rtb - current work

Health and Well-being Strategy - for children and young people involved in the youth justice system
Building capacity to meet the mental health needs of young people in alternative education (Pupil Referral Units)
Developing needs-led, outcome focused services
Children in secure accommodation
Research in Practice Change Project: Analysis and Critical Thinking in Assessment
Assessment skills and analysis
Coaching programme for practitioners to improve assessment skills
Cardiff Family Support Strategy
Implementing a multi-agency consultation process
Coaching programme for practitioners to improve assessment skills
Assessment skills and analysis
Independent social work assessments
Evaluation of the pilot Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC)
Developing needs-led, outcome focused services
Research briefings for local authority councillors

Health and Well-being Strategy - for children and young people involved in the youth justice system

Preparing commissioning guidance to improve access to relevant health services for children and young people in contact with Youth Offending Teams in the community and held in secure settings. This is development work arising from the cross-Government strategy, Healthy Children, Safer Communities, launched in December 2009.

Building capacity to meet the mental health needs of young people in alternative education (Pupil Referral Units)

A three-year project working with 5 local authorities to assess the needs of young people in PRUs and design, implement and evaluate ways in which teaching and non-teaching staff can develop their work in responding to the needs identified.

Developing needs-led, outcome focused services

A project to achieve organisational and cultural change at all levels to support the development of services which are needs-led and outcome focused rather than service-led and process focused. The project includes facilitating a series of learning sets with middle managers to develop and promote good practice at a time of organisational change; audits of local need to inform integrated planning within the new locality-based structure; learning sets with senior managers to enable them to plan services using the same needs-based approach; and the delivery of workshops for practitioners and independent reviewing officers. A Community Care Excellence Award has acknowledged progress made in Phase 1 of the work. Phase 2 will focus on embedding the work, particularly in relation to commissioning and workforce development across the Children's Trust.

Children in secure accommodation

An analysis of the needs of a group of children admitted to secure accommodation in one local area, to understand how such admissions might be reduced in future.

Research in Practice Change Project: Analysis and Critical Thinking in Assessment

Working alongside managers and practitioners to develop a set of evidence-informed resources and approaches to promote analysis and critical thinking in assessment.

Assessment skills and analysis

Delivery of workshops for team managers using case material to develop analytical skills in assessment.

Coaching programme for practitioners to improve assessment skills

A series of workshops for teams and individual practitioners to introduce a needs-based outcome-focused approach to analysing practitioners' cases.

Cardiff Family Support Strategy

An audit of the needs of children and families in touch with social care, health, education and a range of voluntary organisations across the city, to inform the family support strategy.

Implementing a multi-agency consultation process

A series of workshops for practitioners and managers across the LSCB focusing on analysis and assessment in preparation for the implementation of a multi-agency consultation process.

Coaching programme for practitioners to improve assessment skills

A series of workshops for teams and individual practitioners to introduce a needs-based outcome-focused approach to analysing practitioners’ cases.

Assessment skills and analysis

Delivery of workshops for all front line social work staff and their managers using case material to develop analytical skills in assessment.

Independent social work assessments

Undertaking independent social work assessments using the concepts need, seriousness of need, outcome and plan.

Evaluation of the pilot Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC)

Working as part of the research team evaluating this pilot problem-solving court at an Inner-London Family Proceedings Court. The project is funded for 30 months. It will include a descriptive study of how the pilot is set up plus an evaluation of outcomes for children and parents whose cases are heard in the FDAC, as compared with cases dealt with through normal care proceedings. For the interim report, go to the end of the home page at www.brunel.ac.uk/fdacresearch.

Developing needs-led, outcome focused services

A project to achieve organisational and cultural change at all levels which supports the development of services which are needs-led and outcome focused rather than service-led and process focused. The project includes: facilitating a series of learning sets with middle managers to develop and promote good practice at a time of organisational change; audits of local need to inform integrated planning within the new locality-based structure; learning sets with senior managers to enable them to plan services using the same needs-based approach; the delivery of workshops for practitioners and independent reviewing officers.

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.

Protecting children from significant harm.