All you need is (a system that supports) love

Parry, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5666-1997 and Jay, Bethany ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7326-8428 (2022) All you need is (a system that supports) love. Youth and Policy. ISSN 2057-4266

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Abstract

Following the 2022 publication of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, Chaired by Josh MacAlister, many UK newspapers led with stark headlines about the ‘urgent’, ‘unavoidable’, and ‘fundamental’ need to ‘reform’ and ‘overhaul’ children’s social care. Some of the key recommendations from the report relate to the need for safe and loving relationships, which can be essential anchors for young people through the turmoil of the care system. The report states, “it is loving relationships that hold the solutions for children and families overcoming adversity”. For young people in children’s homes, these loving relationships often come from people within their home staff team. However, practitioners working in residential children’s homes can face significant systemic challenges in forging and maintaining these relationships.