Previous work - 2007
- Developing a proposal for a case-working model of assessing need
- A review of safeguarding in the children's secure estate
- Research evaluation workshop
- Promoting mental health for children held in secure settings: a framework for commissioning services
- Evaluation of a project for young black males and their families
- Developing an evidence-based family support strategy
- Improved support for parents with substance misuse or mental health problems
- Evaluating the first year of a Local Safeguarding Children Board
- Feltham YOI & Remand Centre: mental health needs assessment and service review
- Supporting a CAF framework and multi-agency practice
- Team development for Independent Reviewing Officers
- The needs of disabled children and families
- Preparing for implementation of ICS
- Case study workshops
- Analytical skills for practitioners and managers
- Research Briefings for local authority councillors
Developing a proposal for a case-working model of assessing need
A project to develop a case-working model, as a means of addressing the needs of the seafaring community more effectively and enabling the many maritime charities to collaborate, pool resources and work jointly with other service providers.
Commissioned by: Maritime Charities Funding Group
A review of safeguarding in the children's secure estate
Visits to Secure Training Centres and Secure Children's Homes, to complement visits to Young Offender Institutions by another team. Including scrutiny of procedures and practice tools, and interviews with staff and children, to ascertain views about the arrangements for child protection, self-harm and anti-bullying.
Commissioned by: Youth Justice Board & National Children's Bureau
Facilitating work on the section of the Social Exclusion Task Force Action Plan that promotes the development of guiding principles for evaluating services for vulnerable groups. A Code of Practice will be used by Local Strategic Partnerships to help commissioners and providers identify 'what works'. Several local authorities will be brought together to identify the messages from practice that need to inform the Code's content and style and the evidence with which to judge and grade the effectiveness of interventions across children's services.
Commissioned by: National Foundation for Educational Research, Cabinet Office & research in practice
Promoting mental health for children held in secure settings: a framework for commissioning services
Developing and writing a commissioning framework to help health commissioners and their partners ensure that children in secure settings have fair access to comprehensive child and adolescent mental health services. With follow-up work to test implementation in different regions. With Zarrina Kurtz.
Commissioned by: Department of Health
Evaluation of a project for young black males and their families
A report to inform the DH overview of projects funded by the CAMHS Grant for NSF Development Initiatives, 2005-2007. The project evaluated was The Aspire Project, a joint initiative of boys2MEN in partnership with Brent CAMHS
Commissioned by: Coram Family
Developing an evidence-based family support strategy
Establishing the needs of children and families in touch with children's services from statutory and voluntary sector providers, to serve as baseline information for developing a family support strategy in partnership with the county Programme Board.
Commissioned by: Cardiff County Council
Improved support for parents with substance misuse or mental health problems
Carrying out a mapping of needs, services and stakeholder views in two local authority areas, to inform the development of improved support services for families when parents have substance misuse or mental health problems.
Commissioned by: National Children's Bureau
Evaluating the first year of a Local Safeguarding Children Board
Evaluation of the first year of the LSCB in Tower Hamlets, facilitation of a workshop to discuss recommendations, and a report of suggestions for action.
Commissioned by: LB Tower Hamlets, via research in practice
Feltham YOI & Remand Centre: mental health needs assessment and service review
A study of staff views, young people's needs and messages from research and practice, to help the PCT discharge its new responsibility for commissioning mental health services into the YOI. With Roger Catchpole and Jennie Crickmay.
Commissioned by: Hounslow PCT, via YoungMinds
Supporting a CAF framework and multi-agency practice
A pilot project in one area to develop and test systems to prepare for implementation of the CAF across all agencies. Included training about the concepts underpinning assessment, developing local procedures, consultation on new approaches, and planning future training to maximise opportunities for effective service provision. Workplace coaching offered to agencies and organisations in the pilot area, for all local schools, health providers, children's centres and voluntary organisations. Followed by development of strategy for multi-agency implementation beyond the pilot.
Commissioned by: Herefordshire County Council
Team development for Independent Reviewing Officers
A series of one-day sessions with a team of IROs, building on the supportive team environment to increase their impact on changing and developing practice. Using case discussions, identifying training needs and sharing research materials.
Commissioned by: Caerphilly County Borough Council
The needs of disabled children and families
A local audit of the needs of disabled children, with research to help provide an improved evidence base on which to extend and develop multi-agency service responses.
Commissioned by: Caerphilly County Borough Council
Preparing for implementation of ICS
A series of learning sets with middle managers to focus on developing and promoting good practice in line with policy and procedural expectations prior to the implementation of the Integrated Children's System (ICS). Followed by a proposal developed by middle managers for individual mentoring sessions.
Commissioned by: Caerphilly County Borough Council
A series of workshops based on a particular topic focussing on relevant research evidence, introducing a particular approach to analysis and inviting participants to apply the approach to case material from their own practice. Recent topics have included family placement, parental mental health and core assessments.
Commissioned by: research in practice
Analytical skills for practitioners and managers
A series of one-day workshops for social work practitioners and their managers looking at a needs-based, outcome-focussed analytical approach to assessment and planning.
Commissioned by South Somerset County Council
Research Briefings for local authority councillors
A series of research briefings with the aim of providing information about key research findings, good practice, and policy developments that will help councillors improve outcomes for children and families in need by ensuring that adequate and effective services are provided for them.
- Promoting mental health for children across children’s services.
Commissioned by: research in practice and I&DeA