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Children’s physical activity: stimulating policy debate and health improvements

Summary of the impact

Research led by Professor Roger Mackett of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at UCL on children's physical activity has been used by central and local government, other public bodies and various advocacy groups to encourage children to be more active. It has been used to support policy documents and proposals aimed at improving children's health and wellbeing. It has led to improvements in the health, welfare and quality of life of many UK communities through, for example, their greater use of walking buses, which also contributes to reduced CO2 emissions.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Civil and Construction Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

The Blue Dog Project: Preventing Dog Bites in Children

Summary of the impact

We have carried out research into children's perception and behaviour around dogs, which has led to the development of an effective safety training programme, as well as improving public understanding of child-dog interactions and risk contexts for dog bite injury in children. The `Blue Dog' (BD — www.thebluedog.org) project has led to changed educational and veterinary practice, public policy change and animal welfare benefits internationally. A key part of the project was the development and validation of an interactive DVD, with training tools that teach children how to be safe around dogs. The results of the research were integrated into the injury prevention messages disseminated by the BD project. The research programme has received publicity worldwide, and over 80,000 copies of the BD DVD have been distributed to 21 different countries, with the accompanying BD booklet translated into 17 different languages. The research was carried out from 2005 onwards, with the impact of the research accruing from 2008 to date.

Submitting Institution

University of Lincoln

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Children's spiritual development and its neglect in primary education

Summary of the impact

The impact relating to this case study is situated in three domains. The first domain focuses on impacting policy on spiritual development in the primary curriculum, achieved via membership of a Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) working party. The second element is lay engagement with understandings of spirituality and its contextualisation in primary schools, achieved primarily through media coverage of research findings. The third area relates to informing understanding about the processes and meaning making of dreaming (as a specific area of spirituality) through expert comments in mass media outlets and the hosting of events attended by the general public and practitioners as well as academics. These achievements are complemented by high profile roles in international professional associations.

Submitting Institution

Bishop Grosseteste University

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies

6. Improving eye care and learning potential for children with Down’s syndrome.

Summary of the impact

Cardiff University has established the world's largest single cohort of children and young adults with Down's syndrome in which visual deficits have been characterised. Cardiff research studies over 20 years have informed evidence-based guidelines published by the Department of Health and national practitioner bodies for the recognition and practical management of common visual problems in children with Down's syndrome. Consequently, eye care specialists now recommend bifocals for these children. The Cardiff research has also supported changes to teaching methods and resources for children with Down's syndrome. Collectively these children are now benefiting from better eye care and improved learning and educational opportunities.

Submitting Institution

Cardiff University

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Ophthalmology and Optometry, Public Health and Health Services

Changing Attitudes to Children’s Text Messaging and Literacy

Summary of the impact

Wood and Plester conducted the first empirical research into the impact of text messaging on children's literacy abilities, the results of which have impacted on:

  • Public attitudes, by challenging media accounts of the alleged detrimental impact of texting on children's understanding of standard English;
  • Public policy on literacy in England by informing Department for Education and National Literacy Trust reports and research regarding the value of informal language use to written language skills;
  • Practitioners in the UK and worldwide, who now use text language as a way of teaching English to young people.

Submitting Institution

Coventry University

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Pioneering longitudinal research leads to greater understanding of childhood poverty among policy-makers

Summary of the impact

Young Lives is identifying major influences on children's development, from infancy to adulthood, by carrying out a pioneering longitudinal study across four developing countries over 15 years. Young Lives gathers and analyses data on how childhood is changing in diverse communities, especially through the impact of economic, cultural and policy shifts, by studying two age cohorts in each country. UNICEF, the World Bank, Plan International, and Save the Children International, among others, are using Young Lives research to design childhood poverty-reduction policies in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The research also underpins the re-visioning of global child protection work by UNICEF, Save the Children Canada, and World Vision UK.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Anthropology and Development Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Economics: Applied Economics
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Producing and promoting children’s literature: influencing writers, teachers and reluctant readers

Summary of the impact

Butler's work has three strands, each of which has made a substantial impact on readerships and audiences beyond the academy. She has actively promoted children's literature pedagogy through her publications and her activities in promoting teaching aids arising from her research in the Learning and Teaching of Children's Literature. Her work on place, history and landscape in children's literature has been hailed as a practical benefit to working writers, and her research-as-practice has resulted in six novels for children and teenagers, as well as works commissioned and written in order to encourage reluctant teenaged readers, She has actively promoted children's literature in schools, online and in society generally.

Submitting Institution

University of the West of England, Bristol

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Research on Enid Blyton

Summary of the impact

Since his initial publications on the work of Enid Blyton in 1995, David Rudd has been instrumental in changing the public's perception of one of the most popular children's writers of all time. He has appeared on TV and Radio, both in this country and abroad, been quoted extensively in the media and in newspaper articles, besides giving talks and publishing articles, both locally and internationally. He has also been sought out by publishers, newspapers and programme makers for consultancy work.

Submitting Institution

University of Bolton

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

The Emotional Dimensions of Nursery Life and Learning

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by Peter Elfer has shown the significance of attention to babies and under threes' emotional well-being in nursery if early learning is to be effective. Children who are continually anxious or distressed do not learn well. A sensitive, responsive and consistent relationship with mainly one or two members of nursery staff (now known as the child's `key-person') has been shown to promote in young children feelings of safety and security. The research has underpinned the development of the key-person role in nurseries, as the means for enabling individual attention to children. This research has had a significant impact in the following areas:

1) UK Government curriculum guidance and requirements

2) Training of the early years workforce and continuing professional development

3) The evolution of UK Coalition Government policy and public discourse

The reach of the research is extensive, providing the underpinning for attachment practice in English nurseries. The above developments have strengthened the expectation in national standards of greater attention to the emotions of babies and young children in nursery and have provided the detailed guidance on how this can be achieved in practice.

Submitting Institution

Roehampton University

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Increasing Public Engagement and Involvement with Psychological Research Through the Creation of 'Summer Scientist' Events

Summary of the impact

Summer Scientist Week (www.summerscientist.org) is an innovative public engagement event held at the University of Nottingham that increases public understanding of the psychology of child development. Families with children aged from 4 to 11 years experience the research process first-hand by participating in ongoing studies. Research findings and their impact are disseminated through posters at the event and follow-up newsletters. Summer Scientist Week (SSW) has increased public understanding of psychology research within the community and has increased interest in psychology and child development topics in the media and has increased attendance at other science and research-based events.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Neurosciences, Public Health and Health Services
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

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