Dear Everyone,

A very warm welcome to the next in our series of e-seminars.  I hope you
have had a productive time since our last e-seminar. I have most appreciated
intervening postings.

This week's e-seminar is convened by Karen John - thank you, Karen, much
appreciated.
Karen's autobiography is below and two papers (I have enjoyed reading
these!) attached.

Karen John

I am a developmental psychologist and psychotherapist and work as a
freelance trainer, consultant and a supervisor of therapeutic and work-based
practice. My career as a researcher, tutor and trainer began in
Developmental Psychology and Psychiatry at Yale University in 1969,
continued at the Institute of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Unit, University of London in 1987, the Richmond Fellowship for Community
Mental Health in 1989 and the University of Bristol, School for Policy
Studies in 1996. My current academic work involves tutoring and mentoring
participants and facilitating action learning groups on the U. Leicester-Pen
Green MA and PhD courses concerned with the provision and leadership of
integrated services.

With 40 years’ experience in research, mental health services and training,
my abiding aim has been to help individuals, families, organisations and a
range of professionals to recognise and overcome internal and external
obstacles that interfere with their healthy functioning and development.
Over the past ten years I have devoted much of my time to supporting
agencies, leaders and staff involved in providing integrated services for
children and families. I co-led the development, piloting and rollout of the
mentoring component of the National Professional Qualification for
Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL), and I continue to mentor individual
leaders and small groups of leaders. This work is the topic of the two
papers I am sharing as part of this week’s e-seminar.

This week’s e-seminar:

With most children’s services now coming under the aegis of the Department
for Children, Schools and Families, and the promotion of Extended Schools,
there is an assumption that schools, like Children’s Centres, will take the
lead in ensuring that the social care and emotional needs of children, young
people and families are assessed and addressed through multi-agency
co-operation and co-ordination – if not through full integration of services.

One of the main strengths of the NPQICL pilot was found to be that tutors
and mentors demonstrated pedagogical isomorphism. That is, they demonstrated
dialogue, reflection, celebration of differences, containment and challenge
in their interactions with participants, an approach that participants then
demonstrated in their roles as leaders of integrated children’s centres in
their work with staff; staff in turn mirrored this way of working in their
interactions with children and families.

Karen's question:

To what extent does the NPQICL approach to mentoring leaders chime with your
own experiences of mentoring?

Looking forward to another lively discussion!

Best wishes,

Sarah

http://www.TeacherResearch.net

PS To give time to read and reflect on Karen's question, discussion will
start on Monday. Just a reminder that if you need to suspend your emails
PLEASE don't email everyone...