A relational approach is strongly advocated and endorsed by the Staying Put Scotland guidance. This includes a clear call for positive relationships to support young people transitioning out of care. Residential care workers are often not permitted to continue relationships with young people beyond their placements. While there is good reasoning for this, it can limit trusting relationships for the young people. This is why relationship-based practice requires both procedural and cultural changes in the care sector. There are still some things we can do as individuals to foster relational practice.

Young people in residential care need what all young people require to growup well-rounded and happy, such as:

• Affection
• Understanding
• Stability
• Trusting relationships
• Attention
• Safety
• Support
• Honesty
• Compassion

It is not always easy to convey these things to a young person in residential care and they are not easy to measure. It may also be a challenge for some of these things to be shown due to organisational barriers. Being honest about your boundaries and limitations are important because if we create an expectation and do not, or cannot deliver, we risk losing trust and respect from young people.

Becoming relational in your practice not only involves you, but also your team. Other guides in the ‘relational organisation’ category can help you transform the service beyond your individual actions. Importantly you should reflect with colleagues on your current practice. What beliefs and assumptions or theory is it build on?

You might also find it interesting to learn about practice from elsewhere. Below is the relational model, which can be a good starting point for relational practice.

Developing relationships:

• Building Relationships - Developing safety, security and trust through protection, connection, understanding and care
• Supporting Inclusion - Facilitating access to learning, ensuring social inclusion and developing individual skills
• Setting Boundaries - Reaching agreements and building a shared understanding of expectations. (more info here).
• Establishing clear processes - for resolving difficulties.

Responding and calming:

• Keeping Calm - Using everyday interactions to maintain relationships and agreements and promote a calm and supportive learning environment
• Regulating Emotions - Using key relational skills to regulate strong emotions and calm behaviour
• Managing Crisis - Having clear plans to ensure safety and support.

Repairing and restoring:

• Resolving Conflict - Everyday restorative interactions to resolve minor conflict and disagreements and create a shared understanding.
• Repairing Harm -Restorative encounters to discuss the breaking of agreements, the impact (consequences) on others and to restore relationships.
• Supporting Change: What additional support / action is needed?

The Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELSIS) has developed a range of resources to support improvements in practice for staff and organisations.