Evaluation of the ten-week Caring Changes training course for residential care practitioners

Janes, Edward, Staples, Eleanor and Rees, Alyson ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2363-4965 2023. Evaluation of the ten-week Caring Changes training course for residential care practitioners. Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care 22 , 1. 10.17868/strath.00085352

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Abstract

Residential care is often seen as a last resort for adolescents in the care system with multiple placements and complex case histories. This has led to an increasing research focus on the needs of children in residential care and how settings and practitioners can provide suitable environments. This paper presents an evaluation of Caring Changes, a ten-week residential care training course that was modified from the Fostering Changes course and run across seven settings. The mixed methods evaluation combined pre- and post-course surveys, weekly session evaluations, and interviews with facilitators, home managers, practitioners and young people. The study found that the Caring Changes course increased team solidification and communication, as well as individual practitioners’ confidence and positivity, resulting in improved services for the children accessing the service. There were however challenges relating to the running of intensive, whole staff training in the residential care sector, and the diversity and complexity of the needs of children in residential care, with a need for more advanced content and the tailoring of the course to individual homes.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Publisher:	CELSIS
ISSN:	1478-1840
Funders:	Big Lottery Fund
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 May 2023
Date of Acceptance:	2 April 2023
Last Modified:	09 Oct 2023 12:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/159396

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