Listing of research projects and reports

• read more about Happier, Healthier Professionals Phase Two: Randomised Controlled Trials and Pilots Conducted with Public-Sector Workforces
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  Happier, Healthier Professionals Phase Two: Randomised Controlled Trials and Pilots Conducted with Public-Sector Workforces

  The Happier, Healthier Professionals (HHP) research programme aims to build evidence around what works for social worker well-being. In this phase of the programme, we conducted six studies - four RCTs and two pilot studies - with frontline workforces.
• read more about Ethnic minority social workers in the UK: workforce representation, welfare, retention and progression – A rapid evidence review synthesis
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  Ethnic minority social workers in the UK: workforce representation, welfare, retention and progression – A rapid evidence review synthesis

  Ethnic minority social workers in the UK: workforce representation, welfare, retention and progression - A rapid evidence review synthesis
• read more about Outcomes for Black Children in Care: A rapid evidence review synthesis
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  Outcomes for Black Children in Care: A rapid evidence review synthesis

  This Rapid Review explores the body of work already focussing on Black children in care and highlights existing evidence gaps
• read more about Behaviour Outreach Support Service Pilot
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  Behaviour Outreach Support Service Pilot

  This pilot evaluation explores the implementation of the Behaviour Outreach Support Service (BOSS), delivered by Family Action.
• read more about COVID-19 Report: How local authorities have adapted social work practice
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  COVID-19 Report: How local authorities have adapted social work practice

  The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown raised large concerns over how social workers would be able to still deliver the support needed for the families they work with. This COVID-19 Report looks at six of the initiatives rapidly implemented by local authorities' children's services to adapt their practice in response to Covid-19.
• read more about Strengthening Families, Protecting Children: No Wrong Door Pilot Evaluation Report
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  Strengthening Families, Protecting Children: No Wrong Door Pilot Evaluation Report

  This pilot evaluation explores early implementation of the No Wrong Door model in Middlesbrough.
• read more about Springboard: Supporting care experienced young people with their next steps in further and higher education
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  Springboard: Supporting care experienced young people with their next steps in further and higher education

  Findings from the Springboard pilot project, to understand if an intervention sending letters from peers in higher and further education to care experienced young people could be implemented successfully.
• read more about Learning from Innovation – Summaries of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme Round Two Evaluations
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  Learning from Innovation – Summaries of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme Round Two Evaluations

  A summary of the findings and quality of the impact evaluations of 50 projects funded in the context of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme Round Two.
• read more about Our First Two Years
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  Our First Two Years

  A summary of some of our work and key achievements during our first two years.
• read more about Strengthening Families, Protecting Children: Family Valued Pilot Evaluation Report
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  Strengthening Families, Protecting Children: Family Valued Pilot Evaluation Report

  This pilot evaluation explores early implementation of the Family Valued Model in Darlington.
• read more about Evaluation of the Tiny Tots College Programme
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  Evaluation of the Tiny Tots College Programme

  An evaluation of the Tiny Tots College Programme, delivered by Affinity 2020 Community Interest Company and Unravel - a programme developed to support care-experienced young parents (up to the age of 25) to improve attachment and parental knowledge/confidence.
• read more about A Randomised Controlled Trial of Schwartz Rounds
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  A Randomised Controlled Trial of Schwartz Rounds

  An evaluation of the impact of Schwartz Rounds - a collaborative discussion group for staff, focusing on the social and emotional aspects of work - in reducing psychological distress in staff in ten children’s social care departments, conducted by CASCADE, Cardiff University.
• read more about Matching in Foster Care Systematic Review
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  Matching in Foster Care Systematic Review

  A systematic review exploring the lived experience of matching children with foster families and examining the evidence on the outcomes of matching decisions.
• read more about Evaluation of the Worcestershire Children First Back to School Programme
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  Evaluation of the Worcestershire Children First Back to School Programme

  An evaluation of the Worcestershire Children First Back to School Programme - a programme developed to support families who were struggling with the return to school in September 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• read more about A Randomised Controlled Trial of a ‘Checklist’ Intervention to Mitigate Confirmation Bias and Improve Forecasting Accuracy in Social Work
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  A Randomised Controlled Trial of a ‘Checklist’ Intervention to Mitigate Confirmation Bias and Improve Forecasting Accuracy in Social Work

  This study examines the impact of a Checklist intervention through a randomised controlled trial, exploring the differences it made in relation to forecasting abilities and confirmation bias.
• read more about Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Policies, Programmes and Interventions that Improve Outcomes for Young People Leaving the Out-of-Home Care System
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  Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Policies, Programmes and Interventions that Improve Outcomes for Young People Leaving the Out-of-Home Care System

  This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the effectiveness of policies, programmes and interventions which improve outcomes for care leavers transitioning into adult living arrangements.
• read more about Strengthening Families, Protecting Children: Family Safeguarding Pilot Evaluation Report
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  Strengthening Families, Protecting Children: Family Safeguarding Pilot Evaluation Report

  This pilot evaluation explores early implementation of Family Safeguarding in Trailblazer Local Authority Cambridgeshire.
• read more about Analysis of Safeguarding Partners’ Yearly Reports 2019-2020
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  Analysis of Safeguarding Partners’ Yearly Reports 2019-2020

  A report by WWCSC and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel setting out the key findings from a compliance audit and ‘deep dive’ analysis of safeguarding partnerships’ yearly reports
• read more about Happier, Healthier Professionals: Small scale interventions to improve social worker well-being
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  Happier, Healthier Professionals: Small scale interventions to improve social worker well-being

  The Happier, Healthier Professionals (HHP) research programme aims to build evidence around what works for social worker well-being. Three trials were developed in consultation with 35 local authorities across England, with trials launching between April and October 2019.
• read more about Supervision of Designated Safeguarding Leads in Primary Schools in Bolton
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  Supervision of Designated Safeguarding Leads in Primary Schools in Bolton

  This study explores the impact of providing regular, individual supervision to Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) in primary schools in Bolton.
• read more about Impact of Signs of Safety on Outcomes for Children
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  Impact of Signs of Safety on Outcomes for Children

  An analysis of the impact of Signs of Safety on outcomes for children and families in 9 local authorities that implemented Signs of Safety as part of the Department for Education’s Innovation Programme.
• read more about Searching for research studies in children’s social care: Some techniques and tools
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  Searching for research studies in children’s social care: Some techniques and tools

  This report looks at five techniques that may help with a search for research studies in children’s social care.
• read more about Unlocking the Facts: Young people referred to Secure Children’s Homes
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  Unlocking the Facts: Young people referred to Secure Children’s Homes

  The report provides a picture of young people in England referred to secure accommodation for welfare reasons - their pathways; their placement in either a secure children's home or alternative accommodation; and their outcomes following referral.
• read more about Machine Learning in Children’s Services: Does it work?
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  Machine Learning in Children’s Services: Does it work?

  Summary Children’s Services departments have substantial amounts of data available to them. This, combined with advances in computing power and algorithms, opens up the possibility of using machine learning to identify children at risk – allowing social workers to use their time to work directly with families. However, to date it has been unclear just […]
• read more about Promoting the Retention, Mental Health, and Wellbeing of Child and Family Social Workers: A Systematic Review of Workforce Interventions
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  Promoting the Retention, Mental Health, and Wellbeing of Child and Family Social Workers: A Systematic Review of Workforce Interventions

  A systematic review of interventions designed to improve the retention, mental health and wellbeing of child and family social workers.
• read more about Social Workers in Schools: An evaluation of a pilot in three local authorities in England
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  Social Workers in Schools: An evaluation of a pilot in three local authorities in England

  Summary This evaluation looked at three pilot projects which embedded social workers in schools. It explored how working in this way might help reduce referrals, support schools, and reduce the need for children to enter care. Schools play a key part in keeping children safe, and tend to be a source of many referrals to […]
• read more about Care-Experienced Young People and Higher Education
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  Care-Experienced Young People and Higher Education

  Summary Care-experienced young people in the United Kingdom are less likely to attend university than peers who have not been in care.  This study set out to find out more about this situation, particularly the expectations care experienced young people held towards university attendance during the years leading up to university application and how these […]
• read more about Devolved Budgets: An Evaluation of Pilots in Three Local Authorities in England
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  Devolved Budgets: An Evaluation of Pilots in Three Local Authorities in England

  The findings of a pilot project evaluating the use of Devolved Budgets to safely reduce the need for children and young people to enter care in three Local Authorities in England
• read more about Outcomes-Focused Supervision: A Pilot and Feasibility Study
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  Outcomes-Focused Supervision: A Pilot and Feasibility Study

  A pilot feasibility study exploring whether and how giving training to supervisors might work to make a positive difference for families, and to test the kinds of research design and outcome measures that would be useful in a larger-scale trial.
• read more about What Works in Education for Children who have had Social Workers
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  What Works in Education for Children who have had Social Workers

  A re-analysis of data from 63 randomised controlled trials, funded by the EEF, to look at the impacts of educational interventions on the attainment of young people who have had a social worker. Published January 2020.
• read more about Impact Of Shared Decision-making Family Meetings On Children’s Out-of-home Care, Family Empowerment and Satisfaction
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  Impact Of Shared Decision-making Family Meetings On Children’s Out-of-home Care, Family Empowerment and Satisfaction

  A review of the international evidence on the outcomes of shared decision-making family meetings.
• read more about Ethics Review of Machine Learning in Children’s Social Care
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  Ethics Review of Machine Learning in Children’s Social Care

  SummaryThis report: Reviews the ethical criteria that would make the use of machine learning (ML) in children’s social care (CSC) justifiable and examines the problematic contexts in which such criteria may not be met; Identifies requirements and best practice for the responsible use of ML in CSC; Presents recommendations for a way forward.  Objectives The […]
• read more about Mapping the evidence about what works to safely reduce the entry of children and young people into statutory care: A systematic scoping review
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  Mapping the evidence about what works to safely reduce the entry of children and young people into statutory care: A systematic scoping review

  Summary The increasing number of children and young people entering statutory care in the UK is a significant social, health and educational priority. Development of effective approaches to safely reduce this number remains a complex but critical issue. Despite an increase in interventions, evidence summaries are limited. This study is a scoping review; using systematic […]
• read more about Safely reducing the need for children to enter care
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  Safely reducing the need for children to enter care

  Summary The number of children entering care has increased substantially over the last 20 years. In 1997 in England there were 50,900 children in care and this had risen to 72,670 in 2017, an increase of 43 per cent. This has led to considerable public expression of concern, including the publication of the recent Care […]
• read more about Signs of Safety: Findings from a mixed-methods systematic review focused on reducing the need for children to be in care
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  Signs of Safety: Findings from a mixed-methods systematic review focused on reducing the need for children to be in care

  Summary Signs of Safety (SoS) is a framework for child protection practice. SoS aims to stabilise and strengthen families through working in collaboration to identify and harness their strengths and resources. This places relationships between social workers and parents at the centre of child protection. Signs of Safety: Findings from a mixed-methods systematic review focussed […]
• read more about Shared Decision-Making: What is good practice in delivering meetings?
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  Shared Decision-Making: What is good practice in delivering meetings?

  Involving families meaningfully in decision-making to keep children safely at home Summary Shared decision-making is a feature of a number of service-delivery models, such as Family Group Conferencing, Family Group Decision-Making and Family Unity Meetings. Underpinning all these models is a commitment to ensuring that children and families are involved in decision-making about their own […]
• read more about How family budget change interventions affect children being in care
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  How family budget change interventions affect children being in care

  Understanding how changes to family budgets can affect the likelihood of children being in care Summary This rapid evidence assessment aims to summarise the research evidence on how changing a family budget can affect the likelihood of children being in care. The evidence included two very different approaches – (1) interventions to increase the money […]
• read more about Overview of administrative data on children’s social care in England
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  Overview of administrative data on children’s social care in England

  Providing an overview of the administrative data on children's social care that exists, how the data is currently used, and suggesting ways it could be used for future research