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The term 'relational practice' encompasses various relationships, including those between professionals working with young people, the self-relationships of young people, and the connections between different professional roles and organisations.
While researchers agree that trusted relationships with young people are essential for effective safeguarding, there remains uncertainty about the specifics of relational practice. Key skills such as attunement and analysis are critical for professionals in fields like social work and youth justice, enabling them to nurture young people's well-being and agency.
However, several challenges can hinder relational practice. Practitioners face significant demands, often needing to establish relationships and understand complex identities without adequate guidance, all while dealing with high workloads and pressure. Additionally, managers may focus solely on risk management at the expense of relationship-building, limiting positive change.
To support relational practice, we propose a framework that encourages practitioners, managers, and leaders to explore both the obstacles and opportunities for enhancing relationships within youth safeguarding collaborations and advocate for conducive environments that foster effective relational practice.
It has improved my knowledge and understanding about the range of harms caused to children and their impact as I have been able to network with a wide range of experts from the UK and beyond. There is no other multidisciplinary association for child protection professionals focused on learning to support and improve practice and policy
