Research Subject Area: Social Work

REF impact found 47 Case Studies

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Achieving change through policy-relevant research: strengthening the provision of health visiting by influencing government

Summary of the impact

Evidence about the need for and provision of health visiting services generated through research undertaken at King's College London (KCL) has underpinned major changes in national policies for health visiting. Our findings about health visitors' practice, availability and distribution of services and effectiveness in terms of parenting/child outcomes, revealed both shortfalls in provision and opportunities for improvement and led to the development of a new caseload weighting tool and funding model for service planning. The accumulated evidence from this research helped convince the UK Government in 2010 to commit to 4,200 more health visitors by 2015 — a workforce expansion of nearly 50% — in a time of austerity and restraint elsewhere in the public sector.

Submitting Institution

King's College London

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Social Work

A scientific foundation for new standards in the clinical assessment of child abuse.

Summary of the impact

Responding to the crisis in confidence amongst clinicians involved in child protection, Cardiff University developed the world's first research programme to provide the scientific basis for more reliable clinical assessments of child abuse and neglect. The programme, which involves 21 systematic reviews (updated annually) and related primary studies, has directly informed five national clinical guidelines, the National Child Protection training program and the first NICE guidance on child maltreatment. Through the Core-Info website, the evidence base created by the Cardiff team is accessed each year by 100,000 users. Key messages from their research have been published in a series of Core-Info leaflets which have reached more than 250,000 allied professionals nationally. The Cardiff research informs standardised national clinical practice, training and legal decisions, ultimately improving the recognition and protection of children from abuse or neglect.

Submitting Institution

Cardiff University

Unit of Assessment

Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Social Work
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Case Study 3: Impact on policy and practice in early childhood services in England of the Impact Module of the National Evaluation of Sure Start

Summary of the impact

Sure Start, the flagship New Labour anti-poverty initiative launched in 1999, was an area-based early intervention targeting pockets of social and economic deprivation in England. The multi- disciplinary National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS), to which Professor Angela Anning was the central educational contributor, was the largest social science evaluation contract ever awarded in the UK. Findings were continually fed back to ministers and civil servants to inform policy and practice. Impacts (discussed below, section 4) include:

(1) systemic changes in integrated services for vulnerable families;

(2) rethinking the resourcing and funding of Children's Centres;

(3) revision of training and qualifications of early childhood staff;

(4) enhancing the role of family support and parenting projects.

Submitting Institution

University of Leeds

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Social Work

Developing and sustaining effective multi-agency systems to safeguard children from harm

Summary of the impact

Senior managers in agencies in contact with children are frequently criticised, particularly in reports following child deaths, for failing to facilitate collaborative working to safeguard children. Yet, developing and sustaining collaborative systems is not easy. To assist managers, Horwath and Morrison developed a conceptual framework and, in collaboration with policy-makers and managers in Wales, added standards and indicators. These combine to form the building blocks likely to create a safe, multidisciplinary, child protection system. Their research has:

  • Impacted on the development of multidisciplinary safeguarding partnerships in a number of countries.
  • Enabled policy makers and senior managers to measure system improvements.
  • Informed statutory guidance.

Submitting Institution

University of Sheffield

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Social Work

Developing practice and policy for adolescents who experience neglect within families

Summary of the impact

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).

Submitting Institution

University of Lincoln

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Social Work

Generating applied insights into criminal justice through HMP Grendon

Summary of the impact

The case study refers to research conducted by the Centre for Applied Criminology (CAC), which has focused on HMP Grendon. This document evidences the following impacts:

* Effects on and changes and benefits to policy and practice within and beyond HMP Grendon.

* Reduction or prevention of harm / negative effects upon staff and prisoners at HMP Grendon.

* Effects on awareness and understanding of needs specific groups of prisoners at HMP Grendon.

* Changes and benefits to opportunities available for HMP Grendon prisoners and applicants.

* Benefits in terms of awareness of penal issues amongst audiences of specific media.

Submitting Institution

Birmingham City University

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Criminology, Social Work

Improving adoption services: removing the disincentive of the inter-agency fee

Summary of the impact

Research on adoption and the inter-agency fee influenced a major governmental review of adoption policy and practice. Selwyn's work led to positions as: academic advisor on the Government's expert working group on adoption; advisor to the Treasury; member of No 10's policy group; and she gave written and oral evidence to the House of Lords and House of Commons Select Committees as part of the adoption reform. Her research on adoption and the subsequent government action led to a significant strengthening of the capacity of the voluntary adoption agencies and changes in social work practice resulting in adoption numbers rising from 3,090 (2011-12) to 3,980 (2012-13). Local authorities were advised to remove the structural disincentive caused by the fee no later than September 2013. Findings also provided key evidence for the Charity Commission in its case against the Catholic Church's appeal to be exempt from equality legislation.

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Social Work

Improving Awareness and Understanding of the Government's Obligation to Involve Children in Decision-Making

Summary of the impact

This case study reports the impact on awareness and understanding of children's rights by policy makers, practitioners and children. This was achieved through the development of a legally sound and research-based but user-friendly model for understanding and implementing Article 12 of the UNCRC. This model has been used by the Northern Ireland and Irish Children's Commissioner, Non-governmental organisations, other Higher Education Institutions, government departments and teachers to inform policy makers, practitioners and children and young people about the obligation to give children's views due weight in decision-making. The research model and the practical impact it has had has extended understanding beyond the traditionally used concept of the "voice of the child" or "pupil voice" by emphasizing the legal obligation to ensure that children's views have an influence on decision-making, with direct effects on policy and practice and also enabling government to fulfil its additional obligation under Article 42 of the UNCRC to ensure that the rights in the UNCRC are widely known among adults and children alike.

Submitting Institution

Queen's University Belfast

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Social Work

Improving conflict resolution and mediation in UK workplaces

Summary of the impact

Research undertaken since 1999 by Professor Paul Latreille at Swansea University has examined workplace conflict and its resolution. Much of this research has been externally funded by the ESRC, government and other bodies, and published as reports and papers in internationally recognised academic journals. The research has delivered a range of impacts, including shaping policymaker and practitioner debate and providing confirmation of, and challenges to, policy and practice. Impact is evidenced, inter alia, by references to the research in government consultation documents and responses to such documents, Parliamentary debate and practitioner materials.

Submitting Institution

Swansea University

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Business and Management
Studies In Human Society: Social Work

Improving legal responses to domestic violence

Summary of the impact

Domestic violence is a serious and pernicious problem, affecting one in four women, and a significant number of men. Despite this, in general, legal responses to domestic violence have not been as effective as they could be. Professor Mandy Burton has carried out wide-ranging research for UK government departments and public bodies, including the Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) specifically designed to inform legal and policy change on domestic violence. Her work informed the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act in 2004, and was important in helping to develop more than 100 Specialist Domestic Violence Courts across the country.

Submitting Institution

University of Leicester

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Social Work
Law and Legal Studies: Law

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