The development of residential care in England has been framed by discourses around home, family, and the concept of permanence, often seen as the option of last resort in providing care for young people who are looked after. More recently the last resort rhetoric has been challenged, not least by the young people themselves, with relationships with staff identified as central to that experience. There has been limited research exploring how these relationships are enacted. The aim of this study was to explore these relational practices, how they are experienced and how they are conceptualised
In collaboration with a Local Authority partner, an ethnographic approach was adopted to explore discourses and practices of ‘permanence and relationships’ in residential care. A six-month participant observation was completed at one residential home accommodating six young people. Further data was gathered from interviews with some of the young people and staff that worked there. The thesis draws on social policy, social work, family sociology, ethics of care perspectives, and relationship practice literature to generate in-depth insights and analysis of experiences and practice in the residential context.
The findings highlight how relationships are embedded in everyday practices, with mealtimes and playing together providing the backdrop to relational moments that matter, moments that for some young people, engendered feelings of family and home. In observing everyday practices, it became evident that verbal and physical expressions of affection were routinely part of the interactions between staff and young people, with interview data highlighting that these embodied practices were commonly seen as inherent to providing care. This evidence poses questions for discourses that frame practice around the distant professional. The family as a construct was found to have a pervasive influence on how relationships between the young people and staff were understood and experienced.
