Residential Care and Place Attachments: The importance of location for children in UK care.

‘People’s country of origin; the region, city, town, estate or village in which they grew up; the house(s) in which they lived; the schools they attended; the shops they visited; and the ‘special’ places where they played with their friends or had their first kiss are all likely to form essential components of their identity, underpinning their feelings of security and belonging. (Jack, 2010).

The sheer scale of placement breakdown and change for children in care in the UK has gathered increasing attention in recent years.  We know that children and young people in residential care are more likely to experience placement breakdown and movement, often due to entering care later in adolescence, or being placed children’s homes which are inappropriate to meet their needs as a short term or emergency measure.  It has also been noted that private residential placements can pose significant financial costs to local authority children’s services.  It is vital then to consider what contributes to the success or failure of a residential placement. 

While a good deal of attention is given to maintaining relations with people for children in care, as noted by Jack (above), this is not the case for building relationships with their home and location.  This includes the home itself, garden, wider neighbourhood, and town or city as well as where this new location sits within areas children know.  I have often found myself lingering in the corridors of children’s homes wondering how to locate the office, or which direction the young person may come from, or where a staff member has disappeared to, and it is easy to imagine children entering a new home for the first time will have a similar experience.  So how can we help young people get to know their new residential home and gain a sense of comfort?  Below are some findings from my research with young people in two homes.

Children’s homes are often large spaces, and it may take a couple of ‘walk-throughs’ for young people to gain a feel for their new space.  In addition to showing young people their room and encouraging them to take ownership of it, it may help to sit with them in different rooms and locations, show them in the kitchen cupboards and so on, to support them to gain a sense of ease in inhabiting their new space. 

In addition to introducing children to new staff and other residents, it is vital for them to have a sense of location early on, to help create a sense of self in their environment and to gain confidence in taking up this space.  Ideally, a guided tour of the home and introduction to people and place would take place before moving in, however, we know this is not always possible due to the emergency nature of many placements.

Young people have spoken to me at length about choosing to spend time in their rooms following a placement move, which serves a number of purposes.  They use this time to reflect on what came before and how it feels to be somewhere new.  For some, it may be their first time in care where they are taking stock of what that means, or it may be they have left another placement in difficult circumstances.  Preceding events are likely to be bound up with feelings of rejection and anger which may cause a young person to withdraw.  In addition to this, young people take time in their rooms to quietly learn about their new ‘home’, listening out for voices, sounds, noticing smells and rhythms.  They will be working out who they’d like to speak to and approach, who to avoid and basically figuring out what is going on.  Young people need a mix of time alone to do this work, and also support and encouragement to venture outside, which can be a delicate balancing act for staff. 

Some young people make deliberate attempts to get to know their new local area, by going for walks, perhaps to a local shop, or taking a bike ride.  Staff may not have considered the importance of helping young people ground themselves in their locality.  Going alongside and showing young people around may help, providing staff have also got to know the area themselves!  Young people need to know how to catch buses to desired locations, for example.  If they are living away from their ‘home’ locality, perhaps showing them a map of where they are to reduce feelings of alienation, if it is safe to do so. 

For social workers and other involved in placing young people, asking young people about their relationship to their residential or foster home and surrounding area can be a good way to gain a sense of whether they feel they belong.  For example, what do they do and who do they see locally?  What are their likes and dislikes?  Were they involved in choosing any of the home’s décor or furnishings?  What about this home represents them, and if they are not represented, who is?  What is the home seeking to accomplish in the way it is laid out and furnished?  What is the impact of this on young people?

When young people leave care or leave a particular home, efforts may be made to maintain relationships between staff and young people, however this is less likely to be the case between young people and their former children’s home/s.  Some staff I have met have sought to invite young people to return, for example for Sunday dinners.  It may be strange for a young person to return to their former home when a new child is inhabiting their ‘old’ room.  However, the thought that it remains a welcoming space to them is important to some.  Relationship take place in spaces, homes, streets and neighbourhoods, cities and town centres.  It is crucial that we begin in our plans for young people to think about the significance of place to identity formation, memory and ability to plan for the future.

Dr Helen Woods is a lecturer in social work at the University of Birmingham.  Helen has undertaken research on the experience of children and young people living in residential care in England and is co-chair of BASW’s Criminal Justice group.  Helen Can be found on twitter: @Hywnotts.

References and further information:

https://becomecharity.org.uk/.

Jack, G.  (2010)  Place Matters: The Significance of Place Attachments for Children’s Well-Being.  British Journal of Social Work.  40, 755–771.

https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/report/stability-index-2020/.