It is almost entirely due to the dedicated efforts of a man called Haydn Davies Jones, of whom I believe some of the long-standing members of FICE CF have fond memories, that I am here today. It was Haydn who encouraged and supported the initiative to bring the UK back into FICE in 1987, as a result of which firstly Social Care Association (SCA) and now Caring for Children (FICE UK) have tried to play a full part in the organisation for the past ten years. We were therefore deeply honoured when David Lane was appointed by the Federal Council as a FICE Vice President. So after ten years I would like to be able to stand here and tell you that like FICE Hungary FICE UK is a strong, busy organisation, influential with our government and with masses of care workers and homes throughout the country. Sadly I cannot do this and to set the context I would like to tell you a bit about our history, geography and attitudes. Some of you who have visited London in particular will have some insight into British interaction with foreigners.   Kathleen Lane Well firstly we are an island, having drifted off from Continental Europe in cataclysmic, geological upheavals in ages past. So we became in the words of William Shakespeare "This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise This fortress built by nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war This happy bread of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea…" For some British subjects our being rejoined to the mainland with the opening of Euro-tunnel was almost at cataclysmic. The fear of being invaded by rabid French rats, cats, dogs and persons has not yet proved to be real as far as we can tell. Some who have used the tunnel to France from England have commented that it no longer feels like going abroad. Well of course it hasn't actually been abroad, technically, for some considerable time. When we are on our best behaviour we try to remember to use the term Continental Europe to acknowledge that we are now part of Europe ourselves but it will take time to catch on.     The island mentality has been reinforced by our many years as rulers of an Empire on which the sun never set and in which we established English as the official language. Little need therefore to learn other languages and communicate with those who did not share the benefits of British rule. At times when it has been necessary we have found that speaking very slowly and shouting a great deal usually does the trick. My own French lessons at school were before the age of technology, language laboratories and video, but I can tell you whether my aunt's pen is on or under the table, and ask for assistance because my postillion has been struck by lightning -although you may find it hard to understand my accent. In my school days German was not much taught in the aftermath of World War Two. Even now some of our old aristocratic families are reputed to refer to our Royal Family as 'the Germans' and their command of other languages and many foreign relatives has caused adverse comment in the past. Those of you who take an interest in politics will know that for many years Britain attended European meetings but made no real attempts to make friends and allies in other member states. At least now we have a Prime Minister who has grasped that in order to have influence it is necessary to have built up some credibility and work hard at interpersonal relationships. I believe that he even gave a speech in passable French. On the other hand our former Prime Minister informed the recent Tory Party Conference that in this century all the problems in Europe had been caused by the Germans and that the English speaking nations had sorted them out. By way of response a German correspondent writing in one of our newspapers expressed the opinions that- "You British are arrogant, hypocritical and obsessed by your past " and that "The British are a curious race incorrigibly individualistic but full of charm ". It's so good to know we have friends!    Advertisement Child Sexual Abuse in Victorian England Dr. Louise A. Jackson Pub. Routledge Meanwhile the present leader of Her Majesty's Opposition is about to tour the country on the back of a lorry, campaigning against the Euro. If he had heard our discussions in the Federal Council about the amount of money we lose to the banks in exchanging our various currencies he would know he had little support in FICE countries. Let us then move on to attitudes, particularly those which affect caring for children in an international context. Some of you will have heard me speak on other occasions about the British attitude to young people in difficulties. Part of the difficulty dates back to 1968 when in attempting to remove the stigma of offending, the distinction was removed between homes for 'ordinary children' and provision for offenders. This made the public even more uncertain whether children in extra-familial care are offenders or offended against. Some members of the public want them locked up and the key thrown away, others want them treated well - but not too well. So while many members of the great British public will spend vast sums of money on sex and drugs and rock 'n roll, not to mention riotous holidays on the Costa de lager our tabloid newspapers have whipped them into frenzies of indignation over children in the public care being taken abroad 'for holidays'. The problem was made worse by a number of incidents, the most infamous of which was dubbed Safari Boy, when a young offender was sent on a package tour , cruising up the River Nile and visiting an African Game Park. It was of course represented as a number of things - intensive one-to-one therapy to confront his behaviour in an environment from which he could not run, - a gesture of desperation on the part of the local authority which had run out of all other legal options, - a trendy, lefty, soft cop-out, mis-using tax-payers money. Caring for Children did produce a policy statement about the use of visits abroad for young people in the public care, which we would clearly support to appropriate places and for the right reasons.   Unfortunately Safari Boy undermined any chance of a reasoned debate by running away and committing further offences as soon as he returned to the UK. Directors of Social Services, who are most anxious to provide nothing to excite media attention turned even more against foreign jaunts, even in cases where they were well planned, properly researched, integral parts of the care and education curriculum which had been agreed by the placing agencies and paid for out of the placement's budget. There has also been a knock-on effect with regard to staff wanting to take part in international events. While I was in full time employment all of my involvement in FICE was in my annual leave time - neither financial support, nor time was given by my employers. I suspect it would still be the same for any member of staff working in the public sector now. When I was working at Huddersfield University one of my students wanted a placement abroad - what a surprise - under whose influence you may wonder. Her agency manager refused to sanction it, although technically it was the duty of the University to meet her identified training needs. Her employer actually stated that there was nothing she could learn abroad which would be of use to her when she returned to work in her agency. This was a most interesting attitude in view of what a racially and culturally diverse place that area is. So by now you will have begun to suspect that the UK is a bit too hostile an environment for an international organisation to flourish. This is true, but you will also be aware that the English character is at its best when being besieged on the beaches of Dunkirk, rather than lying in warm sunshine on the beaches of Spain. There are those of us who believe that we are a part of the world, not just of Europe and that our future lies in working in as much harmony as possible with colleagues wherever they may be. So I would first like to tell you how I have benefited personally from my international involvements and then move on to tell you how we hope to move FICE UK forward in the next five years. Personally I have had some wonderful 'character building' experience. On our first visit to Hungary in 1989, before it was as westerner friendly as it is now, we were left sitting at one Ferihegy Terminal by FICE Hungary colleagues who had waited at the other Terminal, never expecting the British to travel by Malev Airlines. I have been lost on Finnish railways. I have found huge numbers expecting a formal lecture when I have prepared for a small workshop. I have slept in a 100 bedded children's home in Budapest when all the children were away and the only other person there spoke less English than I speak Hungarian. (My command of the Hungarian language is legendary and is mostly concerned with food). So instead of counting sheep as I tried to get to sleep I reflected upon the effectiveness of running around shouting 'palacsinta' (pancakes) in case of a fire or other over-night emergency. However on a more serious note, in FICE I have experienced a tendency to look to Western Europe as a model. It is true that we have been free to think, write, discuss and travel when many of you have not. But I have been heartened on many occasions to see the confidence which staff in other member countries have in dealing with young people constructively in groups. In the UK we have gone too far down the path of the cult of the individual and in my experience some staff are uneasy about trying to engage young people in group outings, games etc. It was therefore of great value to me to host four Slovenian students a few years ago and to hear them talking about how they think up and plan and carry out activities with young people. I have also been privileged as part of FICE to join orderly groups of young people in homes all over Continental Europe and beyond. Another personal opinion is that taking part in FICE events, assisted by members of the local FICE Sections gives a much better impression of a country as it actually is, rather than participating in sanitised commercially organised tours. My neighbour visited St Petersburg at about the same time a FICE group was hosted there by our colleague from Kerelia . When we discussed our experiences later it was as if we had seen two entirely different cities. It has also been most helpful to experience the different attitudes and traditions represented around the table at Federal Council meetings and as we would describe it in England, to have some of the corners knocked off in debate. Some of us still remember fondly General Secretary Franz Zsusli's gentle diplomacy in calling a 'café pause' when things were getting a little too heated and his ability to overcome our cultural clashes before business resumed. So we British are still here, still committed, still wanting to move things forward for the benefit of children and young people. This is what the new Board of FICE UK has been doing since January - We first of all held a Strategy Meeting to review what had happened in the last five years and to plan for the future. We employed those well known management techniques of asking Where are we now Where do we want to be How do we get there Our findings were - Where are we now Small, weak, poor, not well known, too little influence Some good ideas but not enough resources (human or material) to carry them out with dramatic effect. Too random and unfocused in our approach to our work Where do we want to be Bigger, stronger, nationally recognised, consulted by government. A beacon for child care workers. Enough resources to provide a range of services for members, including funding foreign exchanges. Committed to listening to children Providing a radical non-aligned forum for a wide range of groups speaking out for children Active participants in PEP Contributors to an Education sans Frontieres team How do we get there A clear vision A lot of focused, hard work Attract significant core funding Motivate and empower members Increase the number of members. We also carried out a SWOT analysis. Strengths Way in to one European network Access to varied venues and activities in Europe Good insight into host cultures A good Newsletter Personal/professional contacts Ability to access international funding No vested interests Weaknesses Low numbers of members Low national profile Inadequate resources Financial, Administrative, Personnel Lack of clear sense of direction (No Mission) Low level of activity among existing members Opportunities To be part of the Golden Opportunity Follow up on training Develop links with other similar bodies Foster relationships with NCB PEP UNESCO project activity, including the UNESCO schools network. Threats Numerical and financial difficulties Last week we held a preliminary meeting with two other bodies, the Institute for Care and Education (ICSE) and Social Education Trust (SET) to look at ways of collaborating more effectively. One major outcome was agreement about setting up a WEBMAG, to provide services, including information and ideas for people working in a variety of settings with children and young people. Members of FICE Federal Council will also be aware of the involvement of Vice President, David Lane in a UK campaign to establish a National Register of properly checked people wanting child care jobs. At present it is too easy to move on one step ahead of the law and to present yourself with an entirely different identity in another part of the country, or indeed in Continental Europe. If an agency does not have effective selection procedures some very unsuitable people can get into positions of considerable power over children, with disastrous consequences. Our major intention in the short term is to promote the social pedagogue model of training and to lobby for a separate recognised child care profession covering all ages and all aspects of children and families and youth work. Last year a report was published called 'A Golden Opportunity', setting out a new model of training for staff working with children and young people. There is some optimism that government will move in this direction and also lend its formal support to the Register. Unfortunately we think it will probably take at least one more scandal to attract the right amount of interest and guilt to cause the right amount of attention and resources to be given to this most important area of work. I watched an item about Public Relations on TV recently and the advice was that in order to be successful an organisation must have - a dream, a vision, a philosophy and a clear identity. We are working hard to articulate all of these in order to promote FICE UK, but one big problem is that most of our officers have to hold down full-time jobs as well as carry out their FICE roles. It is a dilemma. We need people who are close to practice to give credibility to what we say, but we also need people freed from other constraints. There is a recognition that we need passion and conviction - people with 'fire in the belly' to transform situations, but this kind of burning passion does not sit easily with our restrained British character. However we hope that we can at least glow gently in order that at FICE Hungary's 20th Birthday celebrations representatives from FICE sections in England, Ireland, Eire, Scotland and Wales can come to tell you of how they have benefited from the inspiration wisdom, knowledge, skills and support which they have had from FICE International. It may be an indication that we are moving in the right direction that I have been invited as Secretary of FICE UK, by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health to Government Reception at Lancaster House in London to Celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, on 18th November. When I was President of SCA in 1986 I concluded my presidential address with these words from Blake's Jerusalem - " I shall not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand 'til we have built Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land ", to indicate that I was committed to the long, hard struggle to improve conditions for children and young people, particularly those in the public care. A couple of years later the President was of American extraction with Native American ancestry. She quoted my speech but added from her own culture the words of Robert Frost " The woods are very dark and deep and miles to go before we sleep" All of our national sections have a hard struggle ahead and miles yet to go, but I do firmly believe that, supported by a strong FICE International, we can be sustained in all that we have to do, in the best interests of those young people for whom we are privileged to care.   Kathleen Lane Secretary FICE UK Kathleen Lane qualified as a teacher in 1963. During a long and varied career she has taught children of all ages in various settings, ranging from kindergarten to a Regional Secure Unit for adolescent girls in London. For six years she worked for Leeds Social Services Department, managing eight children's homes. On leaving Leeds in 1991 she worked for six years part-time at Huddersfield University as a tutor on the Diploma in Social Work programme, working mainly with staff from residential care homes for children on the RCCI programme. She has also worked as a free-lance Trainer and Consultant for a variety of Local Authorities and NGOs in the UK.