Communicating With Children And Young People

It is now clear that if professionals are to make a real difference for children and young people, they must be able to engage and communicate with children themselves, not just their parents and carers. Practitioners must be able to listen to children, support them, keep them informed, and fully involve them in matters which concern them. This timely book aspires to prepare social workers and other practitioners for this challenging set of roles and tasks. In particular, it aims to enthuse readers to develop the most powerful resource they have to offer in their direct work with children: themselves.

Rev. ed. of: Communicating with children and infants. 2nd ed. 1997.

Practitioners must be able to listen, talk, communicate and engage with children and young people if they are going to make a real difference to their lives. The key principles of collaborative, relational, child-centred working underpin all the ideas in this bestselling, practice-focused textbook. Using an innovative ‘Knowing, Being, Doing’ model, it features reflective exercises, practice examples, vignettes, cutting-edge research findings and theoretical perspectives. This new edition includes: • Updated references to policy, legislation, professional requirements, practice tools and research, including around unaccompanied young refugees and asylum seekers, and child sexual exploitation; • New learning from ethnographic and observational research of social workers’ direct practice with children; • Added focus on the context for practice, including the role of supervision and organisational containment in developing practitioners’ emotional capabilities. With detailed coverage of key skills, this book will equip students and practitioners with the critical thinking and tools needed for effective practice in order to promote the welfare, protection and rights of children and young people.

This book focuses on providing information and guidance for professionals involved in the newly emerging multi-agency, interdisciplinary children's workforce. It does so by helping them to understand the theory behind the issues relating to communication and engagement in multi-agency settings for children and families. The book is of use to both students and those already working in the sector who are undertaking professional development to enhance understanding and skills in the new children's workforce environment.

At a time when expectations and assumptions about the delivery of services to children and adolescents are being reconfigured - for example, around the rights of children and adolescents as young citizens - adults are seeking to ensure that they deliver services in creative and empowering ways, ensuring that the opinions of young people are actively solicited and encouraged. Action methods - communication methods using the body as well as speech - provide non-threatening ways of communicating which can be understood by children of all ages and from many cultures. This book places action methods in a theoretical, technical and political framework and documents examples of good practice. Discussion of the application of action methods to work with young people focuses on differing issues and populations, for example children and adolescents who face life-threatening illnesses, or those involved in peer counselling in schools. Contributions from several different countries emphasise the wide potential of action methods for use with young people. This book provides a comprehensive and wide-ranging resource for those interested in exploring and understanding why action methods are particularly useful when working with young people.

The importance of listening to children and young people has received considerable attention in the literature, but little has been written about the particular challenges of listening to those with speech, language and communication needs.

Communicating with Vulnerable Children provides a wealth of practical suggestions for all professionals who work with children and young people. It explains how best to communicate when the child has suffered adversity, such as experiences of harm and abuse, or witnessing violence or other distressing events. The focus is on helping children provide full and accurate accounts of their experiences without suggestion from an adult. Each chapter sets out the relevant policy and procedural context and reviews the available evidence, then gives recommendations and practical advice about how best to communicate with the child. This book is aimed at anyone who works with or spends time with children. This ranges from professionals whose specialist tasks include helping those who have been abused or neglected, such as social workers, child and adolescent mental health professionals or children's guardians within the Family Justice system, through to those who see children every day, such as teachers. It will be also be an invaluable guide for doctors, health visitors and all those advising concerned parents.

For those working with children, effective communication is a crucial part of building relationships and encouraging children's emotional and intellectual development. This practical guide identifies the child and their relationship with the adult as the basis upon which real communication can be made. Topics covered include non-verbal communication, attentive listening, empathy, the part played by questions, working constructively with conflict and criticism, and communicating in groups. It also draws on the innovative ideas found in social pedagogic theory and practice, such as communicating with your head, hands and heart and how to differentiate between the personal, the professional and the private in your interactions. The book contains exercises, topics for personal reflection or group discussion, and suggestions for observations. This will be an excellent source of advice and ideas for all those in the children's workforce including early years professionals, teachers, social workers, counsellors and practitioners working with children in care, including foster carers.