My PhD research investigates the outcomes and experiences for children and young people with statutory social work involvement who are not taken into care, remaining in the family home. Around 300,000 children in England receive statutory social care intervention at home under Child in Need or Child Protection Plan status yet there is surprisingly little research on the effectiveness of these interventions compared with the strong evidence base for children in out-of-home care and care leavers. My research examines whether these interventions make a difference to children’s mental health, wellbeing and educational outcomes, and if some groups of children are better served than others.
It deploys a mixed methods approach, drawing from:
- Quasi-experimental analyses of linked administrative data to track outcomes at a national and regional scale
- Interviews with children who received social care intervention to develop an understanding of they understand the role and impact of social workers in their lives
I came to this research with a passion for social enquiry and sociological theory that developed in my undergraduate studies, as well as a drive to improve the lives of young people, having spent many years volunteering and working in youth organisations and charities.
