minimise risks and maximise protective factors for our children and young people. See below for a summary of protective factors: Domains of Resilience – Protective Factors Families Community Educational Establishments Family harmony The presence of at least one unconditionally supportive parent or parent substitute. A committed mentor or person from outside the family Nurturance and trust Lack of separations Lack of parental mental health or addiction problems The ability or opportunity to ‘make a difference’ by helping others Encouragement for autonomy Encouragement for expression of feelings (boys) Close grandparents Sibling attachment Four or fewer children Sufficient financial and material resources Not to be excessively sheltered from challenging situations that provide opportunities to develop coping skills sources of informal support such as members of the extended family, peers, neighbours, informal mentors or role models Neighbour and other support Peer contact and strong social support networks Positive adult role models Sources of informal support such as members of the extended family, peers, neighbours, informal mentors or role models Participation in a range of extra-curricular activities The ability – or – to ‘make a difference’ by helping others Not to be excessively sheltered from challenging situations that provide opportunities to develop coping skills Engage and empower students as valued members and resources in the school community. Particularly by providing opportunities for meaningful participation Increase pro-social bonding Set clear, consistent boundaries understood by all staff and children and young people for academic achievement and appropriate behavior Teach life skills Provide caring and support Set and communicate high expectations Ensure a feelings of safety among staff and students Develop supportive relationships within the school Ensure respect, and an ethos of caring Participation in a range of extra-curricular activities Not to be excessively sheltered from challenging situations that provide opportunities to develop coping skills sources of informal support such as members of the extended family, peers, neighbours, informal mentors or role models A committed mentor or person from outside the family
Play Children’s play provides a primary behaviour for developing resilience, thereby making a significant contribution to children’s well-being’ (Lester and Russell, 2007). This is a key concept in the GIRFEC approach. Importantly, children’s play is crucial to Scotland’s wellbeing; socially, economically and environmentally. ‘The experiences children have in life – and the environments in which they have them – shape their developing brain architecture and strongly affect whether they grow up to be healthy, productive members of society’ (Harvard University, 2007). Play is an essential part of a happy, healthy childhood and ‘when children play their brains do two things: they grow and they become organised and useable’ (Hughes, 2013). Children and young people need adults to encourage and facilitate their play, whilst not inhibiting their opportunities for freedom and choice. This means that everyone involved in planning, designing and managing local streets, open spaces and parks such as early learning and childcare staff, youth workers, teachers and play practitioners, parents, carers and local residents, particularly those willing to offer their services as volunteers, can all have a major impact on children and young people’s play opportunities, and thus on their outcomes. Our Key Aspirations for our Children and People Our key aspirations for our children and young people are outlined in the figure below. These aspirations are the outcomes of secure relationships with key adults and peers. They are the foundation to emotional wellbeing, active participation and achievement and the foundation to the SHANARRI indicators - Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Responsible, Respected and Included. GIRFEC is the national approach to improving the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland. Through policy and the delivery of services at both national and local level, the approach Puts the best interests of the child at the heart of decision making Takes a holistic approach to the wellbeing of a child Works with children, young people and their families on ways to improve wellbeing Advocates preventative work and early intervention to support children, young people and their families Believes professionals must work together in the best interests of the child GIRFEC recognises that how well a child can achieve or how healthy they are may be linked to how safe or respected or included they feel. We believe that children and young people learn and grow best in settings in which they feel happy, confident and safe, and that central to this is the experience of positive relationships among all members of the community.
2. Resilience Resilience can be defined as ‘Normal development under difficult conditions’ (Fonagy et al. 1994) A resilience-based approach fits closely with the aim of Getting It Right For Every Child to build on the strengths in the child’s whole world, always drawing on what the family, community and universal services can offer. A child or young person’s resilience is fostered when their internal and environmental protective factors are strengthened. Ensuring that a or young person’s strengths and protective factors are realised to their full potential is likely to help to improve outcomes by building their protective network (Daniel and Wassell 2002) and supporting their capacity to cope under adverse life experiences and day to day stressors. At the same time, it is crucial to be alert to whether any adversity of vulnerability is putting children’s well-being at risk and whether these risk factors can be ameliorated by action at an individual or environmental level. There are many factors associated with resilience, but Gilligan (1997) suggests that there are three fundamental building blocks: A secure base whereby the child feels a sense of belonging and security Good self-esteem, that is an internal of worth and competence A of self efficacy, that is a sense of mastery and control, along with an accurate understanding of personal strengths and limitations Resilience theory underpins the Getting it for Every Child approach and associated Children and Young People’s Act (2014). Research shows that promoting protective factors can buffer, ameliorate, and mitigate the effects of risk and stress, propelling the child or young person to academic and life success (O'Dougherty Wright, Masten, and Narayan, 2013). Conversely, it also shows that reducing risk factors can also have a significant impact. 3. Rights
Nurturing approaches are on psychological theory, including, child development and attachment theory. The approach aims to provide children and young people with attachment figures from whom they develop safe and secure relationship. With this attachment securely in place, the child or young person can fully develop their social and emotional skills, which in turn impact on their academic attainment and mental wellbeing. Boxall (2002) suggests that when a child feels safe, these attachment behaviours are accompanied by explorative behaviours. Furthermore, once children successfully develop secure social and emotional skills, they can go on to develop effective cognitive functioning and successfully engage in learning. Nurture has six underlying principles (Lucas, Insley and Buckland, 2006): Children's learning is understood developmentally The learning environment offers a safe base The importance of nurture for the development of self-esteem Language is a vital means of communication All behaviour is communication The importance of transition in children's lives The principles are based on Attachment theory and child development and aim to support a child or young person develop self-regulation skills. Nurture aims to use these principles not only as part of a targeted intervention, but also to help create a nurturing and inclusive community. Nurture seeks to permeate the vision, values and ethos of the community and contribute systemically to supporting social and emotional and development (Lucas, 1999; Doyle, 2003). Nurture has a growing evidence base with over academic studies carried out over the past twenty years (Nurture Group Network, 2015). Outcomes include long-term mental health improvements (O’Conner and Colwell, 2002) greater academic attainment (Reynolds et al, 2009; Seth-Smith et al, 2010) and improved attendance (Cooper, 2011) Cooper, Arnold and Boyd (2001) found that children with social, emotional and behavioural needs who received Nurture made more academic progress than similar children in a control group who had not received Nurture. They were also found to be more likely to remain within mainstream education. Cooper and Whitebread (2007) found that significant improvements were demonstrated in social and emotional functioning. They also found stronger effects where Nurture had been established for at least two years. Effects found in the research have shown to be sustained over time.