Safeguarding and Mental Health Support in Contemporary Childhood by Wendy Sims-Schouten

Author:Wendy Sims-Schouten [Sims-Schouten, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Nonfiction, Health & Daily Living, Diseases; Illnesses & Injuries, Social Science, Social Work, Children's Studies
ISBN: 9780429815423
Google: QnEDEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-11-24T03:52:17+00:00

3.8 Rose (case file 3469): ‘uncontrollable’ and ‘unsatisfactory’

Rose was born in 1881 and her application appears when she is 11 years old, in 1892. There is not a lot of information about Rose’s background, apart from the fact that she is an orphan and has ‘defective hearing and eyesight’. In the application to the Waifs and Strays Rose is described as a nice girl who has had an unfortunate home life, as well as an illness: ‘Rose is an exceedingly nice, good tempered child and has had a great deal to endure through the state of her home and through illness.’

There is evidence that Rose spends time in different homes and hospitals not run by the Waifs and Strays Society. In 1900 she ends up in the ‘Clapham Home of Rest For Girls Out of Situation’, and in the same year the following arrives in a letter at the Waifs and Strays Society: ‘Rose conducted herself very unsatisfactory and has a violent temper, and was indeed so uncontrollable that at the last there was no alternative, but to place her in the workhouse.’ This once more highlights how ‘bad behaviour’ and a ‘violent temper’ are synonymous with ‘undeservedness’; in this case it means that Rose is no longer perceived as eligible for help and support, and will be placed in the workhouse as a last resort (Atherton, 2011; Strand, 2016).

Again this negates the fact that, due to their pre-care experiences and potential trauma, looked after children may portray challenging emotional and behavioural difficulties (Fisher et al., 2000). This is in contrast with earlier communication acknowledging that Rose ‘has had a great deal to endure’. It could be argued that the contrast between the earlier correspondence in relation to Rose being nice and good tempered and having had a great deal to endure and the later correspondence around her unsatisfactory behaviour highlights two potential flaws of the time. First, it suggests that (as with the case files discussed earlier in this chapter) in the greater scheme of things, regardless of her potentially traumatic background, Rose is held accountable for her bad behaviour. Second, it shows that collaborations and communication between the various institutions/professionals was insufficient, and earlier experiences were not acknowledged. Included in the correspondence is also a letter from Rose of 1901:

I am writing to ask you if you will allow me to go back to Clapham Home for I am really sorry for having to give so much trouble, I used to think that they were to strict but now I see that it was for my own good.

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