Caring
for Children (CfC), which initiated and runs this Webmag, has
now joined forces with the York Group under the umbrella of FICE
(England and Wales). The York Group was established in 1989 and
comprises key practitioners, researchers and managers, representing
the entire field of residential and boarding education and care.
FICE (International Federation for Educative Communities) is an
international body with thirty-five countries in membership, which
was set up in 1948 to promote child and youth care, with a focus
on extra-familial settings especially residential education.
As
the President of FICE (England and Wales), I have been asked by
the Editor to introduce myself and to provide a regular column
to keep readers appraised of development in the organisation.
I was first aware of FICE during the 1970s when I was working
with Haydn Davies Jones at Newcastle University. Through members
of FICE and ex-students of the Residential Education Course, Haydn
provided me with experience across the full range of residential
education and care. This allowed me to expand my research from
boarding schools and special residential schools to take in children's
homes, CHE's, intermediate treatment and a variety of health and
custodial care settings. In case it is of interest, a short cv
is appended.
The
immediate task is to ascertain whether FICE (England and Wales)
should remain as a selected and essentially small body of experts
or whether it should broaden the membership to include all types
of setting in the residential and boarding field. The main benefits
of membership would be access to:
A
more detailed list of membership benefits will be provided in
the next issue when I shall be asking for the views of readers.
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Ewan
Anderson (MA, MA, PhD, MEd, PhD, DPhil. Emeritus Professor University
of Durham, Honorary Professor Social Work Research and Development
Unit, University of York) a former housemaster and resident tutor,
holds a doctorate in residential education and established the
PGCE boarding/residential education courses at the universities
of Newcastle and Durham. He has been on most of the government
and non-governmental organisation committees concerned with residential
child care over the past 15 years, including the Wagner Development
Group and the Department of Health's Advisory Group on Caring
for Children Away from Home. He is a Fellow of Dartington and
a member of the Residential Forum and the Boarding Schools Association.
Professor Anderson is a member of the National Standards Committees
for Boarding Schools, Children's Homes, the Custodial Care sector
and of the TOPSS (Training Organisation for Personal Social Services)
Steering Group for National Occupational Standards for Registered
Managers in Residential Child Care.
