What are the Helpful and Unhelpful Ways in Which the Key Working System is Implemented in Children’s Residential Care Centres?: Key Working in Residential Care and Attachment Theory

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2015 in the subject Sociology - Children and Youth, course: Masters in ‘Therapeutic Child Care’, language: English, abstract: This dissertation will focus on the key working system in residential centres for young people, and the help and unhelpful ways in which this system is implemented in residential care. The topic of research was chosen due to past personal experience of the researcher, and what was deemed as a sometimes flawed use of the key working system in children’s residential care centres. While conducting this research, there was a desire to benefit practice, and the practice of others working in residential child care. Examining the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres (2001) - there is a shortcoming of information on the role of the key worker, and how this role should be implemented in residential care. The researcher claims that through his own experience that residential centres often apply their own meaning to the role of key worker, and this results in many different outcomes for the young people in care - that of which will be discussed in Chapter 2: Literature Review. The National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres are the guide to which children’s residential care centres should function. The researcher found it did not put adequate emphasis on attachment, and the psychological and emotional benefits gained from a secure attachment. The researcher also found that the lack of guidance around key working in the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres is of concern. This will be discussed further in Chapter 2 - Literature Review.