Building a positive group climate together: How monitoring instruments are part of an improvement process in residential care for children

In order to work on qualitatively good residential care it is important to monitor group climate and to act on clients' feedback. The present study describes how two youth care organizations in the Netherlands implemented group climate monitoring instruments for children (GCIC 4–8 and 8–15) as part of the broader ‘You Matter!’ project (in which N = 15 teams, and N = 274 children participated), and aims to answer the question how these monitoring instruments can help to improve group climate when routinely embedded in daily care. The results indicated that, in the age group 8–15 (n = 171), negative group climate aspects diminished over two years using feedback from the children. Evaluating the ‘You Matter’ project, it appears to be worthwhile to invest in the monitoring of group climate. According to the interviewed group workers (N = 5), group climate improvements were instigated most when the feedback was discussed soon after the measurement, when teams were facilitated to reflect together and when they kept working on their shared vision. Trends in children's answers on the open-ended questions of the monitoring instrument provided further important information about how to stay focused on creating a safe and positive context for vulnerable children in residential care. •This study addresses the use of group climate monitoring instruments in residential care for children.•A positive trend was found in group climate scores over two years' time during the ‘You Matter!’ project.•Group workers have shared the lessons they learnt during the project.•An analysis of children's answers to open-ended questions on group climate is provided.•Recommendations are formulated for further enhancement of the monitoring process.