“Putting the Child at the Heart of Practice”

1. “Putting the Child at the Heart of Practice” 19th October Mark Harrison, CEO, NCODP mark.harrison@ncodp.org.uk www.ncodp.org.uk

2. “We learn when we respect the dignity of people, that they can not be denied the elementary right to participate fully in the solutions to their own problems….To give people help, while denying them a significant part of the action, contributes nothing to the development of the individual….It is not giving, but taking – taking their dignity…” Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

3. NCODP Youth Forum • “When I tell people what my problem is they say ‘ooooooh poor you’ and I’m like ‘no, don’t molly coddle me!’ With the Youth Forum I can just get on with it. We don’t want to make ourselves like charity cases, it’s about adjusting and just getting on with it. We stand firm as a group, if we’re on our own we can’t, we’re like a solid rock if we’re all together.” Jenna – Youth Forum member • “I can come here and have adult conversations with people who are maybe going through the same thing or similar things, who understand, rather than talking to strangers or parents who think they understand but actually don’t.” – Youth Forum Member.

4. Mind the Gap • There is a gap between the policy rhetoric and the reality of what happens face to face between practitioners and communities and community members who are on the receiving end of social programmes and professional practice. • In spite of UN Conventions which champion rights based approaches and policies that promote empowerment there are very few examples of where these can be seen on the ground. • The pressure on public, charitable and private authorities seems to pull towards practice which puts professionals in the driving seat. The disconnect between stated aspirations and practices which process people through programmes, devised and delivered by ‘experts’ is startling. • This ‘superman’ approach to practice, where professionals are only seen as being effective if they are in control – doing to, for and on behalf of their service users or clients is both ineffective and counter productive. • This ‘accountancy approach’ may satisfy the ‘bean counting’ pressures from funding bodies but it flies in the face of evidence of what achieves the best outcomes for people.

6. The world up side down?

7. Response to Report from Norfolk Disabled Parents Alliance (NDPA):http://www.norfolkparents.org.uk/ • The report isolates itself by not taking account of context, and asks for action which everyone would agree with in theory, but many will fail to deliver because the context which prevents better communication with children has not been addressed. • The findings are very similar to the range of experience parents report during their discussions with school, social care and health bodies, and critically, in court proceedings around safeguarding. This indicates there are systemic problems which confound communications all round. • The focus has to be the extreme cases, rightly so. However, they are at the end of a long road for some families, a good few of whom need not have reached that end if they had been adequately supported at an earlier stage. This applies as much to the non-disabled parents of disabled children as it does to disabled/ill parents of non disabled and disabled children. • Children should be raised by their parents and parents should be supported to do this well. Good multiagency working is key to preventing the need for complex proceedings in which children need to be engaged. • In some families where children are discovered to be in need, and/or subject to safeguarding plans, parents will have asked for and been refused support at the early stages of difficulty, or the observed signs of difficulty haven’t been understood and addressed

8. Response to Report from NDPA cont’d • Where appropriate support is not provided, the family can be forced into comparative social isolation. Feelings grow of resentment and suspicion that services would rather wait for failure and then make judgments. • Almost all parents want to do the best for their children, but isolation damages family resilience and reduces parental options to avoid increasing difficulties. • Hearing voice needs to be within an enabling environment, as much for parents as it is for children. SW need to know there is an adequately resourced system they can rely on to deliver the support they know is needed, that children ask for for their parents and parents ask for for their children. The enabling environment needs to inform about best imaginative practice, of freeing both parents and their children to see beyond the immediate difficulties and into a positive future for families and all individuals within them.

9. Understanding Disability • Medial Model v Social Model • Nothing About Us, Without Us • Professionals On Tap, Not On Top • Rights Not Charity or Pity

10. Co-Productionscie research “Co-production is a potentially transforming way of thinking about power, resources, partnerships, risks and outcomes. It requires a shift in culture within statutory organisations – with professionals able and confident to share power and accept user expertise, leading to ‘no decisions about us without us’. Co-production can deliver service models which are preferred by the public, more cost effective and less wasteful.”

11. Co-Productionscie research • Co-production emphasises that people are not passive recipients of services and have assets and expertise which can help improve services. • Co-production is a potentially transformative way of thinking about power, resources, partnerships, risks and outcomes, not an off-the-shelf model of service provision or a single magic solution. • ‘To act as partners, both users and providers must be empowered’. Co-production means involving citizens in collaborative relationships with more empowered frontline staff who are able and confident to share power and accept user expertise.

12. Co-Productionscie research • Staff should be trained in the benefits of coproduction, supported in positive risk-taking and encouraged to identify new opportunities for collaboration with people who use services. • People should be encouraged to access coproductive initiatives, recognising and supporting diversity among the people who use services. • The creation of new structures, regulatory and commissioning practices and financial streams is necessary to embed co-production as a long-term rather than ad hoc solution.

14. Social Action Principles • Refusing to accept negative labels: all people have skills and understandings on which they can draw to tackle the problems they face. Professionals should not attach negative labels to community members or service users • The right to choice and control: all people have rights, including the right to be heard, the right to define issues facing them and the right to take action on their behalf • Complex problems: individuals facing difficulties are often confronted by complex issues rooted in social policy, the environment and the economy. Responses to them should reflect this understanding

15. Social Action Principles • Power: people acting collectively can be powerful. People who lack power and influence can gain it through working together in groups. Practice should reflect this understanding • Facilitation and enabling: methods of working should reflect non elitist principles. Social action workers do not ‘lead’ the group but enable people to make make decisions for themselves and control outcomes. Though special skills and knowledge are employed, these do not give privilege and are not solely the province of professionals • Tackling all forms of oppression: social action will strive through its work to challenge inequality and discrimination in relation to race, gender, sexual orientation, age, class, disability or any other form of social differentiation

16. Social Action Process Communities and service users are facilitate and encouraged to: • set their own agenda • analyse critically their situation • devise ways of tacking their issues, problems and concerns • take action for themselves • reflect on their experiences, consolidate their learning and begin the process again on a higher level

17. Differences with conventional practice Social action is different to other ways of working and methods because: • The agenda is handed over to community members or services users • Facilitators enable people to empower themselves • All people are viewed as having the capacity to create social change and are given the opportunity to do so • Community members are agents of change not professionals

19. Ofsted 2012–13 survey inspection programme: youth work opportunities for young disabled people • The majority of the young people involved in the youth forum display a keen interest in representation and social action. They have formed an extended friendship group as a direct result of the project which they, and their parents and carers, value. Group members are patient and supportive towards each other and thoroughly enjoy attending. • Youth forum members respond positively to the high levels of trust shown to them. Some have learned to travel on public transport independently and to begin to shape a social life suited to their needs and interests. Parents interviewed emphasised the fundamental importance to their children of learning from the risks and experiences which all young adults encounter. Parental testimonies include: 'She is getting better socially’, ‘She adores going – it’s given her independence and it’s her own thing’, and ‘he enjoys the freedom and would have been at home listening to the radio but now looks forward to getting up and out’. • Among other projects undertaken, the youth forum produced a film ‘Don’t dis me, I’m able’. The level of involvement by young people was high. Interviews by forum members of MPs, sports people, radio presenters and actors were well conducted; the film is engaging, entertaining and its messages exemplify well the ethos and intentions of the youth forum.

20. Ofsted 2012–13 survey inspection programme: youth work opportunities for young disabled people • A few of the young people are full members of the Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People (NCODP) board and deal with governance, employment and finance issues. The capacity and capability of some group members to engage in-depth in youth forum activities is limited. They, however, clearly appreciate the safe, secure and fun environment within which they can socialise. • Youth workers have well-honed advocacy skills. They gently guide sessions and the overall direction of the forum, and are effective in ensuring that the project is ‘young people driven’. In turn, this has enabled members to apply their many skills in areas such as social networking, arts, lobbying and campaigning. • The youth forum curriculum is based firmly on empowerment and self-determination. It is also sensitive to the needs of member’s social and recreational lives. For example, its location within the city centre gives young people easy and independent access to shops and cafés and facilitates their use of public transport. Many members have travelled to national events.

21. NCODP Youth Forum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VTkzKV5VoY&feature=relmfu http://www.ncodp.org.uk/news-and-events/news/400-disability-lib-legacy-and-learning-event-6th-september-2011

22. References Social Care Institute for Excellence: Co-production http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/briefings/briefing31/ New Economics Foundation: Doing Services Differently: http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/doing-services-differently