Residentialism, 29th June 2020, Jonathan Stanley, NCERCC and Residential Forum member

Whatever ‘residentialism’ is, it is too important not to be stated as a means of starting its creation.

Residentialism does not see itself as right or that group living is superior or supplants any other option for young people in care yet it asserts that it has its own right to exist and to be considered as an equal contributing beneficial partner for some children at some time in their lives. It is not a competitor to family or community-based options, it is an alternative proposition. It asserts its value as a choice amongst others in a horizontal plain and rejects the hierarchical view that subjects children with high level needs to the social and psychological stresses of arriving at the right place only after serial placements. Residentialism is concerned with a children’s care system where children are in the right place at the right time. A child is living residentially because it is the right decision, taken after assessment, for this child right now; a residential environment is a good, therapeutic, practical and pragmatic place to be.

Read in full at Source: Residentialism – NCERCC