Abstract
AbstractSecure children's homes are used to accommodate children aged 10–16 under two main categories; while half are sentenced after committing a serious offence, the other half are placed because there are serious concerns around their safety in the community. Secure children's homes are prized within the secure estate, and they administer complex therapeutic support to ‘the most vulnerable’ young people, however little is known about the experiences of those employed to work in such spaces. This paper shares findings from PhD research conducted in one secure children's home over 1 year. Data presented are drawn from sensitive ethnographic fieldwork and in‐depth interviews with residential staff and residents in the home. Although young people's views are important, we concentrate here on the perspectives of residential staff to share their reflections of delivering ‘care’ and the strategies used to manage successful relationships within a secure setting. We conclude that residential staff tread a fine line between creating emotional closeness while maintaining physical distance and that they are sometimes unable to return the intensity of feeling that residents' direct towards them. We recommend that all residential staff receive regular and detailed supervision to provide opportunity to request support when necessary.
Highlights
Children enter secure children's homes under two types of orders, while half are sentenced for committing a serious offence, others are placed by social services under a child welfare order
This paper considers the experiences of residential staff and explores the strategies they use to provide intensive therapeutic placements for vulnerable children
The findings presented in this article contribute to current understandings of care by focusing on the caring practices of residential staff working in secure accommodation, a particular space of care
Summary
Children enter secure children's homes under two types of orders, while half are sentenced for committing a serious offence, others are placed by social services under a child welfare order. Though placed under different circumstances, it is understood that both types of children are perceived as ‘vulnerable’ and in need of therapeutic care. Young people's perspectives of secure care have been explored (Ellis, 2018, 2020), there has been little consideration of the everyday experiences of the residential staff working to administer this type of care. Hochschild reminds us that in order to perform their role successfully, carers must complete their duties while disguising feelings of ‘fatigue’ or ‘irritation’ as ‘seeming to love the job, becomes part of the job’ This paper considers the experiences of residential staff and explores the strategies they use to provide intensive therapeutic placements for vulnerable children
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