Evaluation of the ten-week Caring Changes training course for residential care practitioners

Residential care is often seen as a last resort for adolescents in the care system with multiple placements and complex case histories. This has led to an increasing research focus on the needs of children in residential care and how settings and practitioners can provide suitable environments. This paper presents an evaluation of Caring Changes, a ten-week residential care training course that was modified from the Fostering Changes course and run across seven settings. The mixed methods evaluation combined pre- and post-course surveys, weekly session evaluations, and interviews with facilitators, home managers, practitioners and young people. The study found that the Caring Changes course increased team solidification and communication, as well as individual practitioners' confidence and positivity, resulting in improved services for the children accessing the service. There were however challenges relating to the running of intensive, whole staff training in the residential care sector, and the diversity and complexity of the needs of children in residential care, with a need for more advanced content and the tailoring of the course to individual homes.