Latest news and updates

International Journal of Social Pedagogy - October 2012:

ThemPra and the Centre for Understanding Social Pedagogy at the Institute of Education are jointly publishing the International Journal of Social Pedagogy. With emphasis on a theory-practice connection, the articles in IJSP reflect the cross-cultural perspectives of a wide range of social pedagogical traditions and provide a greater understanding of social pedagogy in ways that are both relevant at a practice level and contribute to the body of theory and research. And because we believe that access to knowledge and participation in the discourse around social pedagogy should not be limited to academic circles but open to practitioners, the journal provides open access to all its articles. You can get direct access via ijsp.thempra.org.uk.

Social Pedagogy Development Network - 25/05/2012:

This SPDN event brings the discourse around social pedagogy to Ireland. Hosted by the Institute of Technology Sligo, the emphasis is on the relationship between social pedagogy and social care in three interconnected dimensions - practice, policy, and education. Click on our logo for more details about this and previous events, including how to join us ...

Conference 'The Good Enough Adult' Exploring social pedagogy in mainstream education and social care - 19/03/2012:

Be part of the journey, David Young Community Academy and Serendipity Art College in West Yorkshire, are at the beginning of their journey looking at the practical solutions for a social pedagogical approach in education in the 21st century, to meet the complex needs and demands of our society, placing the child first and central, working at the heart of the family and the community. This is an Action Learning opportunity, to share our thoughts, skills and experience and create a future for all young people that never have to have a label of exclusion. To find out more about the free conference, download the brochure here ...

Children Australia special edition on social pedagogy - December 2011:

'Children Australia' is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal reporting on research and practice around children, youth and families. In 2011, its editor Jennifer Lehmann invited us to guest edit a special issue on social pedagogy. This has given us the opportunity to bring together contributions from an academic, research and practice perspective exploring how social pedagogy has evolved as an ethical orientation towards working with human beings, what international comparisons can tell us about its effect, what social pedagogy has to offer to professionals, and how it can be applied in practice within a range of settings. You can find an overview of all articles and links to read them here ...

Social Pedagogy Development Network - 07/10/2011:

After a lot of interest in social pedagogy in Scotland, the SPDN is finally coming to the north of the UK. Our fifth meeting, hosted by Kibble, will take place in Paisley on October 7 and continue in the tradition of previous participant-led events to further develop social pedagoy in Scotland and the wider UK. More details about this and previous events, including how to join, are available here ...

New book on Social Pedagogy launched - 20/06/2011:

Social Pedagogy and working with Children and Young People is the title of a new book edited by Claire Cameron and Peter Moss. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the theory, principles and practice of social pedagogy and the profession of social pedagogue. With chapters from leading international contributors (we feel very honoured to be amongst them), it outlines the roots of social pedagogy and its development in Europe, and its role in relation to individuals, groups, communities and societies. Also covered is how it applies in practice to working with children and young people in a variety of settings, including children in care and in need of family support, and its potential future applications. We can highly recommend this book as essential reading for all academics, researchers and practitioners working with children. You can see a description of the book's content here ...

TCRU report on DfE Social Pedagogy pilot published - 15/06/2011:

Following the completion of the Government-funded national social pedagogy pilot project, the Thomas Coram Research Unit have published their final report. It critically examines the factors which have contributing or hindered the development of a social pedagogic culture in the pilot organisations, thus offering some very insightful considerations for organisations wishing to adopt a social pedagogic approach. The report is available here

Fighting over-prescription of psychotropic drugs to children - 06/06/2011:

Educational Psychologist Dave Traxson has been raising much awareness for an important cause - the overprescription of medical drugs in young children. Referring to social pedagogy as an alternative approach to working with children's behaviours, he criticises the over-use of medication to treat children’s behavioural issues including temporary sleep problems, mild social anxiety and shyness. The use of drugs to treat ADHD in children under 6, which is against guidelines but deemed to be on the increase, was recently reported by Channel 4. Dave has also set up a blog to keep readers informed on the issue ...

University of York Social Pedagogy seminar - 13/04/2011:

Making Research Count at the University of York are hosting a half-day seminar titled 'Social Pedagogy: a new approach for Children's Services?'. The seminar aims to present recent research and related findings and to explore their potential implementation in policy and practice. For more information, please download the outline here ...

Guardian article about pedagogy in Staffordshire - 23/03/2011:

Pedagogy puts children centre stage in the care system, according to a Guardian article about social pedagogy in Staffordshire. You can read the full article here ...

Social Pedagogy Development Network - 05/11/2010:

One year after its debut, the SPDN's third meeting will take place in Derbyshire on November 5 with an exciting programme that brings together many organisations active around social pedagogy. More infos about the event and how to join can be found here ...

Demos Report 'In Loco Parentis' - 28/06/2010:

Titled 'In Loco Parentis', the new Demos report sets out recommendations to improve the care system and suggests that better placements and a more proactive, flexible and social pedagogical approach to taking children into care saves money both in the short and medium term! It also includes two case studies of social pedagogy in Essex and Hackney, and it's generally worth reading. The report is available for download on Demos's website ...

Social Pedagogy Development Network - 18/06/2010:

The second meeting of the Social Pedagogy Development Network took place on June 18 and was well-attended by nearly 80 participants from many organisations across the UK. More details about what was discussed can be accessed here ...

Children in Scotland report explores benefits of Danish pedagogy - June 2010:

Following the visit of a Scottish delegation to Denmark, Children in Scotland have published a very interesting and illustrative report about the experiences in various Danish organisations. Including many case studies of different areas in which pedagogues work, the report makes for an exciting read and is available here ...

Go Outdoors! - June 2010:

'Go Outdoors!' is a new guidance document published by Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People together with the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care. is designed to help practitioners working with looked after children to carry out their duty of care safely and responsibly, and also has lessons for others working with children e.g. teachers. Although it's guidance for Scotland, it essentially also applies to England as most of the bodies involved in it are UK-wide organisations, such as the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the Association of British Insurers (ABI), and the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW). The full guidance document is available for download via this link ...

Research report on Social Pedagogy in youth work - June 2010:

The Regional Youth Work Unit - North East has just published 'a study on the understanding of social pedagogy and its implications for youth work practice and training. The report is downloadable here ...

TCRU Briefing Paper on the Implementation of the Social Pedagogy pilot - February 2010:

The Thomas Coram Research Unit has been managing the implementation of the national DfE social pedagogy pilot, and their report about the first year of the project offers an insight into how the social pedagogues and their organisations have been doing. Click here to read the report ...

Social Pedagogy from the Perspectives of Practitioners - 22/12/2009:

We're now one year into the social pedagogy pilot project with Essex County Council. Already it is becoming clear what social pedagogy means for frontline practitioners in the children's homes, how they make sense of its theories and concepts in their practice, and how social pedagogy has become central to their way of thinking, feeling, and acting. We have therefore collated a paper that brings together excerpts from practitioners' reflective diaries and academic assignments they did as part of our social pedagogy course. We believe that their experiences offer a unique insight into social pedagogy in practice, which is not only relevant for those professionals working in children's homes but can be transferred easily across the children's workforce. You can read their experiences here ...

Social Pedagogy Development Network - 27/11/2009:

In partnership with NCERCC, TCRU, Jacaranda and FICE-England, we have organised a social pedagogy development network for the UK. The network met on November 27 for the first time, with participants from practice, management, and academia joining the dialogue about how to develop social pedagogy by building on best practice and the UK's own professional traditions. If you are interested in social pedagogy or actively pioneering it, please feel invited to take part in our next meeting in Staffordshire on June 18, 2010. More information can be found here ...

Article on Risk Competence - Towards a Pedagogic Conceptualisation of Risk - 21/07/2009:

'Risk competence' is the title of our latest article on social pedagogy in practice and describes why taking risks is an important element of children's holistic learning and well-being. To download the full article, please click on the logo ...

Newsletters

Jacaranda Development, which run www.SocialPedagogyUK.com in partnership with TCRU and ThemPra, are publishing regular newsletters summarising the developments around social pedagogy in the UK. You can download all editions here: