Confidence in Care was an ambitious six-year programme (2015-2021) to help improve placement stability through better interaction and attachment levels between carers and looked after children and young people.
The programme was funded by National Lottery Communities Fund and consisted of three strands:
- The primary strand was delivering the Fostering Changes course foster carers in all 22 Welsh local authorities and the independent fostering providers. This was the first undertaking of this kind seeking to bring a consistency of training to foster carers across Wales. The Fostering Changes programme aims to build positive relationships, encourage positive child behaviour, and set appropriate limits, through a practical skills-based approach. The course is 12 weeks and is followed by three termly support sessions.
- A secondary strand was training a small number of residential support workers with a course adapted specifically for the sector, Caring Changes.
- The final strand was working directly with young people looked after on a series of creative workshops.
The programme was delivered by a consortium of the leading organisations working with fostered and looked after children in Wales and across the UK. The consortium was led by The Fostering Network working in partnership with Action for Children, Barnardo’s, and TACT.
The programme was independently evaluated by Cardiff University’s CASCADE (Children’s Social Research and Development Centre) and SEWTU (South East Wales Trials Unit). The main part of the evaluation was a randomised controlled trial (RCT)– an approach which is unusual in the children’s care sector.
What the programme achieved
Fostering Changes Training
Fostering Changes training was successfully delivered to over 1200 foster carers and social workers across every local authority in Wales and the independent fostering providers. This included mainstream and kinship foster carers, as well as social workers.
Foster carers and social workers told us that they benefitted from the peer support they received during the 12-week course and foster carers reported feeling more confident in their role as a result of attending the training.
Course participants reported positive changes at home as well as stronger relationships with their children and young people.
‘I feel I have a toolbox of useful skills that I can use anytime with any child’.
‘Mine and my children’s confidence has really grown, the strategies have helped build on the relationships we already have’.
‘We share thoughts and feelings and talk more which has made the relationship stronger’.
Caring Changes
Caring Changes was well received by the 86 support workers who took part in the pilot. The Cascade report found the facilitation to have been rated as excellent and the range of topics covered was seen to provide a good foundation level course for those new to residential care. It was also received well by those new to the profession whilst encouraging reflection and consolidation for more experienced workers.
Young People’s Skills Group
The majority of carers reported an improvement in their young person’s confidence within themselves or within a team environment. The young people also developed resources that can support their mental wellbeing.
The project had an impact on the relationship between the carers and young people themselves. It gave the carers and young people a space to have fun together and take part in activities as equals.
‘This was a great opportunity for us to work together and share something in common’.
‘the first intervention in over 10 years that P and I have been able to access together’.
Learning from the programme
The most powerful piece of feedback we received from foster carers attending Fostering Changes was the benefit of attending group sessions over a 12-week period. Carers enjoyed sharing experiences with their peers and receiving support from people who fully understood the demands of the foster carer role.
The quality of facilitation was also something that was highlighted across the board, with the knowledge and skills of the facilitators being one of the top things carers valued from attending the course.
The consortium approach of third sector organisations working together to deliver training and other interventions at scale across Wales has been proven to work well, and could be replicated again.
The partnership between Confidence in Care and Cardiff University has resulted in the following pieces of research and evaluation reports:
Fostering Changes:
A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of the fostering changes programme
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014521342030301X
Qualitative process evaluation of the Fostering Changes program for foster carers as part of the Confidence in Care randomized controlled trial
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213420304233
Caring Changes evaluation report
Young People’s Skills Group
Although foster carers and the course facilitators fed back very positively about the training, the academic evaluation and randomised control trial of Fostering Changes found that there was little positive long-term impact on the foster carers’ practice.
It would seem that the foster carers who most benefitted from the course were those who had begun their fostering career relatively recently. Therefore it is suggested that Fostering Changes would be a good entry-level addition to the post-approval training strand of the National Fostering Framework.
‘It should be a course offered at the start of a fostering journey - 6 years in I feel I could have done some things better and maybe aged a lot less!’.
Given the positive feedback by course participants, the consortium was disappointed that little long-term change was found by the randomised control trial The findings of the process evaluation were largely consistent with the positive evaluation feedback collected for courses throughout the programme.
The evaluation of the creative workshop programme reported a number of benefits for children and young people from attending the programme, including improved confidence, social and emotional development as well as arts-based skills.
For more information about Confidence in Care email Elizabeth Bryan or ring 02920 440940.
For media enquiries email The Fostering Network’s media team or ring 020 7620 6441.
Frequently asked questions on the programme are available here.
Hyder mewn Gofal
Roedd Hyder mewn Gofal yn rhaglen chwe blynedd uchelgeisiol (2015-2021) i helpu i wella sefydlogrwydd lleoliadau drwy well rhyngweithio a gwell lefelau ymlyniad rhwng gofalwyr a phlant a phobl ifanc sy’n derbyn gofal.
Ariannwyd y rhaglen gan Gronfa Gymunedol y Loteri Genedlaethol, ac roedd wedi’i ffurfio o dair cainc:
- Y brif gainc oedd cyflenwi’r cwrs Newidiadau Maethu i ofalwyr maeth ym mhob un o’r 22 o awdurdodau lleol Cymru a’r darparwyr gwasanaethau maethu annibynnol. Dyma oedd yr ymgymeriad cyntaf o’r math hwn oedd yn ceisio dod â chysondeb hyfforddiant i ofalwyr maeth ledled Cymru. Nod y rhaglen Newidiadau Maethu yw magu perthnasoedd cadarnhaol, annog ymddygiad cadarnhaol gan blant, a gosod terfynau priodol, drwy ymagwedd ymarferol yn seiliedig ar sgiliau. Hyd y cwrs yw 12 wythnos, ac fe’i dilynir gan dri sesiwn cymorth tymhorol.
- Ail gainc oedd hyfforddi nifer fechan o weithwyr cymorth preswyl gyda chwrs wedi’i addasu’n benodol ar gyfer y sector, Newidiadau Gofal.
- Roedd y gainc olaf yn golygu gweithio’n uniongyrchol â phobl ifanc sy’n derbyn gofal ar gyfres o weithdai creadigol.
Cyflenwyd y rhaglen gan gonsortiwm o’r prif sefydliadau sy’n gweithio â phlant maeth a phlant sy’n derbyn gofal yng Nghymru a ledled y Deyrnas Unedig. Arweiniwyd y consortiwm gan Y Rhwydwaith Maethu, oedd yn gweithio mewn partneriaeth â Gweithredu dros Blant, Barnardo’s, a TACT.
Gwerthuswyd y rhaglen yn annibynnol gan CASCADE (Canolfan Ymchwil a Datblygu Gofal Cymdeithasol Plant) o Brifysgol Caerdydd, a SEWTU (Uned Treialon De-ddwyrain Cymru). Prif ran y gwerthuso oedd hap-dreial rheoli – ymagwedd sy’n anarferol yn y sector gofal plant.
Yr hyn a gyflawnodd y rhaglen
Hyfforddiant Newidiadau Maethu
Cyflenwyd hyfforddiant Newidiadau Maethu yn llwyddiannus i dros 1200 o ofalwyr maeth a gweithwyr cymdeithasol ledled pob awdurdod lleol yng Nghymru a’r darparwyr gwasanaethau maethu annibynnol. Roedd hyn yn cynnwys gofalwyr maeth prif ffrwd a gofalwyr sy’n berthnasau, yn ogystal â gweithwyr cymdeithasol.
Dywedodd gofalwyr maeth a gweithwyr cymdeithasol wrthym eu bod wedi elwa o gymorth gan gymheiriaid y gwnaethant ei dderbyn yn ystod y cwrs 12 wythnos, a rhoddodd gofalwyr maeth wybod am deimlo’n fwy hyderus yn eu rôl, o ganlyniad i fynychu’r hyfforddiant.
Rhoddodd cyfranogwyr yn y cwrs wybod am newidiadau cadarnhaol gartref, yn ogystal â pherthnasoedd cryf â’u plant a phobl ifanc.
‘Teimlaf fod gen i flwch offer o sgiliau defnyddiol y gallaf eu defnyddio unrhyw adeg gydag unrhyw blentyn’.
‘Mae fy hyder innau a fy mhlant wedi gwirioneddol dyfu, mae’r strategaethau wedi helpu i adeiladu ar y perthnasoedd sydd gennym eisoes’.
‘Rhannwn feddyliau a theimladau a siaradwn fwy, sydd wedi gwneud y berthynas yn gryfach’.
Newidiadau Gofal
Croesawyd Newidiadau Gofal gan yr 86 o weithwyr cymorth a gymerodd ran yn y cynllun peilot. Canfu adroddiad Cascade fod yr hwyluso wedi’i raddio fel ‘ardderchog’, a gwelwyd fod yr ystod o bynciau a gwmpaswyd yn darparu cwrs ‘lefel sylfaen’ da i’r rheiny sy’n newydd i ofal preswyl. Fe’i croesawyd hefyd gan y rheiny sy’n newydd i’r proffesiwn, tra ei bod hefyd yn annog adfyfyrio ac atgyfnerthu i weithwyr mwy profiadol.
Grŵp Sgiliau Pobl Ifanc
Rhoddodd y mwyafrif o ofalwyr wybod am welliant yn hyder eu person ifanc o fewn eu hunain neu o fewn amgylchedd tîm. Datblygodd y bobl ifanc hefyd adnoddau a all gynorthwyo’u lles meddyliol.
Cafodd y prosiect effaith ar y berthynas rhwng y gofalwyr a’r bobl ifanc eu hunain. Rhoddodd le i’r gofalwyr a’r bobl ifanc gael hwyl gyda’i gilydd a chymryd rhan mewn gweithgareddau fel pobl gydradd.
‘Roedd hwn yn gyfle gwych inni gydweithio a rhannu rhywbeth yn gyffredin’.
‘Yr ymyrraeth gyntaf mewn dros 10 mlynedd y mae P a minnau wedi gallu cael ato gyda’n gilydd’.
Dysgu o’r rhaglen
Y darn mwyaf nerthol o adborth y gwnaethom ei dderbyn gan ofalwyr maeth a wnaeth fynychu Newidiadau Maethu oedd y budd o fynychu sesiynau grŵp dros gyfnod o 12 wythnos. Mwynhaodd gofalwyr rannu profiadau â’u cymheiriaid a derbyn cefnogaeth gan bobl sy’n llwyr ddeall gofynion rôl gofalwyr maeth.
Roedd ansawdd yr hwyluso hefyd yn rhywbeth a amlygwyd yn gyffredinol, gyda gwybodaeth a sgiliau’r hwyluswyr yn un o’r prif bethau roedd gofalwyr yn eu gwerthfawrogi o fod wedi mynychu’r cwrs.
Profwyd fod ymagwedd gonsortiwm y sefydliadau trydydd sector yn cydweithio i gyflenwi hyfforddiant ac ymyriadau eraill ledled Cymru yn gweithio’n dda, ac y gellid ei ailadrodd eto.
Mae’r bartneriaeth rhwng Hyder mewn Gofal a Phrifysgol Caerdydd wedi esgor ar y darnau canlynol o adroddiadau ymchwil a gwerthuso:
Newidiadau Maethu:
Hap-dreial rheoli pragmatig o’r rhaglen Newidiadau Maethu
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014521342030301X
Gwerthuso proses ansoddol y rhaglen Newidiadau Maethu ar gyfer gofalwyr maeth fel rhan o hap-dreial rheoli Hyder mewn Gofal
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213420304233
Adroddiad gwerthuso Newidiadau Gofal
Grŵp Sgiliau Pobl Ifanc
Er bod gofalwyr maeth a hwyluswyr y cwrs wedi adborthi’n gadarnhaol iawn am yr hyfforddiant, canfu’r gwerthuso academaidd a’r hap-dreial rheoli o Newidiadau Maethu mai ond ychydig o effaith hirdymor gadarnhaol oedd yna ar ymarfer gofalwyr maeth.
Ymddengys mai’r gofalwyr maeth a elwodd fwyaf o’r cwrs oedd y rheiny oedd wedi dechrau ar eu gyrfa faethu yn gymharol ddiweddar. Felly, awgrymir y byddai Newidiadau Maethu’n ychwanegiad sylfaenol da at gainc hyfforddiant ar ôl cwblhau y Fframwaith Maethu Cenedlaethol.
‘Dylai fod yn gwrs a gynigir ar ddechrau taith faethu – 6 blynedd ar ôl dechrau, rwyf yn teimlo y gallwn fod wedi gwneud rhai pethau’n well ac efallai heneiddio llawer llai!’.
O ystyried yr adborth cadarnhaol gan gyfranogwyr ar y cwrs, roedd y consortiwm yn siomedig mai ond ychydig o newid hirdymor a ganfuwyd gan yr hap-dreial rheoli. Roedd canfyddiadau gwerthuso’r broses i raddau helaeth yn gyson â’r adborth gwerthuso cadarnhaol a gasglwyd ar gyfer cyrsiau drwy gydol y rhaglen.
Rhoddodd y gwerthusiad o’r rhaglen gweithdy creadigol wybod am nifer o fuddion i blant a phobl ifanc o fynychu’r rhaglen, yn cynnwys gwell hyder, datblygiad cymdeithasol ac emosiynol, yn ogystal â sgiliau wedi’u seilio ar y celfyddydau.
I gael mwy o wybodaeth am Hyder mewn Gofal, anfonwch e-bost at Elizabeth Bryan.
Ar gyfer ymholiadau gan y cyfryngau, anfonwch e-bost at dîm cyfryngau’r Rhwydwaith Maethu neu ffoniwch 020 7620 6425.
Mae cwestiynau cyffredin ynglŷn â’r rhaglen ar gael yma.
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