The RESPECT billboard: envisaging a future without racism for children

The RESPECT Project (Racialised Experiences Project: Education, Children & Trust) has been funded by both UKRI and UWE, Bristol, and responds to calls to understand children’s racialised experiences and the impact this has on their mental health and wellbeing. Working with children, we co-produced a children’s picture book called If Racism Vanished for a Day…… Read More

Removing the “Reasonable Punishment” Defence in Wales

A paper written by Professor Sally Holland, former Children’s Commissioner for Wales traces the history of attempted legislation around corporal punishment of children from the A v UK (Council of Europe 1998) case to the present day. The paper reflects on the challenges of getting said Act passed, outlining how Julie Morgan MP for Cardiff… Read More

“My adventures in the Innowalk”: an illustrated storybook

By Dawn Pickering This illustrated storybook was created from a research study that explored the well-being effects from disabled children using the Innowalk. The Innowalk (Made for Movement, 2023) is a robotic device that supports non ambulant people to stand upright and move, by passively cycling their legs. The Innowalk is reported to have health… Read More

Child Protection Practice in England: working with non-resident fathers

Research studies have consistently found a lack of engagement between social workers and fathers in child protection practice, which has often resulted in missed opportunities for fathers to be assessed as either a risk to, or a resource for their children. One reason that fathers are not considered is because mothers are often constructed as… Read More

If Racism Vanished for a Day…

By Luci Gorell Barnes A newly published paper from the study presents an overview of our research methodology. In it we discuss how we developed our relational and ethical arts-based approach, which aimed to foreground the children’s voices, and support their explorations of the nuanced and complex relationships between their external worlds and internal feelings.… Read More

“They Finally See Me, They Trust Me, My Brother’s Coming Home”

There is an increased understanding of the role of kinship care in raising children where their parents cannot. A lot of the media stories and current research talk about grandparents who step up and become the full-time carer for their grandchildren. However, kinship carers can be anyone who has a connection to a child – an aunt, a neighbour, a best friend’s family. They can also be the older brother or sister of the child needing an alternative carer. Read More

‘Talking about Race’ Resource for Primary Schools

Talking about Race’ is a new illustrated resource with an accompanying video, intended to support first conversations about race in primary schools. The ’Talking about Race’ resource is intended to disseminate messages from my research in 2010-2011, which focused on younger children’s navigation of race and belonging in two primary schools, back to schools and… Read More