Annual Report 2006-2007 - Cafcass

staff easy access to their collection of approximately
29,000 resources. Books, articles and videos are available
on subjects such as adoption and fostering, child abuse,
and management. This collaborative initiative is great
value for money and strengthens our relationship with
Barnardo’s.
“Thanks very much! Great service
when I phoned to check how to place
my order and great service once I had
made my request. I love the library!”
A Cafcass library user
Research conference Our third annual research
conference, “Putting Children at the Centre: Research
and Child Inclusive Practice”, took place in October
2006 in Birmingham. Chaired by the Chief Executive,
the well-attended conference featured presentations
from researchers, practitioners and young people.
Topics discussed included constructing childhood and
understanding children, gender and social class in
children’s everyday practices and involving children in
service planning and delivery.
Supporting research Our work provides a rich database
for those researching issues affecting children and
families in the family justice system. We have developed
a Research Governance Framework to ensure such
research is purposeful, ethical and informs improvements
to our service delivery. Recent projects include
experiences of children in private law (conducted by the
NSPCC), relocation after parental separation and the best
interests of children, making orders for contact between
children and parents with whom they do not share a
household (sponsored by the Ministry of Justice) and
children’s participation in legal decision-making.
Student placements We are committed to providing
practice-learning placements for social work students,
who are a vital part of our organisational development and
contribute to our longer-term recruitment. Forty students
had placements with Cafcass in 2006–07. We are able to
provide interesting work for students and give them a good
grounding in every aspect of the work of the family courts.
Local authorities have been keen to take on students who
have had a placement with Cafcass, which not only helps
us to establish a good relationship with the local authority
but also provides them with social workers who have a
good understanding of the role of Cafcass.
The Blackburn office has made good use of their facilities
and training room to establish a student unit, which
currently accommodates seven students. Sue Lightbown,
Service Manager, says:
“This has been highly successful and
a positive experience. Having students
stimulates discussion on practice
issues and engenders a strong
learning environment. This is not
only beneficial for the students, but
also lifts the practitioners’ learning.
Students have become an integral part
of our team.”
Section 1: Management Commentary | 19