Social pedagogy in the media

Children Australia special edition on social pedagogy - December 2011:

'Children Australia' is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal reporting on research and practice around children, youth and families. In 2011, its editor Jennifer Lehmann invited us to guest edit a special issue on social pedagogy. This has given us the opportunity to bring together contributions from an academic, research and practice perspective exploring how social pedagogy has evolved as an ethical orientation towards working with human beings, what international comparisons can tell us about its effect, what social pedagogy has to offer to professionals, and how it can be applied in practice within a range of settings. You can find an overview of all articles and links to read them here.

Raising the bar? Joe Smeeton's analysis of the DfE pilot's evaluation in Community Care - 01/12/2011:

Following less balanced reporting on the evaluation of the DfE social pedagogy pilot project, Joe Smeeton from the University of Sheffield analysed the findings in an article on Community Care. His excellent analysis shows why we shouldn't jump to conclusions about social pedagogy and suggests that a narrative approach to evaluation would be more beneficial than an outcome-orientated focus. Read his article here.

Essex decides to close all mainstream homes - 21/06/2011:

As reported by Community Care, Essex County Council decided on June 21 to close its mainstream children's homes within the next few months. Irrespective of the many positive developments in the quality of its in-house care provision through the social pedagogy project, the County's Cabinet made a strategic decision to follow David Cameron's vision of public services being outsourced and to become a commissioning service spot-purchasing all of its placements in the future. The Community Care article, which is available here, provides further specifics.

Social Pedagogy faces uphill battle in Community Care - 15/06/2011:

Following the publication of the TCRU report on the Government-funded national pilot project, Community Care summarised the findings and explained why social pedagogy is facing an uphill battle in England. Cultural differences posed difficulties for many of the social pedagogues employed by the pilot sites, with some organisations succeeding in overcoming these challenges and achieving spectacular results. To read the full article, please follow this link.

Guardian article about pedagogy in Staffordshire - 23/03/2011:

Pedagogy puts children centre stage in the care system, according to a Guardian article about social pedagogy in Staffordshire. Staffordshire have been part of the TCRU national pilot project and also developed social pedagogy together with us through 9-day courses for staff, team development days, a leadership course and strategic development work. You can read the full article by clicking here.

Social Pedagogy Special Edition of Children Webmag - October 2010:

After its first special edition on social pedagogy was positively received last autumn, David Lane and his colleagues from the Children Webmag put together another edition on social pedagogy for October. Again ThemPra was pleased to be able to contribute. All the articles can be found here

Good Enough Caring creates forum for social pedagogy and therapeutic child care - July 2010:

For professionals interested in finding out how social pedagogy relates to therapeutic child care, there is now a designated forum that the Good Enough Caring journal has developed. Moderated by Mark Smith from Edinburgh University, the forum offers an opportunity for professionals to contribute with their thoughts and experiences. For access, please click here ...

Who Cares? Trust on social pedagogy in Essex - 01/06/2010:

In their magazine's summer edition, The Who Cares? Trust has reported on the social pedagogy project in Essex, interviewing staff at the Lodge children's home about what social pedagogy has brought to their practice. The interviewers also asked young people about their experience. One young resident said: "The place was great before, but it's better now. We're listened to a lot more ... Social pedagogy has made a big difference. Things are easier to do and there's a better relationship with staff. We have campfires, family barbeques, we go on holiday together. It's beautiful here. I see this place as my home, not a children's home." What could be more encouraging feedback that social pedagogy makes a difference? If you would like to find out more about the social pedagogy project in Essex please have a look at this Who Cares? Trust article ...

Community Care asks whether social pedagogy is really needed - 19/02/2010:

There's been lots of positive coverage of social pedagogy, so in a sense it was only a matter of time before critical voices would emerge. Michael Fitzpatrick's brief commentary takes a more disapproving perspective that has less to do with the concept overall (for a more balanced description of social pedagogy during Nazism, please read here ... ). He seems more concerned about how social pedagogy might be implemented and distorted - thoughts that certainly warrant a more detailed and objective discourse. His article prompted several responses, which Community Care published on 08/03/2010 here ...

Children Webmag Special Edition on Social Pedagogy - 01/09/2009:

The Children Webmag has dedicated September to social pedagogy with a special edition filled with a range of very interesting contributions. You can read David Lane's editorial and all featured articles online here ...

Every Child Journal launches with article on social pedagogy - 01/09/2009:

A new journal for the children's workforce, the Every Child Journal has featured a ThemPra article in its first ever edition. Aimed at a wide range of professionals, our article on social pedagogy in practice describes how social pedagogy could be applied to different contexts, such as schools and early years. You can find more information about the journal via this link ...

Channel 4 'Dispatches' reports on children in care - 11/05/2009:

The Channel 4 documentary 'Lost in Care' tells the story of children in the care system. It also explores social pedagogy and its potential to improve the life for children in care by reporting about our project in Essex.

The Guardian describes what's happening around social pedagogy - 21/04/2009:

Following the report of the House of Commons Children, Schools, and Families Committee on the state of public care, the Guardian reported in a couple of articles on current developments to transform residential child care, with an outline of the DCSF pilot project, interviews from some of our Essex participants, and a feature article on some of the key differences between care in Germany and England ...

CYP Now demystifies social pedagogy - 02/04/2009:

Social pedagogy is in the headlines again, with Children and Young People Now aiming to demystify what social pedagogy means and how it relates to social work. Please follow this link for more information ...

SocMag publication on social pedagogy in Britain - 30/03/2009:

To raise the international awareness for developments around social pedagogy in the UK and share the experiences from working with different organisations across the UK we have written a publication in the International Social Work and Society News Magazine. You can access the full text here ...

Community Care article on Social Pedagogy - 11/03/2009:

Community Care has published an update on social pedagogy developments in the UK, drawing on statements from ThemPra and others. Please follow this link to read the full article ...

Children in Scotland reports on our social pedagogy course with Sycamore - 01/03/2009:

In the second in a series of four newsletters exploring developments in the children's sector workforce, Children in Scotland outlined how ThemPra's 9-day social pedagogy course has impacted on staff from Sycamore Services, Kirkcaldy. To get an impression of our course, please follow this link and read the report ...

BBC Report on Social Pedagogy - 03/02/2009:

The BBC are broadcasting a report on social pedagogy in residential child care, with interviews from one of the children's homes we have been working with in Essex County Council. BBC Radio4's Today programme details what is happening in Essex around social pedagogy, and the news on BBC1 are showing some excerpts from interviews with children and staff. Read Mark Easton's blog 'Caring about children' for further information and to listen and see the report ...

If we have forgotten to list any news, we would be pleased to hear from you ...