Picturing Belonging in Residential Child Care
We’ve come across some excellent diagrams charting belonging.
We think they are good for supervision, reflection, training.
A Sense of Belonging in Children’s Residential Homes: A Qualitative Exploration of Staff Members’ Perspectives Dr Kate Jobbins, Dr Rachel Hitchiner, Dr James Stroud, Dr Aimee Pudduck
Belonging and Residential Child Care
Pages 17 and 18
These new to us diagrams we hope open the door to further and wider thinking throughout the sector regarding belonging.
John Diamond, once of Mulberry Bush School wrote about ‘Creating Belonging’. Creating belonging. By John Diamond – The Therapeutic Care Journal
He observes little has been written on the importance of belonging. However, he notes Baumeister and Leary (1995) define the need to belong as a ‘desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation’ with two critical elements for lasting, positive, and significant interpersonal relationships.
- The need for frequent, affectively pleasant interactions with a few other people.
- These interactions must take place in the context of a temporally stable and enduring framework of affective concern for each other’s welfare’. (Baumeister,R. & Leary,M. 1995, p. 497).
John then adds, “Pearce and Pickard (2012) argue that a psychotherapeutic approach, can ameliorate the negative effects of a lack of a sense of belonging: ‘Decreased belongingness is associated with increases in stress and mental health problems, as well as somatic illness such as heart disease; conversely, increases in belongingness lead to a decrease in health problems and an overall increase in happiness (for a review see Baumeister & Leary 1995). A psychotherapeutic approach that is able to promote belongingness is therefore likely to have a range of beneficial effects’. (2012, p.3)
Robin Dallas-Childs and Danny Henderson write in their paper, link above, that is clear a sense of home and belonging are closely linked to feelings of security, connection and positive identity for young people in residential child care, and it is in relationships, grounded in everyday interactions, that endeavour to engender a sense of home and belonging, in these moments, young people experience care.
“Through hanging out together; eating together; kicking a football in the garden; in authentic exchanges where we give something of ourselves; through spontaneous hugs; by ‘going the extra mile’, perhaps checking in outside of a shift — perceived as a demonstration of genuine care and of going beyond the job description (Coady, 2014; Cree & Davis, 2006; Doel & Best, 2008; Happer, McCreadie & Aldgate, 2006; Richmond, 2010). It is felt through rhythms and rituals — the high fives in 4 Home and belonging: Mapping what matters when moving on the morning or the weekly pizza night. It is hanging in there with the relationship when things get tough (Garfat & Fulcher, 2012). These relationships provide not only vital connections within the residential care home but also anchors to places and their people when the time comes to leaving the care home. As one residential care worker observes: ‘The house is just a house, the big thing is the relationship…people you know and trust, they are continuing care that you really need’ (residential child care practitioner quoted in McGhee, 2017).”
“…the function of residential child care and its professional identity is to support young people to establish roots of belonging and a sense of security through enabling compassionate, trusting, caring relationships (Henderson, 2020). Relationships that are built around an emotional connection, that embrace complexity, developing reciprocity and power sharing (Li & Julian, 2012; Pekel, Roehlkepartain, Syvertsen, Scales, Sullivan, & Sethi, 2018). This requires emotionally intelligent people working in emotionally literate cultures, where interactions are informed by the disciplined intuition of those who find joy in the dance of attunement, who know how to contain, when to hold off, how to hold on, set limits, surface tensions and stretch expectations.”
As we looked around we found one provider already ‘Thinking Belonging’.
“Belonging is not a by-product of care — it is a core therapeutic outcome. For children who have experienced neglect, rejection, or trauma, a sense of belonging is essential for emotional recovery, identity development, and behavioural stability. Professionals must understand that belonging in a residential setting doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intentional practice, emotionally attuned staff, and placement decisions grounded in long-term relational goals” How Children’s Homes Create a Sense of Belonging: A Professional Perspective – Welcare.
In conclusion but opening up for sector thinking and development
Belonging in residential child care is a complex and multifaceted concept involving a range of emotional, social, and psychological factors. It is essential for the
emotional ecovery, identity development, and behavioral stability of children who have experienced neglect, rejection, or trauma.
