Reports of interest

Last Updated on Monday, 22 April 2013 13:24

The Poor Relations? - Buttle UK and the University of Bristol

The Poor Relations: Children and Informal Kinship Carers Speak Out  is the largest authoritative report to look at both the child’s perspective of living in an informal kinship care setting and the views of their carers.   It provides insights into how well, both emotionally and academically, these children are doing, how this compares with children in the formal care system and what impact such arrangements have on both children and carers.

It also gives an authoritative account of the financial hardship, sacrifice, isolation and the cost to health of the relatives bringing up children across the UK with little or no statutory support – often at very little notice.  Each child cared for by an informal kinship carer saves the taxpayer between ¹£23,500 and £56,000 a year.

Download and read: Summary and recommendations

¹Reference:  Costs of children in care – Hannon,C., Wood, C. and Bazalgette, L, (2010) In Loco Parentis, Demos.  £23,470 is the annual cost for a stable long-term foster care placement.  £56,226 per annum is for a child who needs several placements and residential care.

 What is Care for - Alternative Models of Care for Adolescents - ADCS*

*The Association of Directors of Children’s Services Ltd (ADCS) is the national leadership association in England for statutory directors of children’s services and their senior management teams.

They say: "This position statement is the second in a short series that articulates ADCS members’ collective aspirations for the care system. In particular, this statement reviews the key messages from evidence relating to models of adolescent care provision, examines whether there might be alternative models better suited to the needs of adolescents, looks at the balance of parenting responsibility between the state and a young person’s family, offers some propositions for debate, and makes some recommendations as to how we might move forward. The paper builds on the premise that “adolescence” is a construct that does not respect boundaries and asks whether we need to challenge the conceptual underpinning of our current range of services designed to meet the needs of young people."

• View position statement
• View research in practice - This was commissioned by ADCS to undertake a rapid review of the evidence from research and practice on models of adolescent care provision beyond the residential children’s home model.
• View Evidence scope: models of adolescent care provision - research in practice evidence review

The role of informal childcare - Nuffield Foundation

A new report shows that a decade after the introduction of the National Childcare Strategy, a large number of families continue to use informal childcare, usually grandparents, to meet their childcare needs. The report, The role of informal childcare: a synthesis and critical review of the evidence, was undertaken by researchers from Bryson Purdon Social Research, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and NatCen Social Research. It was funded by the Nuffield Foundation

The report notes that families often use informal care as part of a ‘package’ that includes both formal and informal care, particularly for preschool children. It is more likely than formal care to be used to cover non-standard work or study hours, and is used by families across the socio-economic spectrum and for children of all ages.

View our quick overview

The role of informal childcare: understanding the research evidence :
Summary Report: Download your copy of the report here

The role of informal childcare: A synthesis and critical review of the evidence :
Full Report: Download your copy of the report here

  Giving Britain a break - report launched

"I was honoured to be asked by the Family Holiday Association to give evidence on the need for social tourism. Too often the benefits of families being able to spend time together away from their every day traumas is underestimated but I hope that this report leads to more grandparents and their extended families having the opportunity to share such experiences," Lynn Chesterman CE Grandparents' Association

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on social tourism launched their report "Giving Britain a Break" on Monday 31 October 2011 at a reception in the House of Commons.

Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys and chairman of the group urged that holidays form part of an "early intervention" agenda to tackle social problems.

"A year later the All-Party Group has produced a remarkable report.  I want to highlight, and I know that many within the Parliamentary Group will agree with me, that this is the first step on a long journey of raising awareness about social tourism and the benefits it can bring."

Download your copy of the report here

Doing it all?

Grandparents, childcare and employment: An analysis of British Social Attitudes Survey

Data from 1998 and 2009

December 2011

By Sarah Wellard

Download your copy of the report here

Firm Foundations - Shared care in separated families: building on what works Executive Summary
New report from Gingerbread and One Plus One on shared care arrangements in separated families

Download report

Informal Childcare: Choice or Chance?
A literature review providing a comprehensive background to informal childcare.
Despite the greater availability and affordability of formal early childhood education and childcare, research shows that the number of parents using informal childcare - from friends and family - remains high. Although informal childcare is important to many families, little is known about this practice.
Report from Day Care Trust

Download report

Listening to Grandparents
This report highlights the importance of grandparents care to families
Report from Day Care Trust

Download report

+ 0

+ 0