Shifting the social care system from within

In a parting presentation to Barnardo’s last year, I laid out some provocations and recognised the fires we as a broader team had lit. I had all intentions to turn that into a summary blog post, but moving countries is emotional, and so finally this is that post.

On the day, the following commentary was accompanied by many positive and tangible examples to complement these provocations and our collective lessons. Today, six months later I have left those out as a continued call for us, no matter where we sit to do more. But in doing so, I do not wish to diminish the huge effort, passion and positive progress my ex-colleagues continue to make at Barnardo’s. I continue to be thankful for their guidance, inspiration and friendship.

The following thoughts came from within an existing service paradigm, the vantage point of a large, heritage organisation. Now sat outside it there is much to add to this story another time, but for now…

Local authorities and service organisations across the country continue to face mounting challenges of doing more for less. The people who dedicate their lives to helping our children and young people are tired, passionately putting themselves in highly traumatic environments because they care. The systems and services that we collectively designed and continue to hold up every day, drawdown greatly on their empathy reserves to make the world go round.

So I ask you, what will your contribution be to the (r)evolution of the way we shape children’s social care around the needs of children and young people?

What if our children:

• As citizens & equal members of the community had choice and felt the power of their agency,
• Felt cared for no matter what by our welfare state,
• Told us what support looked like and meant to them,
• Knew that services responded to their changing needs across their life,
• Were received in a manner that was suitable to them, whether that day they couldn’t face the outside world, or that they needed to be with others,
• Supported by others like them, who’ve experienced similar things they have,
• Felt at ease, and informed before we met them,
• Knew that we only took the minimum data required to help make decisions with them,
• That they can choose to tell their story only once, not each time they meet someone new,
• Understood what we communicate in a language that didn’t traumatise or embed inequality,
• Felt that services worked around them, each collaborating to deliver holistic support across their lives,
• Felt care beyond what any service alone could provide,
• In communities that are abundant with strong relationships, confidence, resources and empathy to support each other, because it takes a village.

We, and others like us, must act as a lighthouse for what good support looks like and how to get there. From policy to touchpoint we must better improve the lives of children; at the point of support; to how our organisation responds to their needs and conceptualises social issues; to how as people and as organisations we act in the political and social systems to build the conditions for change.

There is too much to say about the following four points in a summary blog post alone. In sharing some of our learning, we see (our) organisation/s needing to;

Move from ‘plan and deliver’ to ‘consciously design (with)’: Let’s move beyond hollowed out approaches derived from a ‘plan and deliver’ mentality, to the conscious (co)design of service models and experiences. This includes attention to language, patterns of support, articulated and sustainable infrastructure needs, channels of dynamic evidence, guiding principles and pathways through care.

Experiences that build in transparency, shared decision making, balance power and recognise the voice lived experience to ensure young people feel valued and at the centre of their care.

Actively dismantle and re-distribute power: Let us invite young people into our organisations and institutions, ensuring their voices help set the agenda of our investment and actions. How will we dismantle the symbolic and structural constructs that put us and the notion of the social care system at odds with their needs? Start small in your everyday. Change who you choose to have in the room, the language you use, the contracts you sign and the processes you endorse.

Look across systems and our place in the system: Let’s ask what is the best role for us to play to enhance the lives of children and young people? Sometimes it might not be as a service provider; instead, it might be a convener, a catalyst, or a collaborator.

In doing this, we must act with a greater literacy of the ecosystem of a child and the dynamic nature of their needs across their life — that may very well sit beyond our organisational boundaries. We must use our power to act to address causes upstream of the symptoms we encounter in service, project or programme bounds.

For more on systems in this context see here

Face our capability gaps head-on: We are not short of ambition, but ambition alone will not get us there. We need others to join us to create and hold space for reflection and to consider are these the best experiences we can provide? The people we work with face crisis, day in and day out. How will we create the support, to get off the treadmill, to nurture those who nurture others? The challenges before us require new capabilities at large. Not only do we need to bridge those capability gaps, but develop new authorising environments that allow us to question, learn and evolve.

We must be brave to challenge the status quo of why we do what we do, and indeed why we exist. Change is both in the big visions, and more often than not the tedious everyday decisions. We need to reflect on everything; from the way we meet in those buttoned-up meetings that don’t allow safe or generative conversations; to the way we often skip the vital step of listening intently; or ensuring we are creating inclusive, safe experiences for our staff — giving time and power to our people to do their jobs well; or how will we say ‘no’ to those individual opportunities that challenge what we believe is which good social care?

We must continue to invest in the future so that we can be adaptive, truly mission-focused and not beholden to paths that do not serve why we all get out of bed in the morning. That comes with recognising, we can not be everything to everyone, nor do we know everything — so let us ensure humility guides us to learn each day. We ALL know this is not easy, I know many are tired, but I hope that each person can lift those around them so that we can to be brave to reimagine the way we care for children.