The complexity of “love” in children’s social care

Earlier last month a word included in the title of the UK government’s latest Children’s social care strategy and consultation , caused two worlds to collide. The political realm of a government setting the priorities for the future of children’s social care clashed with the very personal emotional lives of those who work within the sector. All of this was caused by a document entitled “Stable Homes Built on Love”.

Love is a term not often used to describe the aims of social work and therefore its inclusion was viewed by many with suspicion. Some commentators argued that “love” had been used as a distraction to elicit an emotional response from readers and therefore divert attention from the poorly funded measures included within the strategy (Finney, 2023).

Although I agree that there is a significant shortfall in the ￡200m promised by the government in this strategy, I aim to put forward a broader point about the use of the term love. I argue that the government was not trying to intentionally distract us. By making “love” the cornerstone of their strategy they revealed a deep-seated idealism which is unanchored in the complexities of social work and the history of the political response to the needs of the social care system.

Using “love” in the context of social care can be rather jarring, it speaks to a certain overstepping of professional boundaries that workers have developed to maintain their own wellbeing whilst continuing to care. When this expectation of “love” is further characterised by the measures in pillar 4 “Putting love, relationships and a stable home at the heart of being a child in care” the tension between love and professionalism is made even more visible.

The government intends to “Develop a programme to support improvements in the quality of leadership and management in the children’s homes sector. This will include exploring proposals for professional registration of the workforce and a leadership programme with a new Knowledge and Skills Statement with accompanying continued professional development.” ?In this bullet point we see an effort to establish more structure around the children’s homes workforce, but to what extent does that translate to a more loving workforce? Can love be included coherently within a knowledge and skills statement?

If the government is truly committed to “Stable Homes Built on Love” then it must actually define what it means by “love” (something it fails to do effectively within the document). In the work of bell hooks a well-known theorist who saw love as a vehicle for social justice, love is not just an emotion it is also an ethic. An ethic of love is ‘exemplified by the combined forces of care, respect, knowledge and responsibility’ (hooks, 2001) When “love” is understood in these terms and applied to the children’s social care sector, it neither seems like a distraction nor too much to ask for. It becomes less about expecting workers to love the children in their care and more about equipping workers with the essential ingredients to create an environment where love can emerge. It is less about loving children directly and more about exemplifying love and making it clear where love exists.

However, in order to have a children’s social care system that is suffused with this kind of “love”, the government must exhibit the qualities of care, respect, knowledge and responsibility when making policy for the sector. Those pointing to the fact that ￡200m is a tiny percentage of the ￡2.6bn that is required, are highlighting the government’s failure to take responsibility for cuts made since 2010. Since then the government has set up a detrimental dynamic with the sector by removing resources and replacing them to a far lesser extent. This has sown the seeds of distrust which has undermined the power of invoking big ideals such as “love”.?So, it should come as no surprise that when the government asks for “love” the sector responds with suspicion.

References

Finney, R. (2023, February 24). Opinion: Stable homes cannot be built on love alone. Social Care Today. https://socialcare.today/2023/02/24/opinion-stable-homes-cannot-be-built-on-love-alone/

hooks, B. (2001) Salvation: Black People and Love, New York, NY, William Morrow.

Angela Griffiths is the founder and director of Independent Social Care Consultancy Firm Children's Homes Improvement Ltd , she has over 25 years of cross sector experience and a commitment to improving outcomes for children and young people.

Interested in making improvements to your children’s home? Maybe you had a disappointing OFSTED or you want to be more prepared? Perhaps you’re already a Registered Manager or you are aspiring to become one. We can help you upskill yourself and your staff to move towards excellence. Visit us at Children's Homes Improvement Ltd , we support and empower social care professionals to get the best outcomes for children and young people.