Every Child Matters part 2: the implementation of the Every Child Matters agenda in practice: case study – Brathay Hall Trust

The first of this series of articles (Horizons Issue 39) provided an overview of the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda. This included the roots of the original ECM Government green papers and Lord Laming’s inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie. It then went on to detail how ECM was enshrined in law, with the 2004 Children Act. The importance of the agenda was exemplified further with ECM being the principal policy driver in the creation of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (formally DfES). This second article of the series provides a case study of an organisation’s experience of implementing the ECM agenda into their practice. This case study is of Brathay Hall Trust, a children’s and young people’s charitable organisation based in Cumbria. The article shows how Brathay’s structures, strategic direction and practice on the ground have been informed and transformed through their engagement with the ECM agenda. Through ‘Julie’s story’, we also gain some insight into quite how significant the outcomes of outdoor-based youth work can be for individual young people, especially when the work is carefully directed and includes guided reflection. The aim here is to provide Horizons’ diverse readership with a perspective that might provoke thought within personal practice