Strathprints: The University of Strathclyde institutional repository (University of Strathclyde)

The data system for care in Scotland has been criticised for failing to accurately depict the lives of care experienced young people. This article examines and evaluates national statistics and definitions in the context of education. It uses an intersectional lens and the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund as an applied case study. Descriptive analysis of both national statistics an…

This paper explores the impact of secure care on the identity narratives of autistic young people. The research made use of a flexible diary method and semistructured interviews, analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). It sought reflections on the experiences of autistic young people who were living, or had recently lived, in Scotland’s secure accommodation services. By lis…

Children living in residential child care encounter dense networks of assessment, screening, and diagnostic language. While such classifications are commonly intended to support care planning and access to resources, they also shape how young people are anticipated, engaged with, and come to understand themselves. Drawing on Ian Hacking’s concept of looping effects and a phenomenological framewor…

I was first introduced to the work of educator and psychologist Torey Hayden in the mid-1990s, when I was still at high school and aspiring to a career in educational psychology. I didn't end up following that career path, but there was learning and perspective in Hayden's books which I've carried with me into my work with children and young people in schools, as a Guide leader, in education rese…

In January 2024, a young person asked whether her dog could come live with her. Initially this was declined due to balancing her needs, the dog’s welfare, and the needs of our other residents. We were aware of the Care Inspectorate’s Animal Magic resource and the benefits of human–animal relationships so alternative ways of providing meaningful contact with animals were attempted. A year later, c…

Foster care outcome research provides critical insights into the impacts and efficacy of child welfare interventions as well as the developmental needs of those who experience placement. As the outcome literature to date has predominantly focused on children and transition-age youth, the later life course of care leavers has not been thoroughly explored. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) scoping…

Glasgow Boys is the debut novel of Scottish writer Margaret McDonald. You know it must be good when the cover recommendation is provided by Andrew O’Hagan. And it doesn’t disappoint.

Throughout the history of residential child care (RCC), concerns about violence perpetrated against children who are looked after away from home have been persistent. These include the misuse of restraint, as punishment or to force compliance. Currently, proposed solutions to restraint reduction encompass increased regulation, training, and monitoring of workers in RCC. However, this neglects the…

Messy Social Work, written by the practicing social worker and academic Richard Devine, provides an accessible insight into the realities of practice with children and families, emphasising throughout the importance of reflection and learning. Beginning with a candid examination of the author’s own childhood and early experiences which led him to join the social work profession, the book skilfull…

I came across this book in the early ‘80s, working as an impressionable, unqualified, residential childcare officer in a List D school (formally known as an ‘approved school’)1, just outside Glasgow. It was the first time I had read something which really chimed with my own work experience and, on reflection, it stands the test of time and remains an accurate and honest depiction of disaffected y…

An Essential Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Residential Childcare is explicitly aimed at residential childcare workers. As I am a researcher, not a residential childcare worker, it is legitimate to ask why I am reviewing this book. In my role I have been involved in numerous research projects that relate in one way or another to care experience, including two specifically focussed on resident…

I am not based in Scotland, I am based in England, and I am not currently practising as a social worker. So, you might reasonably ask why I am writing for a journal focused on residential child care. The answer lies in my journey through care practice, higher education, disability, and systems, and how one book shaped how I see them all.

Care-experienced infants, children and young people often experience adversity, which contributes to poorer health outcomes at a population level. While research frequently focuses on an increased prevalence of clinical disorders, corporate parents have a statutory and moral responsibility to uphold children’s right to health and to reduce avoidable inequalities. Poor health is not an inevitable …

When James Anglin challenged the SJRCC community to contribute reviews of ‘classic’ books, I knew instantly that I would review a book by Bob Holman, or, as it turns out, two. Bob had such a prodigious output - of academic papers and research reports; books (on poverty, social welfare, Christianity, and an acclaimed biography of Keir Hardie); and journalism (particularly in The Guardian and The […

Welcome to the spring 2026 issue of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, another very full issue. As I write this editorial, there is a fragile ceasefire in the war in the Middle East. International aid agencies have reported that hundreds of children have been killed, thousands injured and more than a million displaced by the ongoing conflict (Christou, Tondo & Holmes, 2026). The BBC’…

Nanovibration, a kilohertz-frequency, nano-amplitude mechanical stimulation, has been shown to drive osteogenesis; however, the mechanisms remain unclear. Mechanotransduction has been proposed with limited cell population-level evidence. We propose the use of a high-throughput mechanical phenotyping technique, Real-Time Deformability Cytometry (RT-DC), to observe mechanical changes in an osteogen…

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques are continuously challenged by the complexities and noise inherent in large-scale multidimensional data. Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) is effective for non-stationary signals but struggles with multichannel data. Multivariate EMD (MEMD) addresses this but still suffers from noise sensitivity, mode mixing, and incomplete frequency extraction. Fast…

A mathematical model for the deposition of particles from a thin sessile droplet undergoing diffusion-limited evaporation in four different modes of evaporation, namely the constant contact radius (CR), constant contact angle (CA), stick–slide (SS), and stick–jump (SJ) modes, is formulated and analysed. Explicit expressions are obtained for the flow and concentration of particles within the dropl…

The global need for effective vaccines has gained more significance after the COVID-19 pandemic. Subunit vaccines based on emulsions and liposomes offer several advantages, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, and compositional flexibility. This study aimed to develop and optimize a dual delivery system incorporating ovalbumin (OVA) liposomes in a multiple W/O/W emulsion system for vacci…

In this article, we report on a series of professional development (PD) workshops, focusing on its design and emerging ‘grammars’ of power and racialisation that serve as a toolkit for schools. Bringing together scholarship in critical literacies, antiracist education, and racial semiotics, we conduct a critical socio‐material analysis of the discursive co‐design process and provide a thick descr…