evidence & evaluations
What difference does social pedagogy make – for children, young people and adults, for practitioners and for whole organisations?
AT A GLANCE
- UK developments: since 2007
- Settings evaluated: residential child care, foster care, local authorities, youth work
- Key finding: culture change makes the difference
- Explore the evaluations →
social pedagogy in the uk
how social pedagogy has developed in the uk
Unlike in many European countries, social pedagogy is a relatively recent development in the UK. From early on, there has been recognition that it should not be limited to residential child care – and that applying it more widely could also help raise the status of residential care itself.
2007
the first pilots
The first pilot project developing social pedagogy in residential child care began. More and more children’s homes in England and Scotland have since adopted social pedagogy as an overarching conceptual framework.
2013
into foster care
The Fostering Network launched the Head, Heart, Hands demonstration programme, introducing social pedagogy into foster care across several UK sites.
SINCE THEN
wider practice
Interest has grown in early intervention and family support, Camphill communities for adults with disabilities, creative arts projects, social work, early years, schools, youth work and youth justice.
Alongside these pioneering practice developments, universities have introduced social pedagogy modules within degree programmes in youth and community work, social work and working with families, and dedicated social pedagogy qualifications have been developed. The Standards of Proficiency developed by the Social Pedagogy Professional Association (SPPA) now set out what social pedagogical practice involves and help guide qualifications and training.
international evidence
what we can learn from other countries
Social pedagogy provides the policy and professional education framework for residential care in Denmark and Germany, where young people ‘do better’ than in similar institutions in England.
Thomas Coram Research Unit
In these countries, rates of looked-after young people completing secondary education have been found to be twice as high as in the UK, fewer looked-after young people and care-experienced adults are in the criminal justice system, and health-related outcomes are better too.
Many of these differences are also due to the wider care system: countries with a strong social pedagogy tradition tend to be oriented more towards supporting families, whereas the UK system has taken a much narrower child protection orientation. This is why social pedagogy is as much about organisational culture and systems as it is about individual practice.
what uk evaluations show
the difference it can make
Evaluations in the UK suggest that social pedagogy can make a substantial difference to frontline practice, organisational culture and the wider care sector. Children’s homes that have developed a vibrant social pedagogical culture have generally seen the following improvements.
OUTCOMES
for children and young people
- improved engagement with education and higher attainment
- better relationships with staff and peers
- a greater sense of involvement, happiness and well-being
- significant reductions in physical restraint, vandalism and absconding
- improved placement stability
OUTCOMES
for practitioners
- improved well-being and motivation
- greater confidence in relationships with young people, colleagues and other professionals
- feeling encouraged to be themselves and bring in their own interests and creativity
- higher levels of trust and autonomy
- an increased ability to reflect
OUTCOMES
for teams and organisations
- a more positive, non-judgemental culture
- a shared sense of ownership for values and vision
- improved communication and multi-agency working
- higher staff retention
Many of these outcomes can also lead to significant financial savings for organisations and local authorities through costs avoided in the short, medium and long term. More importantly, social pedagogy can make a real difference to people’s experience of care, as one young person in Essex told the Who Cares? Trust:
Social pedagogy has made a big difference. Things are easier to do and there’s a better relationship with staff.
Young person, Essex
a balanced picture
what makes the difference
The evidence is not uniform, and we think it is important to say so. The government-funded pilot in English children’s homes (2009–2011), which placed social pedagogues recruited from other European countries into existing teams, found that placement disruption fell significantly but saw little change in other outcomes. However, the time given to research these was very limited, as were the methods chosen to better understand changes and what these meant. The evaluators highlighted how bureaucratic constraints, limited training for the wider staff team and the broader care system made it hard for social pedagogy to take root.
This echoes what we have learnt over many years of working alongside organisations: social pedagogy makes the greatest difference when it is developed across the whole team and organisation, over time, and adapted to its own context – rather than introduced through a few individuals or a one-off training course.
WHAT HELPS
conditions for growth
- Whole-team learning, not a few individuals
- Leadership that models and protects the approach
- Time to embed new practice and culture
- Reflection built into everyday work
- Systems that enable relationships rather than restrict them
the evidence base
independent evaluations
A growing body of independent evaluations explores how social pedagogy has been developed in different UK settings. The Social Pedagogy Professional Association brings many of them together in one place.
FOSTER CARE
Head, Heart, Hands: introducing social pedagogy into UK foster care
Final evaluation report by McDermid, Holmes, Ghate, Trivedi, Blackmore and Baker (2016), alongside a study of the programme’s costs and costs avoided.
RESIDENTIAL CHILD CARE
Sycamore Services social pedagogy training programme
An evaluation of introducing social pedagogy into Scottish residential child care.
RESIDENTIAL CHILD CARE
Orkney Islands training programme
An evaluation of social pedagogy and inter-professional practice in Orkney’s residential services.
LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Social pedagogy in Derbyshire
A scoping project for Derbyshire County Council on developing social pedagogy across services.
TRAINING
Social pedagogy in the UK today
Findings from evaluations of social pedagogy training and development initiatives across the UK.
YOUTH WORK
Social pedagogy and youth work
A study of the understanding of social pedagogy and its potential implications for youth work practice and training.
go further
explore further
RESEARCH
international journal of social pedagogy
Open-access, peer-reviewed research on social pedagogy from around the world, published by UCL Press.
PRACTICE
social pedagogy in practice
Practice fields and examples from six European countries, drawn from our Insight Report.
OUR WORK
our social impact
How our work as a Community Interest Company benefits the wider social pedagogy community, year by year.
make a difference in your organisation
We support organisations to develop social pedagogy across whole teams and systems, so that it can make a lasting difference. Let’s talk about what that could look like for you.