ACTION
Since its 2009 Ofsted "inadequate" rating, Leeds children's services has been developing family group conferencing, empowering families to find ways of staying together safely as part of a drive to cut the number of children in care.
Deputy children's services director Saleem Tariq says this had to be accompanied by culture change. "When you're sharing some of the power with families, it needs a shift in the way you operate," he says. "So we wanted to change the nature of our social work."
Tariq says there is a "direct correlation" between the department's organisational culture and its social work practice. So its first step was creating a restorative working culture. "We wanted to ensure it had an impact on the way families received social work, trying to ensure a move away from a punitive or permissive style: working with them, rather than doing things to and for them," he says. "A punitive approach can create fear for families, often based around completing processes. But with restorative social work, you're building relationships and trust to engender change."
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