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The University of Huddersfield's School of Education and Professional Development has produced an extensive body of research addressing the experiences and needs of educationally marginalised young people. This work has developed understanding of the experiences of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), learners in alternative education and those on low-level vocational programmes. Responding to stakeholder demands for a more nuanced insight into these problems and their possible solutions, research has been disseminated to practitioners, policymakers, voluntary organisations, local authorities and the wider public through conference presentations, keynote addresses and the media, benefiting user communities at local, regional and national levels.
The research addressed the lack of insight from research, policy and practice in relation to adolescents who are neglected within families. Findings have informed policy development at a national level, and were the basis of a guide to good practice, published and circulated widely by the (then) Department for Children Schools and Families ((DCSF), now the Department for Education (DfE)), and a guide for young people to increase their awareness of neglect, published and circulated by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). At a local level, researchers worked intensively over 18 months with the whole senior management tier from Children's Services in one local authority to enable understanding and refocusing so that adolescent neglect becomes a legitimate part of practice. Managers went on to enable the shift in practice with their teams, and adolescent neglect has been included in revised safeguarding screening tools approved by the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).
Publication of the first major piece of research on young adult carers [YACs] has led to recognition of a `new' group of carers in policy and practice, and the development of two new psychometric instruments.
Raising awareness with Government, policy makers and service providers, has resulted in the provision of new services and support and further education provision for YACs across the UK, and the psychometric tools are now being used extensively by organisations including Comic Relief, The Government Innovation Fund, the BBC, and in a dozen countries.
This case study demonstrates the impact generated through research studies at Plymouth University into `sexting', the self-generation and distribution of explicit images, by children and young people. The findings have informed briefing material for Ofsted inspectors, been used to develop material for schools, and led to schools developing new curriculum based support and peer mentoring. The research has also extended the understanding of the emerging issues and helped inform national debate and public discourse.
Research by Coleman (University of Leeds, 2007-present) on the disengagement of young people from political democracy has contributed to public debate about citizenship education and the need to build stronger connections between political and popular culture. This record of research directly informed the creation and development of `Youth Amplified', a suite of resources designed to inspire new ways for education providers to support young people in developing confident and effective speaking and listening skills. Evidence of engagement with the `Youth Amplified' resources amongst leading education providers and over 200 schools across the UK can be used to demonstrate impact, as well as reported improvements of young people's ability to express themselves in public situations.
This case study has two strands:
In 2008, the University of Hertfordshire joined, as principal investigators for England, the World Health Organization's Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. European and US policy makers use this long-running cross-national project to set directions for young people's health and wellbeing. Our findings (2011) directly informed policy in the departments of Health and Education, and were identified as a key data source underpinning the Department of Health's outcomes framework for children and young people. Our team also co-authored the World Health Organization's four-yearly international report for 2012, a widely influential document in health care policy and practice.
National and international research findings were utilised to raise professional, political and faith-based awareness of the impact of abuse and exploitation on the educational, social and emotional development of children and young people considered to be `at risk'. The impact of the case study lies in its ability to portray, through the use of participatory research methodologies, the experiences of young people who have been the victims of abuse, neglect and human trafficking. Evidence collated indicates that the work has significantly increased national and local awareness and understanding, and led to specific organisational changes in policy and practice.
Impact is demonstrated through the ways in which research findings have been utilised by schools and Alternative Provision (AP) providers, to evaluate and remodel educational policies and practices. Evidence is presented to support the assertion that by seeking out the perspectives of children and young people, schools can become more critically aware of the complex educational, social, cultural and economic factors that serve to increase pupil exclusion, vulnerability and exposure to risk. An increase in professional understanding and awareness is demonstrated with reference to examples of personalised pastoral interventions, which respond directly to the needs of alienated and disaffected pupils.
Coppock's original research has impacted upon children's workforce development strategy and child/adolescent mental health services in England - specifically in workforce up-skilling to provide inclusive, child-centred mental health services. Coppock's research provided intellectual and empirical underpinning for a highly successful training programme 'Mad, Bad or Misunderstood? Interactive Multimedia Training for Professionals Working with Children and Young People' (MBM Training). MBM Training has been delivered to over 4,000 participants including: teachers/social workers/health workers/police officers/residential care staff/parents/carers/foster carers and volunteers and is recognised by the Child and Maternal Health Observatory (ChiMat) as an important tool in mental health promotion and tackling stigma.