Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 2013 - 2014 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
22 digital audio files, 22 pdf files
Context area
Name of creator
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Biographical history
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Transferred from Scottish Oral History Centre at University of Strathclyde, 21 July 2021.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Oral history project, conducted in 2013 and 2014 by Andrew Kendrick, Angela Bartie, Moyra Hawthorn and Julie Shaw, researchers at the University of Strathclyde. The project's aim was to record the personal experiences of residential workers and children's social workers who worked with children in residential services in the period 1960 – 1975, exploring their views on the experiences of children and standards, and their reflections on changes over time. 22 people were interviewed.
The interviewees include house parents, residential care workers, social workers, childcare officers and teachers. They worked in a range of care environments including residential care homes and nurseries, group homes, and List D schools. These were located across Scotland including Edinburgh and the Lothians, Glasgow, Aberdeenshire, Stirlingshire, Ayrshire, Argyll, and Angus.
Topics covered in the interviews include working roles, daily routines, the backgrounds of the young people coming into care, social and economic conditions at that time, and standards of care within different care home environments. The interviews also discuss child abuse, use of corporal punishment, relationships with colleagues, education, dealing with challenging behaviour, the introduction of the Social Work (Scotland) Act and the children’s hearing system, and thoughts on developments in residential care.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Most of the interviews are redacted in compliance with the wishes of the interviewees and/or the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 1998.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
This collection is part of the Scottish Oral History Centre Archive.
Publication note
Julie Shaw, Andrew Kendrick, Reflecting on the Past: Children’s Services Workers’ Experiences of Residential Care in Scotland from 1960 to 1975, The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 47, Issue 2, March 2017, Pages 375–391, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcw021