After a project on working with older people, including a workshop in Leicester in April this year, Pat & Thure ran a workshop at the recent SPPA conference in Edinburgh to discuss the experience, the reflections they had had with project colleagues Karen Chauhan (Workers Education Alliance) and Rob Hunter (Leicester Ageing Together). Having taken further input and discussion from a small but buoyant session in Edinburgh, SPPA have asked whether Pat and Thure would deliver a webinar on the topic
This webinar follows the success of a recent one-day training session for practitioners working with adults across the age range in Leicester. As an emerging professional disciplines, social pedagogy provides an ethical, appropriate framework for holistic, strength-based practice. This webinar will be an opportunity to explore or shape discussions around the practice of social pedagogy in work with adults and older people.
Premise: Everyone involved with social pedagogy development will recognise the universal potential of social pedagogy across the life path, it is essentially about basic human values and lifelong learning. When the term ‘work with older people’ is used, it references a very large part of British society, from pre-retirement through to care home environments, and across different levels of ability, health, and diverse cultural contexts.
Facts (more will be provided in the webinar):
When happiness is measured across the life-path, the highest levels (of all) are reported from people aged from 61-79. This is contrasted by lowest levels of happiness reported from the age group from 80 – 99.
The largest socio-emotional problem for older people is loneliness. When asked, 1/5 of those aged 80 or above report that they do not have anyone they would consider a friend. (Office for National Statistics)
Discussion: But how do we know exactly what is social pedagogic practice with older people? Is there anything that may need changing or reconsidering to allow for the breadth of capability and resource of the older population? Equally, what are the best steps to define and quality-assure a social pedagogy ‘practice identity’ with and for practitioners, carers, advocates and volunteers working with a big part of the British society.
Date
06/12/2018
Time
12:30 - 13:30
Location
Online webinar
Pricing
Free / open to all
This webinar will be recorded, but only SPPA members will have access to the recording.
Thure qualified as a Pedagogue in Denmark specialising in music within social education. He has lived and worked in the UK since 2007 and is particularly keen on promoting the 
Pat Petrie is Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Understanding Social Pedagogy (CUSP), Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University College London. She established CUSP in 2009. Her professional background was in teaching, and working through drama, including in residential settings. Her research areas include early childcare and education, play and care services for school-age children and provision for disabled children. She cofounded and coordinated the European Network for School-age child care (1987-2003) and conducted the first survey of school-age childcare in the EU (1996), leading to her interest in social pedagogy and acceptance (1999) of Department of Health’s invitation to explore it further. A programme of government-funded European work culminated (2008) with piloting social pedagogy in children’s residential care in England, followed by contributing to Fostering Network’s introduction of social pedagogy into foster care. She has an ongoing involvement in social pedagogy and the creative arts and is one of the group now developing SPPA and social pedagogy qualifications. She is interested in social pedagogy for work with older people because she thinks they fit together, practically and theoretically.