Improving the Educational Outcomes of Scotland’s Looked After Children

Following the launch of the Scottish Executive report - "Looked after Children & Young People: We Can and Must Do Better" -  the Scottish Executive gave a commitment to revise the Learning With Care training materials; multi-disciplinary training materials aimed at improving the educational outcomes of Scotland’s Looked After Children.

The training materials have now been fully revised and re-launched as the 2We Can and Must Do Better" training materials.  They have been produced as an interactive DVD-ROM and are ideal for individual learning and tutored training courses.  The target audience includes teachers, carers, social work staff, health workers and other professionals involved in the life of looked after children and young people.

The DVD-ROM includes:

• a core film containing the views of looked after children and young people
• individual and group activities
• distinct courses, learning materials and downloadable documents

 The training materials cover a variety of topics:

• The experience of being looked after
• The law and being looked after
• Being a corporate parent
• The importance of a safe and nurturing home setting
• Loss and resilience
• Transitions
• Schools and being looked after
• Throughcare and aftercare
• Health
• Disability
• Working together

The aim of the seminar session is to promote the training materials and to give participants an insight into the materials themselves.

Dr Graham Connelly
Graham is a chartered psychologist and a senior lecturer in the Department of Educational and Professional Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Strathclyde.  A graduate of Glasgow and Strathclyde universities, he trained as a geography and modern studies teacher at Jordanhill College of Education. Graham has worked in the University since 1992, initially as a lecturer in the former Scottish School of Further Education. Previous to that Graham was head of social work training in Langside College Glasgow, where he taught psychology.   Prior to that, he was a geography teacher in a Glasgow secondary school. Graham has also been an associate lecturer with The Open University, and worked briefly for a voluntary organisation.
Currently, Graham teaches an elective class on the education of looked after children in the PGDE (Secondary) course, runs classes in research methods on the MSc (Advanced Professional Studies) and supervises research students. He is also course director of the Chartered Teacher Studies programme and runs the professional enquiry and independent study modules in that programme. Graham’s research interests are the education of children in public care, the Chartered Teacher Programme and wider access to further and higher education. He works closely with the Quality in Education Centre (QIE) and the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC).
Graham was central to the revision of the Learning With Care training materials and their development into the We Can and Must Do Better training materials.

Judy Furnivall
Judy is a lecturer with the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC).  She was one of the authors of the original Learning With Care training materials and has been central to the revision of the materials and their development into the We Can and Must Do Better training materials.

Viv Boyle and Graham McCann
Viv and Graham are both Development Workers seconded to the Scottish Government from social work services in Fife and Glasgow, respectively.  They are both are actively involved in the implementation of the actions from the Scottish Executive report “Looked After Children and Young People: We Can and Must Do Better”.  Graham has been the key contact within the Scottish Government in relation to the production of the We Can and Must Do Better training materials.  Viv and Graham will be supporting Judy Furnivall and Dr Connelly in relation to the seminar.