An exploration of social workers and social care practitioner's perspectives on residential care

Abstract

This study will explore Social Workers and Social Care practitioner’s experiences of working in Residential Care. The study entails three main objectives. Firstly, to explore Social Workers and Social Care Practitioners perspectives of Residential Care. To explore Social Workers and Social Care Practitioners views on the effectiveness of Residential Care for children. Finally, to identify recommendations for future practice of the Residential Care system A qualitative method of data collection was chosen for this study. Each of the interviewees had previously worked in Residential Care. This is a narrative study. The study included five semi structured interviews. The method of sampling was convenience sampling. This preferred method permitted the researcher to access Social Workers and Social Care practitioners that were enthusiastic about being involved in this research. The main findings of the study are as follows; according to Social Workers and Social care practitioner’s Residential Care has both positive aspects and also negative aspects. All participants found that there was a lack of support for both the children and the staff. From the concluding data it appeared that Residential Care is not effective due to the lack of support and training, however the participants agreed that education is an extremely important factor in the lives of children in care. The main findings of this study have led to recommendations for future research