Press Reviews

• European Journal of Social Work

  Petries's book, now in its third edition, is intended for people who work with or intend to work with children and young people in settings that range from nurseries to child minding, adventure playgrounds, clubs, play schemes, fostering and residential care. The third edition enlarges on previous editions with ideas from social pedagogy and interpersonal communication... The book aims to introduce ideas and values of social pedagogy that help practitioners become aware of the centrality of relationships and interpersonal communication to their practice, understand that effective interpersonal communication depends on acquiring relevant skills, and learn to communicate with respect and recognition of service users' equal worth... Petrie's deceptively simple approach succeeds in explaining how to deal with some complex practice situations... Petrie succeeds in conveying useful knowledge that could help practitioners to develop their skills.

• Young Minds Magazine

  This book makes social pedagogy accessible, and places "relationships" as the central core of all work with children and young people. It is aimed at individuals and groups and is a good, easy to read introduction to the theories of social pedagogy. It should be accessible to all workers who are either in training, learning how to understand children, and for more experience workers who wish to reflect on their own practice by taking as its central tenet how we understand "ourselves" in relation to those children... This book appears to offer a simple approach to learning about supporting children's pro-social development, relationships and language growth. It is much more than that. It challenges our individual conceptual frameworks of "who we think we are" and "what we think we are doing" when we work with children. There is much tolerant here.

• Children & Young People Now

  A range of practitioners working with children and young people can use this book. In supporting students, supervisors and workforce development it offers a wealth of sources for courses and study... It is wonderful that this book does not assume that all problems can be solved but is grounded in the reality that things can be made better. It includes frequent reminders about how to overcome everyday obstacles to communicating with each other... Using this book we will help practitioners to start in the right place, as the development of children starts with communication.

• Chris Taylor, children’s home manager, trainer, and author of A Practical Guide to Caring for Children and Teenagers with Attachment Difficulties

  [This] is a clearly written and well-structured introduction to developing interpersonal communication skills in the "people work" of health, social care and education... The book is an excellent resource for workers at all levels in these settings, and could also be used to develop training days for staff. Full of practical tips and examples, observations tasks, opportunities for reflection, and learning exercises, the reader is helped to apply the ideas in a very practical way.

• Mary Fawcett, early years consultant and author of Learning Through Child Observation

  This is a most accessible and readable book that will reach and engage the very wide range of professionals who work with children, young people and families. Pat Petrie has managed to make a practical handbook lively with excellent and imaginative case studies. It should prove to be very useful stimulating course material, drawing students into the kaleidoscopic world of social pedagogy. The author’s realistic, optimistic and thorough understanding of the subtleties of interpersonal relations and group dynamics gives the reader many insights and confidence in her professional expertise.

• Robyn Kemp, Consultant and Director, Kemp Consultancy Ltd.

  Special Issue of SIRCC Journal (Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care)

  People who are new to working with children and young people, and those interested in understanding and developing social pedagogical practice, will find that Petrie's Communication Skills for Working with Children and Young People provides excellent foundational reading, with related topics to reflect on and suggestions for activities to test out some of the theories and concepts... Petrie's narrative voice speaks well to less experienced practitioners by clearly explaining the concepts and ideas, and examining them in different practice settings and situations.