Apparently the government will unveil plans for and extension of the Family Intervention Projects, with more kids being told to sign good behaviour contracts, which they will have to stick to for face the courts. The BBC has reported on it and we expect to see the full proposals this afternoon. 

My initial thoughts are that it's good to have more support available to kids but should it not start before the age of 10? And will it end in more children ending up in the criminal justice system? Is there any other way to tackle the problems of anti-social behaviour? I'm not sure. 

Well done to the government for trying to do something. It would be easier for them not to bother. Failure is quite likely and they stand to get loads of criticism from people either saying 'too soft' or 'too hard'. It does seem to indicate a change of line from the Blair days in that it's doing more to prevent ASBOs getting dished out. I don't think signing contracts makes much difference to neglected kids on the road to becoming offenders however. That's just a bit of a stunt really but the other measure such as non-negotiable support are good, as long as they can find the right people to offer these children the support they really need. On breakfast telly this morning an NCH worker, an ex-child offender, stressed how important it was that these people could gain the trust of the children and not be seen as 'authority figures'. Wise words I thought.

is this skin deep? has balls just ditched the language of blair, along with louise casey? I wonder how much of this is a political gimmick to play the tories at their previous game of "hug a hoodie"? Does Balls really mean it? The other thing someone needs to do is look at just how much money was pledged for Asbos (I believe they are an expensive option) compared to the budget for preventing Asbos being given out today. I would think kids with deep-rooted problems need years and years of support. Growing up is a slow process for kids who have been held back by problems at every stage in their lives. The support they are given under this new strategy must not be time-limited - ie "three strikes and you are out." I also think the success of this new strategy depends on really creative use of it - striking at the core of what works with certain individuals rather than setting out an intervention in stone and expecting the kid to fit into it.

It will be interesting to see what sort of practitioners become the "assistant and persistent" key workers (an odd choice of phrase and hardly one to attract people: imagine going to a dinner party and saying "hello, I'm an assistant and persistent key worker, what do you do?").

Is this a role for social workers, current YOT staff or a new breed entirely?

 

Who remembers the good old days when children and their parents and grandparents had verbal contracts to stay out of trouble? I can see a clear decline since the belt was banned . When I was younger the thought of my teacher telling my parents id been punished was enough to terrify me. If the Police had turned up at our door regarding anything I had been involved in not only my parents but my aunties and uncles  and my grandparents would have disapproved and would have made sure I knew about it. Its not just neglected kids that get into trouble, all children have the potential to be valued law abiding citizens , its the families and schools that are failing them and I often wonder if banning the belt was the start of that slippery road to asbos.

Just think how many social workers in schools we could have if the money was put that way instead of emphasising that these kids are different which yet again this scheme does.

And how good will their SATS results be?

Will these assistants follow them around school all day and sit next to them during their exams?

Why not just give the money to schools and the police

Would you support the reintroduction of corporal punishment anne?

Apart from the rather significant human rights issues and the fact that many believe that we need to move in the opposite direction i.e. by banning parents from smacking their children altogether would it actually deter antisocial behaviour among young people?

I think what you say about verbal contracts is interesting but were these really maintained by the ultimate threat of physical punishment for children or by some more moral force?

Apologies for the excess of rhetorical questions!

I personally would  agree with the reintroduction of corporal punishment. I am of an age where I still recall "getting the belt" in school and would maintain that it instilled a healthy fear of authority. Withdrawing the use of straps in school  had had a direct impact in the behaviuor of children .Stories of teachers being attacked and threatened never happened when I was at school.You wouldnt dare speak disrespectfully to an elder because a clip round the ear would soon follow. I dont advocate battering children but I do believe that parents and teachers should be able to use some form of physical punishment when all else fails.The difficulty would be in where to draw the line but the majority of parents and teachers would get no satisfaction from engaging in this type of discipline.. Even the local cop would have booted your A** if he caught you up to anything. Behaviuor modification at its most effective LOL

Trouble is, Anne, things have moved on now. The fear of a clip round the ear is no longer there. If teachers tried it you would just end up with more teachers being assaulted... not just by kids but by their parents. I think you are allowing nostalgia to cloud your view of reality today.

Kids  try to change when they see a point and realise how screwed up their lives will be unless they change.

We live in a nouveaux middle class victorian age where on the one hand kids are overprotected and yet on the other they have huge pressures on them with constant course work, exams and expecting to be like mini adults.

I was trying to think of some young positive role models for school kids that haven't been tied up in drugs or booze and couldn't think of any

Can you?

I know loads of young role models its just unfortunate that these roles models who are mainly carers for their parents or other siblings due to disabilities are overshadowed by the youths that give them and other ordinary young people a bad name. I still dont feel that the government are being proactive and again as with many of their policies they are reacting to the public who are sick of what is happening on our streets. Do they really think that a good behaviour contract will work? just like asbos worked? Look at the tv look at the violence which is creeping into programmes before the alledged watershed. I do not allow my 10 year old to watch tv unless he is with us. He has dvds which are watched before he views them and does not have a tv in his room for ordinary programmes. At 7pm we turn the tv over to documentaries on wildlife ( I know they are full of violence), we as parents need to take a stand, we are being dictated to by companies and the media on what is appropriate for our children eh no I know what is appropriate not them, this is a major issue and will take generations to sort out, but the government could start it by looking closely at why violence, bad language and sex are in programmes like Emmerdale not to mention regulating sky who has disgusting programmes on at any hour of the day and YES we do switch the tv off . 

 I think you're right to raise the point about the media, which is always very quick to attribute blame to someone else but very slow to accept any on its own part. Violence in films, tv and video games has increased massively in recent years and is regularly portrayed in a way which glamorises it.

Exactly and what makes it worse is that the age catergorizations on videos dvds and games is misleading. We got our son an aged 3+ thinking that it would be suitable, but on viewing it it was far too violent. I am not a person who is frightened of my own shadow I just feel that others should also take responsibility for what is happening in our youth culture. I try my best to protect my son and take steps to prevent him from coming across alot of un-needed violence but it is as though all of our monrals and ethics have gone out the window in society now. This will take generations to put right and this behaviour order is just not the way forward in my opinion. The only problem being what can we do together as a society to put right what has gone wrong.   

Please don't be nostalgic about corporal punishment, it ruined my school days and made me fearful for years.