The development of an innovative organisational learning package Hannah Roscoe Senior Research Analyst SCIE Jane Wiffin SCIE Associate Social Care Institute for Excellence

1. What gets in the way of responding to
child neglect? The development of an
innovative organisational learning
package
Hannah Roscoe, Senior Research Analyst, SCIE
Jane Wiffin, SCIE Associate

2. DfE funded project to develop
training materials on child neglect
Evidence
• Rapid review of research evidence and Learning Together
reviews
eLearning
• Development of an eLearning ‘primer’ course
• Focus on critical reflection on definitions of neglect, and on
‘myths and misconceptions’
Develop
training
• Developed scenario-based training in partnership with London
Borough of Hackney
Pilot
training
• Piloting and evaluation in Doncaster, Essex and Brighton & Hove
• Feedback to subgroup of LSCB in each site

3. Aims of this workshop session
 Thinking behind the training
 ‘Taster’ of some of the materials – your
thoughts and feedback
 Feeding back some of the issues from our
pilot sites
 Reflections

4. Background and aims of the project
 Significant evidence base on neglect - yet widespread challenge
(for example, frequent issue in Serious Case Reviews)
 Develop training materials to:
 Support individual learning about neglect
 Promote organisational learning about blocks and barriers
to working effectively with neglect
 Links with Munro Review recommendations:
 Fostering professional judgement and reflection
 Creating channels for managers to hear concerns of frontline
staff

5. Taking a systems approach
 “The crux of a systems approach... is that it
examines human performance in its context
and recognises that people’s competence in
carrying out tasks to a high standard is
influenced by the whole system around them”
(Munro, 2012)

6. What this means in practice
 Giving people information but also:
 Helping them think through barriers to putting
training in to practice
 Training as a ‘two way street’ and opportunity for
organisational learning
 Using fictional case scenarios to trigger
exploration of ‘real-life’ multi-agency working
context
 Linking back in to multi-agency Learning and
Improvement activities – eg feedback

7. The ‘blended learning programme’
E-learning ‘primer’ materials
Scenario-based training day
Key messages to senior
managers

8. Multi-agency scenario day
Time Session
9.30 – 10.00 Introduction
10.00 – 11.30 Scenario – assessment, analysis and decision
making
11.45 – 1.15 Reflection on how we work together on neglect
14.00 – 16.10 Analysis of systems issues
16.10 – 16.30 Reflections and close

9. Scenarios
 ‘Composites’ of common aspects of a variety
of cases
 Include aspects of practice which literature
and SCRs tell us that practitioners find
difficult
 Keeping people deliberately under time
pressure

10. Scenario part 1
Family member Relationships Age Ethnicity
Vicky Mother 25 years White/UK
Kylie Daughter 3 years White/UK
Ruby Daughter 15 months White/UK
Robbie Son 15 months White/UK
• Family recently moved in to area, and attending a Children’s
Centre
• Some concerns about Kylie who is not speaking yet, is
struggling to play with other children, and has had a number
of accidents at home
• Mum is under pressure with the twins, and has separated
from her partner

11. Scenario 2 (10 months on)
 Usually we ask groups to:
 Do an initial analysis of the information
 Gather more information (‘Oracle’)
 Write a referral to Children’s Social Care
 Get feedback on the referral from another group
 Read the scenario and discuss with the
person next to you:
 What issues do you think this exercise might
raise?

12. What came up in the sites
 Who can you get information from?
Confusion and inconsistency
 Euphemistic language and reluctance to
name neglect
 Thresholds and working across interface of
statutory versus non-statutory services

13. Conceptual framework – five areas
 The form the neglect takes, and the aspects of the child or
young person’s life that are affected:
 Physical
 Emotional
 Educational/stimulation
 Medical
 Supervisory
 Social
 Its persistence and pervasiveness.
 The impact from the point of view of the child.
 What has caused the caregiver to neglect the child.
 Whether neglect is intentional or unintentional, and
caregiver commitment and capacity to change

14. What came up in the sites
 Thinking about omission and commission –
people find this difficult
 Causality never clearly articulated, even if
ideas exist about it
 Difficulty taking the child’s perspective

15. Helping people think about ‘why’
 Scenarios help to create a ‘microcosm’ of
practice
 Highlight a number of barriers and challenges
(and good practice)
 Afternoon session aims to:
 Further understand and unpack these issues
 Think about underlying reasons
 Think about solutions – individual and
organisational

16. Reflections
 Aim: ‘a different kind of training’
 Scenarios do help to foster conversations
about ‘real’ practice
 Participants find it helpful to talk through
practice ‘dilemmas’ – even when no
immediate answers
 Helping people unpack the issues can be
challenging

17. Next steps
 Training will be available on a paid-for basis
to LSCBs
 Variety of options, including purchasing
additional eLearning licenses
 Marketing via SCIE website

18. Contact details
 Hannah Roscoe, Senior Research Analyst
 Hannah.roscoe@scie.org.uk
 www.scie.org.uk