Title: Understanding the Subjective Well-Being of Younger Children Looked After in Wales: A Qualitative Study Designed with Children in Care Using Creative Methodologies
Funder: Health and Care Research Wales (Welsh Government)

Abstract: The Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 places well-being at the heart of policy and practice in children’s social care in Wales, yet we know relatively little about the views of children in care on what matters to them. This is particularly true for younger children, where we could find no evidence exploring in depth their views on their wellbeing. There is also evidence that social workers in Wales find it difficult to explore wellbeing with children. This study attempts to address this gap by exploring what is important to children in care in years 5 and 6 using creative methods to answer the research question: How do primary school children looked after in Wales understand their well-being? Method All children in care in years 5 and 6 in three contrasting Welsh local authorities (Newport, Monmouthshire and Carmarthenshire) will be eligible. It will be inappropriate for some to take part, while others may not wish or be able to so we anticipate working with 30-50 children. Throughout, the safety and well-being of the children is our top priority. Staff will be DBS checked, trained and supervised. All information will be anonymised and treated as confidential. The project will be subject to ethical approval. The research will be undertaken during four meetings characterised by a playful, child-centred approach. They will take place in community settings, involving no more than 12 children and at least 3 staff. The first research consultation will be focussed on establishing relationships; ensuring the children fully understand the research and can give meaningful consent; and involving children in study design. Core data collection will take place in the following three research events. These will be scheduled during school holidays or a Saturday. They will include activities designed to support child wellbeing and also incorporate three research sessions. The first two are adapted from the CUWB research, while the third focuses on lessons for practice. These are: 1. Day One Children creating a well-being map. The creation of the map is followed by a short, recorded individual research interview in which each child explains what is important to them in their map and why. At the end of Day One children, who wish to, will be given a disposable camera to take photos of three best and worst things about the area where they live. 2. Day Two Children’s views on the area where they live. Children will interview one another about the area where they live, using photos as a prompt. They will then be supported to make short videos, using computer generated avatars to share their messages 3. Day Three Children and researchers co-creating a well-being toolkit. The children and researchers will develop further visual exercise to support foster carers, social workers and others to talk with children about what matters to them. Data will be transcribed, collated and inductive analysis will allow the themes to emerge (Quinn Patton, 2015). Cross-case analysis will be carried out, with children’s identity always protected. The findings of the study should shed light on how young children in care understand their well-being and in turn influence policymakers, practitioners and carers to improve the lives of the children. To this end, findings will be presented to Local Authorities and a child friendly report, an online free well-being toolkit plus webinars and academic articles will be produced.

Lay abstract: Well-being is a core element of Welsh Government policy for children’s social care. It involves understanding and placing the views of those receiving a service about what is important to them at the heart of our policies and practices. Surprisingly, internationally there is little research on the views of younger children in care on their well-being, very little that uses in-depth qualitative research and none in Wales. This is a major gap for developing services: how can we know what children need if we do not find out from them? Recent research also suggests that social workers and others do not feel confident and skilled in exploring well-being with younger children and therefore tend not to do so. This study aims to address these gaps by focussing on what primary school aged children (years 5 and 6) who are in care think is important to them. It will adapt methods used in other research, including ground-breaking studies carried out by a group of international experts and recent studies on older children in Wales. The study will engage 30-50 children in years 5 and 6 from 3 local authorities. Over 4 child-friendly fun sessions using creative methods, we will explore the people, places, activities and possessions which the children view as important to their well-being. They will be asked about the best and worst things about the areas they live in, as well as other issues they identify as important to their sense of well-being. Key elements of how we carry out the study, including areas to focus on, where and when sessions should happen and how we should share findings will be agreed with the children, though core elements of the study will remain consistent with international work using similar methods so that we can compare findings. A key output from the study will be to share the materials for exploring well-being so that professionals and carers can use them in understanding what is important to the children whom they work with. Hence the project will generate a free online Well-Being Toolkit with guidance, along with more conventional webinars and summaries. It will produce academic articles on what the children say about what is most important to their well-being and how it compares to children not in care, as well as developing methodological insights into participatory research with young children.

Research activity codes: 2.3 PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS;2.5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGIES (AETIOLOGY)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE