It is difficult to see opportunities consequent upon the dire economic outlook. What might be good for children will be bad for somebody else, whether in terms of jobs or salary or simply having to work in a different way.MORE

In the public sector the word ‘efficiency’ has been devalued. Politicians regularly talk about efficiency as an alternative to ‘cuts’. Generally the promise outstrips the reality.
In business, efficiency is routine. A good business will continually look to deliver more product at the same cost, or the same volume of product at less cost. Annual efficiencies of less than 5% are frowned upon. Some businesses, Tesco and Toyota for example, have established reputations for their methods for finding efficiency. Kamban, an approach honed by Taiichi Ohno, is one of the core components of Toyota’s 50-year rise from sewing machine manufacturer to the world’s largest car producer. There is similar potential in the world of children’s services, as illustrated by the following three examples.MORE

Now the election is upon us in the UK, conversations about cutting public sector services will begin in earnest. These will not be happy conversations. Many children and families will receive less support. Many people will loose their jobs.MORE

Children’s services -health, education, social care, police and youth justice- are about to experience huge financial cut-backs. Some might argue the biggest cuts ever are upon us.MORE

Now that the General Election is upon us in the UK, conversations about cutting public sector services will begin in earnest. These will not be happy conversations. Many children and families will receive less support. Many people will lose their jobs.MORE

Children’s services -health, education, social care, police and youth justice- are about to experience huge financial cut-backs. Some might argue the biggest cuts ever are upon us.MORE

Blogging gives a wary academic like me the chance to offer up half an idea for debate and trust that feedback and better information will help it on its way to becoming more useful.MORE

A balance has yet to be struck between the art of framing a national child development policy to apply at scale, and the science of developing an intervention that can be shown to improve children’s lives.MORE

I was invited to give a presentation at the last of a series of six ESRC-sponsored seminars gathering “interdisciplinary perspectives on emotional well-being and social justice in education policy and practice”MORE

Stop blaming the individual who does wrong or makes a mistake, and start thinking about the environment that leads to those wrongs and mistakes occurring in the first place. This is one of the take home messages from David Hemenway’s excellent book While We Were Sleeping, which catalogues success stories from the world of prevention.MORE