Professor David Berridge from the Family Policy and Child Welfare Centre in the School of Policy Studies has been awarded (in association with the University of York) £400,000 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)  for research into social pedagogy in children’s residential care in England. 

Social pedagogy, which focuses on children's development as a whole and their 'education' in the broadest sense of the word, is an approach to working with children that is common in continental Europe but less so in the UK.

The government has committed to explore the effectiveness of social pedagogy in children’s residential care and a model is currently being piloted in 30 residential children's homes in England. Professor Berridge’s research will evaluate the implementation and impact of the pilot programme and report in March 2011 when the pilot programme ends. More specifically, the research will:

• describe and compare the relative effectiveness of three different methods of implementing social pedagogy
• compare the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people placed in homes served by social pedagogues with those for children in comparison homes which do not
• investigate the factors that maximise the likelihood of successful adoption of a pedagogic approach and lessons learned during the course of the pilot programme
• explore children’s, pedagogues’ and staff views on their experience of living and working in homes which employ social pedagogues

There are approximately 60,000 children separated from their families and living in public care in England and some 6,000 of these live in residential children's homes. England has relatively few children in care compared with many other countries and children's homes especially cater for troubled adolescents with complex histories.

Also working with Professor Berridge on the project are Eleanor Lutman and Dr Lorna Henry.