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The Trustees and Company Secretary
of The Social Education Trust (SET) have great pleasure in publishing
our report "Social Pedagogy and Social Education",
which is designed to take forward our objective of making
things better for children.
The report is based upon two
workshops that were held in July 2000 and January 2001 and which
brought together a wide range of participants who shared the
view that residential care and communal living could be a valuable
and rewarding experience for many people. We focused upon children
and young people, particularly those who were likely to experience
residential living as part of being "looked after"
by a local authority. We were keen to see where practical settings,
in the United Kingdom, as well as continental Europe might help
develop insight, innovation and, above all, good practice founded
on clear principles and formalised training.
It is no surprise that the
Trustees believe that the European concept of social pedagogy
or social education can make a real and positive contribution
to caring for children within the United Kingdom. Regrettably,
the biggest stumbling block is the terminology, which in a British
setting has historical connotations, not shared with the rest
of Europe. This said, we hope you will read the report and decide
for yourself whether we are correct in our thinking.
We are keen to encourage dialogue
and an exchange of views and experiences. Our specific actions
are contained within Section 11 of the report and we are progressing
with each of those actions now. Our web-site www.children.uk.co
will give further information about our actions as they are developed.
We hope you will take the opportunity of discovering for yourselves
what may be of value to you and the young people you represent
or are involved with.
Yours sincerely
Chair of Trustees
click here to go to the report
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