Rights Responsibilities and Advocacy Module 6cf005 Session Two “Try to listen to what we want instead of guessing. You don’t know us”

Advocacy: it involves us all! My challenge for this session – to make you aware that any work with children, young people, and their families involves some element of advocacy. Do you have what it takes?

Wednesday 9 th October 6-8pm uk/what-we-do/helping- children/advocacy- services/black-country- advocacy-service-0 Guest speakers from Black Country Children’s Advocacy Services coming in to talk about their work in the local area You are ALL invited! Lecture theatre 1 (WN002)

Learning outcomes Share learning on the 4 Children’s Commissioners for the UK Reflect on personal qualities/ beliefs/ value systems in light of advocacy working Examine Bourdieu’s concept of ‘capital’ with regard to equity issues Appraise advocacy work within a case study scenario

Guided task from last week What do the UK’s Children’s Commissioners do? To what extent are they a useful mechanism within the children and young people’s rights agenda? Summative and formative assessments – and any queries? Reading of Concluding Observations

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Being on the sidelines of my own life “Reflecting back to the time I first came into care, I remember feeling completely lost…. I entered the system between the ages of 5 and 6 years old. From then on I felt like a puppet, brought out for public meetings and engagements, then slung back to the children’s homes………..”

Advocates for children and young people around the world What is advocacy? Advocacy is……… Children’s advocacy: setting the standards

Independent Advocacy Campaign Advocacy is: So, assertiveness rights are useful? What professions might include some form of advocacy? Will you be in one of them?

Who may need advocacy? resource-exchange Some people may be more likely to be treated unfairly due to their vulnerability of the prejudices of society First minute of video: female worker talking of her role as advocate

Models of advocacy Self-advocacy or speaking up for oneself Representational advocacy professional volunteer peer Independent iles/iriss-insight-20.pdf Legislation eg CA 1989: ‘wishes and feelings of child to the fore’ + National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 – statutory complaints procedures Historical link between advocacy and complaints – tension with professionals advocacy-children-care-warns- charity?utm_content=&utm_campaign=130912_Daily&utm_source =Children%20%26%20Young%20People%20Now&utm_medium= adestra_ &utm_term=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cypnow.co.uk% 2Fcyp%2Fnews%2F %2Fthird-councils-spend-advocacy- children-care-warns-charity

McLeod (2007) – research Working with LAC Research methodology – looking at ‘failures’ The art of listening – participation and involvement of ch/ yp in issues that affect them Those who are not heard Unequal power base of interview Agency of young people in responses Fact-finding or fact-giving? Mismatch of expectations: social workers and yp Whose agenda? Do we really want to hear?

Small group task: attributes of an advocate What qualities are needed? Whole group – job specification (‘spec’) What skills are needed How do you match up?

Bourdieu’s concept of ‘capital’ Contribution to social theory – transformation of Marxist theory of capital Capital derives power from its exchange value – ‘what it can buy’ Economic capital Symbolic capital – equally potent Cultural capital – ‘what you know’ Social capital – ‘who you know’ Linguistic capital – ‘how you say it’ [adapted from Brooker, L. (2002) Starting School – young children learning cultures. Buckingham: OUP] So, how might ‘capital’ be seen in light of advocacy?

The value of ‘capital’ “exerts a multiplier effect on the capital he (sic) possesses in his own right” (Bourdieu, 1977, p.48, in Brooker, 2002, p.24) Hidden reasons for inequalities in achievement; not results of natural aptitudes as in ‘common sense’ view A more potent force at work ‘habitus’ – system of dispositions learnt in the home/ early years of life

Small group work Take a look at the case study Discuss what type of advocacy is being used and evaluate its effectiveness Use the case study as a basis to ‘role play’ the advocacy part – that is, try out the skills of advocate in this particular case; try it more than once with different students taking on the different roles; observers can be used to analyse and evaluate performance Feedback thoughts and feelings to whole group

Further study……… Guided task/ reading: Boylan and Dalrymple (2009) (ebook): Read Chapter 2 and decide upon 5 key points made by the authors in relation to the importance of advocacy services for children and young people. POST your ideas to the WOLF discussion section for your class group and comment on at least one other student's ideas OOCA: Standards for Provision of Children’s Advocacy Services (DoH, 2002) – “We want….” McLeod (2007) Whose agenda? Issues of power and relationship when listening to looked- after young people. Child and Family Social Work, 12, pp

References Boylan, J. and Dalrymple, J. (2009) Understanding Advocacy for Children and Young People. Maidenhead: OUP. Brooker, L. (2002) Starting School : young children learning cultures. Buckingham: OUP Department of Health (2002) National Standards for the Provision of Advocacy Services. London: DoH Publications. Found at: McLeod, A. (2007) Whose agenda? Issues of power and relationship when listening to looked-after young people. Child and Family Social Work, 12, pp