatedApril 2007Enquiries to:rchima@qiis.co.uk (Authoring"
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Leadership

Quality of Childcare Settings in the Millennium Cohort Study

18 Apr 2007

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      string(5835) "whole-school approach to mental health, staff need to reflect on their practice and underlying attitudes. This can be a contentious issue and although many come to see that punitive approaches do not work, they are still very much in force in schools, if only subconsciously. This chart from James McTaggart (@JamesEdPsych) can help schools to reframe their thinking.Being a communicative schoolIf schools sign up to a policy where there are no detentions, where physical interventions are to be kept to a minimum, and fixed-term exclusions are used only as a last resort for a tiny minority of cases, they will need an alternative.  Increasing empathy in the classroom may be the solution to reducing school exclusions. If schools are going to make a difference to young people’s mental health, then everything is up for review: the language used, policies, behaviour management approaches and even the school day. Innovating Minds has worked with Young People’s Academy, where attendance was a key issue for the school. They found research that showed that Circadian rhythms are better in teenagers if they do not have too early a start, so now the school day starts later.Moving away from a punitive model of behaviour management towards a more therapeutic and empathetic one is an approach we, at Innovating Minds, have been promoting to educational professionals across the country. The work we do within the education sector has a strong evidence basis, as demonstrated by contemporary research from Stanford University, which reveals that school exclusion decreased by as much as 50 per cent when teachers adopted a more empathetic mindset towards their students’ behaviour.21By encouraging educators to reframe their perception of behaviour that is challenging through a compassionate lens, researchers found that pupils reported higher levels of respect for their teachers, which increased school connectedness, reduced disaffection and subsequent exclusions.22 Research shows clear links between ill mental health, student behaviour, school exclusions and projected life outcomes. Our experiences show that early psychological intervention in schools is imperative. Not only can it improve the emotional wellbeing of young people by reducing challenging behaviour and school exclusions, it may also provide school staff with a more constructive learning environment, increased job gratification and reduced burnout.Innovating Minds http://www.innovatingmindscic.com/ delivers bespoke therapeutic interventions, training and consultation to help individuals to access education, training and employment. Clinical Psychologists work from an early intervention approach within educational and community settings to create mentally healthy environments that have a sustainable impact.Dr Asha Patel studied psychology and criminology at Keele University before training as a Clinical Psychologist. She was the youngest on her doctorate course and worked in hospitals, prisons and secure mental health units before setting up her own award-winning community interest company Innovating Minds, which provides accessible psychological support to help young people with emotional and mental health problems in education, training or employment.Sal McKeown is a writer and freelance journalist focusing on disability, education and technology. A former teacher and lecturer in further education and for the Open University and Workers’ Educational Association, she is now a member of The Good Schools Guide’s special needs team and a judge for the Bett and Education Resources awards.NotesChildren’s Society (2008). The Good Childhood Inquiry: Health research evidence. London: Children’s Society.Association of School & College Leaders, & National Children’s Bureau (2016). Keeping young people in mind – Findings from a survey of schools across England. London: Association of School & College Leaders & National Children’s Bureau.Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Van Kammen, W. B. (1998). Antisocial behaviour and mental health problems: Explanatory factors in childhood and adolescence. New York: Psychology Press, pp. 185-268.Unicef, The Body Shop International & The Secretariat for the United Nations Secretary-General (2006). Behind closed doors: The impact of domestic violence on children. New York: Unicef.McAndrew, S., Warne, T., Fallon, D., and Moran, P. (2011). Young, gifted and caring: A project narrative of young carers, their mental health, and getting them involved in education, research and practice. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 21(1): 12-19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21819510World Health Organization, (2018). Gaming Disorder. http://www.who.int/features/qa/gaming-disorder/en/ Arseneault, L., Bowes, L., & Shakoor, S. (2010). Bullying victimization in youths and mental health problems: Much ado about nothing? Psychological Medicine, 40(5):717-729. Department for Education (2017). Supporting mental health in schools and colleges. London: Department for Education. Department of Health & Social Care and Department for Education, (2018). Government response to the consultation on transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: A green paper and next steps. London: Department of Health & Social Care and Department for Education.BBC School Report (2017). BBC School Report—11–16 year-olds mental health survey. London: COMRES.Dray, J., Bowman, J., Wolfenden, L., Campbell, E.,"
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Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

Embracing Empathy

6 Feb 2019