Can playing a computer game improve child protection practice? Dr Jane Reeves and Professor David Shemmings argue it can
Child protection involves working with uncertainty and managing risk - Professor Eileen Munro's final report on child protection in England makes this very clear.
This places heavy demands on child protection professionals to make sound, "right-first-time" judgements based on comprehensive assessments.
Yet often such decisions are being made in difficult situations that can involve threatening behaviour from parents, disguised compliance and a great deal of emotional stress.
As a result, effective child protection training is difficult to get right. Professionals learn in different ways but although different options are available for child protection training - such as case studies, lectures or role play - we have not to date seen the adoption of "simulation" or "virtual reality" technology.
It is our belief there is a need for such training tools. It has also been shown that among post-qualifying social workers there is a deficit in their micro-skills; the minute-by-minute communication that needs to be made when investigating allegations. They are not alone – the same problems are found among other child protection professionals. The main reason for such skill deficits are due to the high frequency of “hot cognitions”: complex decision-making needing clear thinking but saturated in powerful and confusing emotions.
What is different about virtual reality technology is the opportunity it gives for professionals involved in child protection to evaluate and re-evaluate child protection situations safely and try out other ways of behaving or reacting to a situation, without serious consequences, or anyone else seeing and commenting. They allow us to make decisions and then reflect on those decisions or the communication skills we have used in our practice.
The University of Kent has developed such a game called Virtually Safe as part of a suite of training tools following the death of Baby P and the recent Munro Report. The first prototype scenario developed by the Centre - called Rosie - allows students and professionals to visit and revisit a child assessment scenario which initially appears below child protection thresholds for intervention.
Rosie is the first of many scenarios which we hope to develop at the University over the coming years. The virtual world has indeed arrived for social care.
Try Rosie the serious game for yourself at www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/rosie.html. Let us know your feedback by completing the evaluation form at the end of the game or by emailing.
Professor David Shemmings is chair of social work at the University of Kent. Dr Jane Reeves is project manager for the Proposed Kent Centre for Child Protection