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Max Smart

Location: Duns, Scotland

Biography
I have worked in the field of child and youth care since 1995. I had previously worked in child protection social work in Scotland and England from 1986 before moving into residential group care in the mid 1990’s. I have studied in both Edinburgh and Glasgow and attained my Masters Degree in Advanced Residential Child Care at University of Strathclyde in 2010. Presently I work in a highly innovative residential programme in East Lothian (Lothian Villa) which has a reputation for progressively pushing the boundaries of the field of child group care in Scotland.

How I came to be in this field
At the risk of being controversial I consider the professions of Social Work and Child and Youth Care to be distinctly different. I make this distinction as I feel I came into the Child and Youth Care discipline in 1995 despite having worked extensively with children as early as the mid 1980’s. This transition was seen as unusual in Scotland given that many practitioners in group care exit the profession to enter social work. I did it the other way, something that has been a bit of a metaphor in a long career of working with troubled young people.

A favorite saying
Steve Biko was reputed to have said “take the chains off people’s minds and nothing else can be the same”. Biko was talking about creating aspiration in the black population of South Africa during the apartheid years, yet it is also an appropriate metaphor for child and youth care workers who often are overwhelmed by the apparent limitations of working with troubled youth. So we need to be bold and courageous in order to create resiliency in our youth it starts with the courage and resiliency of mentors with hope.

A few thoughts about child and youth care

• It is international, not national.

• It is organic and not stagnant, like a living organism it grows and develops.

• Its unending opportunities to heal the hidden wounds of troubled kids.

Last thing I read, watched, heard, which I would recommend to others
Primo Levi’s book If this is a man, which discusses Levi’s survival in Auschwitz.. A book so steeped in the courage of the human spirit all CYC’s should read, highly moving and a testament to true resilience.

A favorite Child and Youth Care experience
One of my favourite experiences in Child and Youth Care was going on programme holidays with our young people. The opportunity to share different experiences with young people in a different setting and taking the therapeutic opportunities such activities offer is a great pleasure to me. On one such occasion, we played volleyball with our young people and local youths on the Greek island of Corfu. The event was spontaneous and on a beach. Our kids joined in and all played. With one youth who was adult wary this was his first point of real connection with both me and another male staff member. Later when reflecting on his day, he advised us that he would never in a million years have thought he would have done that or enjoyed the experience so much. This young person still reflects on that day as being the point he began to trust adults.

A few thoughts for those starting out

• Supervision is about development and reflection

• Use all experiences as learning opportunities

A recommended child and youth care reading link
www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/CYC-Online-oct2008-long.html

My favourite child and youth care-relevant link and why
http://www.goodenoughcaring.com/JournalIndex.aspx
Here you can find an arena for discussion and debate on child care in the UK. It is insightful, relevant and not afraid to raise controversial debate.

A writing of my own
Making more sense of Transitions
https://www.cyc-net.org/journals/rcycp-19-4-smart.pdf

Influences on my work
My grandmother was a significant influence in my life. She was a clear and influential matriarch and with huge personality. She influenced my politics, my life and my desire to enter a caring profession.