Sandra Brown : Where There is Evil

Book Review by Wanda Gibson Where There Is Evil is different from most of the other autobiographical accounts of an abusive childhood inasmuch as it was written despite many family members’ protests to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’. Sandra Brown is well known in Scotland for her work as a teacher and champion of abused children. … Read more

Editorial : Taking a Long Look

The need for a long-term perspective in research about services for children One of the major defects of child care policy development is that those responsible – the politicians, civil servants and their advisers – all talk about evidence-based practice, but little consideration is given to the long-term outcomes of the measures taken to help … Read more

Two Little Boys in South America

During the month of March I was in Ecuador in South America, and ever since I have found it impossible to get two little boys there out of my mind.  So let me tell you about them.  One is called Jurgen, and I will come to him later.  The other’s name I do not know: … Read more

Conferring by the Clyde

The Social Care Association is particularly strong in Scotland at the moment. It has a thriving membership. It has undertaken some large-scale pieces of work there. The new head of training, Liz Willetts, lives there. And the outgoing President, David Baird, comes from Scotland, working at the Kibble. So it made good sense for the … Read more

Remember : April 2007

The Webmag has been going for over seven years now, and we must have published over a thousand articles. Who refers to the musty piles of back numbers of hard copy magazines? The Webmag articles are all there at the touch of the Back Issues button. Modern technology makes them available. But unless you are … Read more

Why Did Sally Clark Suffer And Die?

There are probably very few people in Britain who are unaffected by the death of Sally Clark, a young mother whose two young children died suddenly and, if that were not enough for her to cope with, was then charged and convicted of killing them and was imprisoned for three years before reason and logic … Read more

Keeping Parliament Informed: Housing and Mental Health

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Children has held two meetings since mid February: Monday 26 February: Housing and Every Child Matters.  With speakers Caroline Davey (Deputy Director of Policy and Research, Shelter); Anne Whiteley (Director for Children and Young People’s Services, Devon County Council); and young people from the Sunderland YMCA foyer.  Monday 12 … Read more

The Invisible Worker

When a good friend suggested that I might be interested in a bit of light reading in the form of the Independent Study into School Leadership, I took him at his word and embarked on this mammoth task. Well, all I can say is, “Thanks for nothing, pal, and you’re coming off next years Christmas … Read more

SIRCC Annual Conference

We are very excited about the excellent national and international response that we have had to the call for papers for the SIRCC Annual Conference. Speakers. The theme is Realising Potential: Inspirational Journeys to Positive Residential Child Care Cultures.  The conference is on 6 and 7 June at the Erskine Bridge Hotel, very near to … Read more

Is Alcohol a Drug?

And what is the best way of modifying young people’s drinking habits? A few weeks ago I visited a local secondary school to take part in a debate around the theme of alcohol and young people. As a starting point a casualty consultant gave an interesting talk about the horrors of drinking and used a … Read more