Child and family research

Care leavers, Covid-19 and the transition from care (CCTC study)

The study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19 aims to explore care leavers’ transitions to adulthood in the context of the pandemic.  The study will inform understanding of the impact that Covid-19 has had on the timing of young people's transitions from care, where young people go ('transition pathways'), what services and support they receive, and how they fare.

View further information on the CCTC study

Exploring Innovations in Transition to Adulthood (EXIT Study) (ESCR)

The research aims to pinpoint the innovations which have made a positive difference to young care leavers; and to identify the ways in which innovations are introduced, shared and adopted by the various networks and professional bodies involved in supporting young people during their transition to adulthood.

The interdisciplinary research team will also include six care-experienced researchers to ensure that the project reflects young people’s lived experience.

For more information on the research go to EXIT Study

International Research Network on Transitions from Care to Adulthood (INTRAC)

The purpose of the International Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care is to promote national and international research on the transition from care to adulthood (care-leaving). Professor Emily Munro is Chair of the Executive Committee. Further details about INTRAC are available at: globalintrac.com

Focus on Practice: Evaluation of the Quality of Systemic Social Work Practice (DfE)

Over the last ten years TGC has developed methods and analytical frameworks to understand the quality of practice conversations that occur during social work supervision (Bostock et al, 2019; Wilkins et al, 2018). The evaluation aims to examine the quality of systemic practice in two types of practice encounters: 1) direct work with families during home visits in cases where children were the subject of a child in need or child protection plan and 2) supervision.

Doing What Counts and Measuring What Matters (Islington Children’s Services)

A collaborative change project that aims to embed Motivational Social Work in practice. The embedded research team employ both quantitative and qualitative methods, including direct observation of social work practice, child and parent interviews, and standardised measures to gather, analyse and feedback findings on practice quality and impact.

Evaluation of the National Female Genital Mutilation Centre (DfE)

The National Female Genital Mutilation Centre (NFGMC) aims to achieve a system change in the provision of services for children and families who are affected by Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), abuse linked to faith or belief, and breast ironing and flattening. The evaluation adopts a mixed methods approach to collate and triangulate sources of both quantitative and qualitative data in order to evaluate the cost and consequences of implementing NFGMC’s model of delivery to prevent and response to cases of FGM and Harmful Practices.

Learning from the experts: Young people’s perspectives on how we can support healthy child development after sexual abuse (ESRC and NSPCC)

Young people’s perspectives on how we can support healthy child development after sexual abuse. This is a participatory action research project focusing on supporting mental health and wellbeing after sexual abuse in adolescence.

Evaluation of Havering Face2Face Pathways (DfE)

F2FP is an ambitious programme of change designed to integrate co-production, needs-responsive access to services and systemic interventions to support successful transition to adulthood to improve life chances for young people in Havering. It aims to develop practice that is relationship-based, co-produced and personalised to the needs of children and young people. A mixed methods evaluation is being undertaking, including in-depth case studies of young people leaving care.

Scaling and Deepening the Reclaiming Social Work Model: Follow up (DfE)

Reclaiming Social Work (RSW) is a whole-system reform that aims to deliver systemic practice in children’s services. Key elements include in-depth training, small units with shared cases and group systemic case discussions, clinician support, reduced bureaucracy, devolved decision-making and enhanced administrative support. The evaluation will explore the longer term impact of RSW on outcomes for children and families.

Early Adopters: New Statutory Arrangements for Children’s Safeguarding (Bexley Children’s Services)

Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham have successfully secured ‘safeguarding early adopter’ funding from the Department for Education to support them to test new children’s safeguarding partnership arrangements. The evaluation is a multi-method, including interviews with key stakeholders, structured feedback from participants at learning events and observations of ‘learning hub’ and ‘deep dive’ meetings.

Substance Misuse and Ageing

Further details are available from our SMART group here

Promoting Research Impact

Advancing the production, utilisation, and impact of social work research to generate innovation in human services (Australian Research Council) (with Griffith, La Trobe and Southern Cross Universities)

The study aims to:

• Examine the scope and quality of Australian social work research in three key fields (child protection, disability services, and aged care)
• Assess the utility of this research to the human services sector and its impact on generating innovation
• Develop strategies to advance the production, uptake, and impact of social work research.

Implementing and embedding research-based organisational change for better outcomes in self-neglect: a co-production approach (ESRC) (with Sussex University)

This project explores how organisational learning from research on self-neglect can be embedded by Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs). Taking a co-production approach, a learning set with representatives from 8 Boards will generate, implement and review action plans to embed research learning on self-neglect in the day-to-day practice and structures of relevant agencies.

Global North/Global South Leaving Care Research Workshops (GCRF)

The University of Bedfordshire, the University of Johannesburg and Queen’s University Belfast are convening a series of events that aim to bring together members of the African Network of Care Leaving Researchers (ANCR), International Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care (INTRAC) and Community of Researchers in Transitions (CoRiT/PhD and MA students and recent post-doctoral students) to support the development of emerging researchers and research agendas aimed at improving outcomes for young adults without parental care in the Global South.