CUSTTAD IN SOUTH LANARKSHIRE: a communication
ABOUT CUSTTAD: AN UPDATE
As you may be aware the Custtad approach has been used in South Lanarkshire for over thirty years. And during that time it has been supported by numerous teachers and administrators.
It was initially introduced to the authority by Anne Rooney, Specialist Services Manager in collaboration with the then Clinical Director at the Department of Child and Family Psychiatry at Yorkhill. It was subsequently taken on by Frances Swinburne, the Senior Manager for Pupil Support in the Cambuslang & Rutherglen Education Area. Frances became a stalwart supporter and played a significant role in the maintenance of its integrity and use until her retirement in 2021.
Also during that time over forty teachers were trained and, in line with our preferred model of an on site self-staffed resource, twelve Custtad facilities were established. They proved to be, and were viewed by many to be, a very effective means of helping to maintain some of the more unsettled children in their own local school.
This was not surprising however as the approach had been developed for exactly that purpose. It’s effectiveness had also been repeatedly demonstrated during its twelve years as an onsite resource in Royston Primary School in Glasgow.
Fiona Larkin has been another of the main players in the use of Custtad in South Lanarkshire. Fiona arrived there from the Glasgow Day Unit where the Custtad approach had been developed. Although not involved in its early development she had acquired a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of how it was intended to work.
At interview Fiona had made a request: if employed in South Lanarkshire she would want, as part of her remit, to make use of the approach. This was agreed to and since then she, along with several of her colleagues, have steadfastly performed numerous and strategically important roles.
Included has been the often challenging task of making certain the facilities were well resourced and functioning as recommended. It was a task which often involved the removal and reallocation of trays and materials. Fiona also worked with the children who were referred to Custtad from the various areas of South Lanarkshire. And, when I was no longer involved in conducting the Training Program, Fiona took over.
Which brings us to the main purpose of this communication. Fiona is retiring at Christmas and decisions are apparently already being made about how Custtad will be used in future. My understanding is that the referral process, which was a feature of Custtad’s use in the authority, will not be continued. However, as the Custtad facilities which have been established are the purview of individual schools some of these will hopefully remain for as long as a school chooses to have one.
But this document also concerns the future of the training program. To prepare for Fiona’s retirement it is our intention to revise the training and make it available as a completely online course. I will be responsible for the revision and am interested in working with a teacher who would be keen to train whilst also taking part in what will essentially be a pilot project.
About my role in Custtad’s development and use in South Lanarkshire: I was actively involved in the negotiations which led to its implementation and have been involved, to various degrees and intensities, ever since then. I am therefore understandably interested in what it’s future might be.
It may be, for example, that Custtad in South Lanarkshire has had its day and whilst this would be regretful I am not disconsolate about the prospect. We set out to be of help to some of the children in South Lanarkshire and in our estimation - although we were not always as helpful as we wanted to be - this has been achieved.
But at this time of change it is hoped that, at the very least, any decisions which could result in its partial or complete demise are the outcome of well informed considerations.
Reflecting on the overall experience of Custtad in South Lanarkshire: those of us in the Custtad Group, made up of former colleagues from several disciplines, have not wavered in our conviction about the potential benefits of the approach. Based on a wide range of experience over many years, it remains, in our estimation, one of the most effective means of supporting children - particularly some of the most challenging - in their own local primary school.
To conclude: this communication is intended to provide some context in which to consider the proposed changes and how they could impact on the future use of Custtad in South Lanarkshire. We also hope, in making contact with the schools which have or have had a Custtad facility to garner as much information as possible on their present status and circumstances. Any feedback on Custtad as it relates to you, your work or your responsibilities, will be much appreciated and will aid us in deciding what, if anything, it would be useful for us to do next.
Also the prospect of reaching some of the former trainees or anyone else interested in the approach is a pleasing one. And to that end a copy of this document will be uploaded to the home page of the Custtad Central web site.
More information is available on the web sites at www.custtad.com and www.custtadcentral.com and our email address is custtad@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sheila (K Cameron) - for The Custtad Group.