Champions for Children: The Lives of Modern Child Care Pioneers
Author(s): Bob Holman (Author)
Publisher: Policy Press
Publication Date: 31 Oct. 2001
Language: English
Print length: 232 pages
ISBN-10: 1861343531
ISBN-13: 9781861343536
Book Description
Numerous books have been written about Victorian child care pioneers, but few biographical studies have been published about more recent child care and welfare giants. In this book, Bob Holman, a champion for children in his own right, looks at the lives of six inspirational individuals who have made significant contributions to the well-being of disadvantaged children over the course of the 20th century. Each of the six discussed – Eleanor Rathbone, Lady Marjory Allen, Clare Winnicott, John Stroud, Barbara Kahan and Peter Townsend – has been important in establishing present systems of child care and welfare, and in stimulating debate around issues which remain high on policy and practitioner agendas today. Based on documentary research and extensive interviews, “Champions for children” relates personal histories to wider policy and practice developments. It makes important connections between poverty, inequality and child care policy – links that are often overlooked. The author also gives an engaging account of his own life, which has been dedicated to improving the lives of children through research, education and direct work with children. In the final chapter, he makes recommendations for the future development of services for children and families and policy recommendations for tackling poverty. “Champions for children” is aimed at social workers, policy makers, academics and students with an interest in child care and welfare issues.
Editorial Reviews
Review
…valuable and absorbing … it offers a powerful perspective on our current situation in relation to the welfare of children, and the dramatic disadvantage of many of the communities in which our children live. Regeneration & Renewal Holman’s literary eulogy to his champions is a recommended read for anyone like me who has a background of working with children or who is involved in campaigning for their rights. It is as enlightening as it is interesting and this is another reason why many others, students and social readers alike, will enjoy this fine book. Christian Socialist… an interesting and thought provoking book. Children & Society
It should be essential reading on every social work course, for the professional needs to understand what has been lost, but also to gain a vision for what would be possible if we learn from what has been contributed. Buy this book. Read it, and give it to others to read. It encourages and inspires. The Extra Mile… full of interesting and informative material, which is presented in Holman’s familiar clear and no-nonsense prose … this engaging and humane book does well to remind us of the main political and economic issues at stake, and of the grit and determiniation with which these pioneers faced what must have seemed at the time to be insurmountable obstacles to improving children’s lives. Social Policy
“With child care and the needs of disadvantaged children high on the agenda today, Bob Holman’s book is a timely reminder of the need for ‘champions for children’ in our local communities as well as in politics.” –Cathy Jamieson, Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, UK Government
… an enjoyable book for those who seek a broad understanding of the history of childcare in the UK, it brings that history to life and has a great deal to say about social work, past, present and future. British Journal of Social Work
Bob Holman presents a fascinating and enlightening account of the lives and influences of a very diverse set of children’s champions – feminists, socialists, public servants and academics. His book is a tapestry of progressive campaigns in twentieth-century British social policy and the complex crusaders who led them. Above all, it is informed by his own wisdom, experience and empathy. His outstanding contribution and his generous nature come through as clearly as the work of those he describes. Bill Jordan, Professor in Social Policy, Department of Social Work and Probation Studies, University of Exeter, UK
Here is an endlessly absorbing and a characteristically passionately written book by an author who deserves his own rightful place among the ‘champions for children’. That the challenges they confronted remain with us in the 21st century makes it all the more necessary to seek out the example of pioneers such as these. Terry Philpot, formerly Editor-in-Chief, now Consultant Editor, Community Care
About the Author
After a period as a local authority child care officer, Bob Holman entered academic life. He left his post as Professor of Social Administration at the University of Bath 10 years later to establish a child care community project on a council estate. For the last 15 years he has lived and worked on the Easterhouse Estate in Glasgow. He is also Visiting Professor in Social Policy at Glasgow University. Bob Holman won the Community Care Readers’ Award 2000 in acknowledgement of his significant contribution to the field of social care.
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