Child-centred working

This talk will cover child-centred working, engaging with children and where possible involving them in our projects and our practice.

What do I mean by child-centred working?

• The projects are focused on working with families, but what do we mean by families. Do we mean parents and wider kin or do we mean parents, kin and children? It is easy to concentrate on adults, carers and parents, and overlook children. We can find ourselves talking to adults when we don't really see or engage with children.
• We might be working with families and find that children are playing quietly in the background so we do not disturb them, or they might be 'being a nuisance' interrupting and demanding attention when we want to get on with important things so we might distract them or remove them.
• What is child-centred working? Sometimes I think we can be working in a way that focuses very intently on the child or children, and we can feel that, of course, our work is child focused. But this is not necessarily the same as child-centred working. To focus on the child is not necessarily to put the child at the centre. For example in the UK children in the public care system attend their case reviews. They are present along with their parents or carers, their social workers, case workers and so on. This is a review process that is very much focused on the child and is intended to address the child's best interests. But it is not child centred. When you engage with children you find that they find the whole procedure isolating, in some cases daunting, and in others humiliating. It is very rare that a child would think that the process was in any way intended to give children some rights and say in their lives. In child-centred practice and enquiry the intention is to try to keep the interests and the well-being of children central to the process - to do this you have to engage with children and involve them wherever possible in the issues that concern them.

Why should we engage children wherever possible in our projects?

• Do not often hear from children, adults are often presumed to speak for children so we hear from proxies, parents, carers, teachers, and so on. But children will have their own views, perspectives issues that concern them, and they might well not be the same issues that adults would identify.
• For example, some work with 5-6 year old children in after school clubs. Wanted to know about how children felt about their after school clubs. Parents and carers had an important perspective to contribute. But children also had their own insights to give. They were unhappy about the lighting, it was too gloomy in some clubs, some children got hungry and wished there was some food provided, some were tired and wished there was somewhere for them to have a quiet time, not just the structured activities. They were also concerned about their environment, the quality of the lighting, the paint on the walls, their access to the garden and so on. These were all valid and important insights which affected how those children experienced their care and which could have easily been overlooked by adults who may have a different set of concerns.
  When we start to think about children in this way we develop a broader understanding of the types of things that might affect children's lives
• Many things are affecting children's lives and influence the type of childhood they are receiving. We may think straight away about family and extended kin, close social networks , neighbours, relatives and carers.
• But children are also social beings in a community, they are also affected by things outside of the family and home environment. Their quality of care, how they experience their creche or nursery , their spatial environment, school and teachers, friendships and social relationships
• There are also wider issues, children' s space, how the local environment affects children, their opportunities for play and social interaction, the impact of traffic on their lives, the quality of the streets and housing for children, shops and transport - children will have a contribution to make about all these areas.

What are the advantages in engaging with children

• There are advantages for your project , it will be more holistic, families means children as well as parents.
• Insights gained from children can help adults work more effectively, it can also help to ensure that services that are provided are relevant to children's needs
• It is also valuable for children themselves.
• Research and participation work with children has shown that children learn to express their own needs, they learn to consider the needs of others. They may develop skills of co- operation, negotiation and problem solving.
• Children and parents may work together and this can strengthen relationships and foster greater understanding and respect
• When you involve children and you respect their ideas and their capabilities they will grow in confidence and self esteem

How might we involve children?

Not going to be specific here as each project will be different. But there are some general points:

• Firstly - Child-centred working means being aware of children at all times. Thinking about how your involvement with their families may affect them and being open to engaging with children, listening to them and realising the potential for them to participate and contribute to your work.
• We might be working with very young children who may not be able to contribute in any clear way, but we still need to be aware of them
• We may be concentrating on very young children and their parents and fail to see the older siblings, brothers and sisters who are also in the family, and may have a lot to contribute.
• Children can be involved and participate in many different ways. You can engage with them individually, or as little groups. You can talk with them, they can participate in discussions, community meetings, councils. They can be researchers, taking photographs of things that concern them, like the quality of their playgrounds, where they most like to go, what they like best, or worst about somewhere or something.
• They can make scrapbooks, videos, work together in groups to make plays, to design and perform, Keep diaries, use disposable cameras make drawings etc.
• If we look at one of Maya's the projects for example. She has been working with small children using disposable cameras. The children were able to take photographs of where they were in the same way as the adults. What was interesting to see was how the children saw the space in a completely different way to adults. Their photographs were pitched at a different level, they also identified places and areas as important that were not considered to be so. For instance, they identified one room as their favourite room to play in. Yet this was an area which was rarely used and where children were quite often told to keep out of. Having the photographs was also good for the children, they were able to talk about their spaces and they were able to experience adults listening and responding to them about what they think and see. Maya is happy to talk with anyone about this
• There are many different ways to involve children, each project will have its own focus. But in each case it is worth having a strong commitment to engaging with children, seeing and recognizing that children have a perspective too.

I am often told that my work is about giving children a voice, but it is not giving children a voice that I think is important, they already have voices. What is important is giving children a hearing, listening to their voices and valuing their contributions.

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