This chapter sets out to document the everyday reality of working with vulnerable children in both home and institutional settings. There is a fairly substantial literature on the attractions of care work with vulnerable children and their families, whether this be foster care (Triseliotis et al, 2000; Sinclair et al, 2004), residential care (DH, 1998; Mainey, 2003), childminding (Statham et al, 2000; Mooney et al, 2001) or family support work (Carpenter and Dutton, 2003). Common motivations across these groups include wanting to make a positive difference to people's lives, enjoying working with children and young people, and gaining satisfaction from helping them to overcome challenges and difficulties.

But how do these expectations match up to the reality of the everyday work? Previous research involving residential social workers, foster carers and childminders has reported a high level of job satisfaction (for example, Penna et al, 1995; Aldgate and Bradley, 1999; McLean, 1999; Mooney et al, 2001; Mainey, 2003; Milligan et al, 2005; Sinclair, 2005). Much less has been written about the lived experience of providing care for children who need support from social services. Yet there are good reasons for looking in depth at the nature of care work with vulnerable children. There is little public understanding of what such work entails, or the range of ways in which it can be carried out. Research commissioned by the Department of Health found ‘a lack of basic knowledge about both social work and social care’ among the general public, and generally negative perceptions that are thought to contribute to recruitment and retention difficulties in this field (Central Office of Information Communications, 2001, p 61).

Some types of work with children, for example family support work and community childminding, have received relatively little attention in the literature, perhaps reflecting the lower priority often attached to preventive work compared to the services needed by children who live away from home. This sense of invisibility, even within their own organisation, was reflected in the comment of a family support worker in the current study who referred to herself and her team as ‘the silent workforce’.