Social Work and Social Care Student Profiles

Cummings, Aimee

Cummings, Aimee
Research Topic:
The mental health needs of children and young people in care
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Donald Forrester and Professor Katherine Shelton
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

There has been an increasing interest in the well-being of children and young people in care in recent years, with research identifying a range of poor outcomes, including poor mental health. It is unclear whether the ‘looked after’ status of children and young people has an effect on how long they have to wait to access mental health treatment. It is also equally unclear what the levels of engagement are by young people across different mental health support services.

My research questions are:

  1. What are the mental health needs of children and young people in care in Wales?
    a. How are these needs being met?
    b. What are the services being offered?
    c. What are the levels of engagement by young people across different services?
  2. What effect do multiple placements have on the treatment that young people may be receiving?
    a. When moving between placements, what information are young people given about support in their new area?

My research will use a mixed methods design, using quantitative analysis of datasets to inform current mental health needs of young people in care and qualitative methods will be used to examine multiple parties’ opinions regarding services and how placement moves may affect access to services.

Website:
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/1228609-cummings-aimee

Dolan, Steven M.

Start date:
October 2011
Research Topic:
An investigative study: exploring the coordination of multi-agency resettlement strategies for young people leaving secure accommodation.
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Sally Holland & Dr Kirsty Hudson
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

My PhD will have the primary focus on revealing how local multi-agency partnerships are approaching joint planning for the resettlement of young people leaving the secure estate. The research is interested in the ways that various models of coordination are initiated by relevant statutory and voluntary agencies to set up support prior to release, and how these strategies enhance or impede a positive transition back into the community.

For my Research Masters (MSc), I am currently conducting a series of qualitative case studies into Youth Offending Teams in South Wales. Due to their local partnership model, the research is interested in gaining the perspectives of front-line and senior staff to find out what is working well locally, whilst also gaining insight into some of the obstacles and challenges. The intention is to explore the effectiveness of joint working and how resources are being shared at a local level and across authorities. I am particularly interested in how partnerships view themselves in relational terms, and the extent to which this is influenced by current funding arrangements. I also intend to explore the extent to which young people are involved in planning and decision making – and how policy translates into practice.

Elliott, Martin

Martin Elliott
Start date:
October 2013
Research Topic:
An analysis of the backgrounds of children entering public care (looked-after children) in Wales
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Jonathan Scourfield & Dr. Sin Yi Cheung
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

The intention of the research is to explore through the use of quantitative analysis, the variations in numbers of children ‘looked-after’, both between Welsh local authorities and between England and Wales.

Endicott, Angela

Start date:
October 2017
Research Topic:
Social Work
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Jonathan Scourfield
Supervising school:
Primary funding source:
ESRC

My area of research is Child Welfare Inequalities in the Four Nations of the UK. It builds on research that identified children are much more likely to come into the child protection system and into care (i.e. be ‘looked after’) in areas which are more deprived. Furthermore, there are big differences in intervention rates between the nations of the UK, with the rate of looked-after children in Wales, for example, being 1.5 higher than that in England. The proposed project will explore this terrain of child welfare inequalities and variation between nations. It will explore questions such as why looked-after children rates are higher in Wales than those in England, even after taking account of the relatively higher levels of deprivation in Wales and how the social gradient, with children in more deprived areas more likely to be looked after or in the child protection system, is different in Wales from in the other four nations of the UK.

Grinter, Faye

Faye Grinter
Start date:
October 2015
Research Topic:
Redefining Professional Boundaries - Relationship Centred Practice in the Care for Older People with Dementia
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Fiona Verity
Supervising school:
College of Human and Health Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

My PhD aims to identify the key features of a relationship-based practice for older people with dementia, to examine innovative approaches in social care and to develop policy and practice relevant evidence that supports replicable application of relationship-centred practice. Additionally, the project aims to explore how practitioners balance rights, risks and responsibilities when caring for an older person with dementia that is allied to a person-centred approach, within the context of increasing bureaucratic procedures and processes within social care. The project will be co-produced with people affected by dementia to ensure they are recognised as equal and active stakeholders.

Hadaway-Morgan, Kemba

Picture of Kemba Hadaway-Morgan
Research Topic:
Race Ethnicity and Dementia A qualitative study to explore the ways African Caribbean Peoples dementia care needs are understood and perceived by social workers in Wales
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Tom Slater former Dr Daniel Burrows Dr Sin Yi Cheung
Supervising school:
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship
Research keywords:

This study will focus specifically on persons with dementia, living in Wales, who identify as African Caribbean, (ACP). The study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of how social workers who engage with this group, understand race and ethnicity in the context of dementia care service provision for this group.

The proposed study is important, as it seeks to:
1. to draw on conceptualizations of race, ethnicity and how these influence practitioners when undertaking social work tasks with ACP with dementia.
2. to explore and understand from the perspective of the social worker how critical race theory and intersectional theory are utilized when undertaking social work tasks with ACP in the context of dementia care.
3. to understand the existing structures that support or hinder social work with ACP with dementia.

The study has the potential to:
1. build research interest and raise awareness of the impact of dementia on ACP populations in Wales.
2. To give a voice to the ACP with dementia population that has been overlooked within the context of social work research.
2. To explore the strengths and weaknesses of current dementia care services within the ACP context.

The study is vital for policy makers as it would inform the development of a dementia care pathway and policy framework for culturally appropriate dementia care and support services.

The findings of this study can be used to promote the development of a strategy to help other minority groups access suitable dementia care services.

The research hopes to stimulate interdisciplinary research in dementia within the ACP context whilst encouraging ACP with dementia to participate in research. Findings of this research would be shared with social work educators, social worker, at workshops, conferences, ACP with dementia forums and available for reviewing at open access publications.

Hutchinson, Dawn

Start date:
October 2018
Research Topic:
The role of the Fostering Self model of identity in supporting foster placement stability for Looked After children
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Alyson Rees, Dawn Mannay
Supervising school:
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship
Research keywords:
; ; ; ; ; ;

Looked After children often experience complex traumatic stress resulting from disrupted attachments, multiple caregivers, and exposure to abuse and neglect; these factors may occur prior to becoming Looked After, or result from experiences in the care system. Such events can affect the emotional wellbeing of children and young people and those caring for them; affecting carers’ ability to respond in a trauma-informed manner and causing compassion fatigue or neurological ‘blocked care’. When planning to prevent or ameliorate the impact of this, in order to support placement stability and Looked After children’s emotional wellbeing, it is necessary to begin with exploring carers’ experiences.

Through my previous research with foster carers (as part of an MSc in Psychological Trauma) I proposed the ‘Fostering Self’ model of identity. This model recognises foster carers’ dual role-identities (of personal ‘parent’ and professional ‘carer’), and promotes a restorative, reflective space to provide mitigating responses to personal and organisational vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue in settings where adults work with or care for individuals with unresolved childhood trauma. The model therefore aims to support foster placement stability through supporting foster carer wellbeing.

My thesis will explore, examine, and provide detailed analysis of the lived experiences of foster carers within a Local Authority setting, in order to understand the role of the ‘Fostering Self’ model of identity in supporting placement stability for Looked After children and young people.

Aims:

  • Develop the ‘Fostering Self’ theory and model.
  • Explore Local Authority foster carers’ experiences of the ‘Fostering Self’ model of identity.
  • Explore how the model could support placement stability.
  • Consider challenges in applying the model, and potential solutions to these.

Janes, Edward

Janes, Edward
Start date:
October 2017
Research Topic:
Young carers and mental health
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Prof Donald Forrester and Dr GJ Melendez
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship
Research keywords:
;

Caring lives: What do young people who care for family members need to thrive?

Young carers are children and young people who care for members of their families who have a disability or long term illness. Their responsibilities vary with the person who they care for and the nature of their illness, and previous research has found a diverse range of impacts on their lives.

The mixed methods research aims to build on previous research by developing and refining a theory of the causal relationship between being a young carer and mental health. My research questions include:

  1. What are the mental health impacts of caring for a family member over time, and how does their mental health compare with their peers?
  2. What are the causal mechanisms underpinning young carers and mental health?
  3. Is there a need to better support young carers, and what could a positive support intervention look like?

The research stages are as follows:

  1. To develop a realist synthesis of previous young carers literature, leading to the development of an initial theory.
  2. Longitudinal quantitative analysis of young carers and mental health with analysis of change over time and comparison with the wider population.
  3. Qualitative work with young carers to further test and refine the theory.
  4. Consideration of the need for a positive support intervention for young carers.

Jones, Rebecca

Start date:
October 2019
Research Topic:
Policy making in social work - the case of Independent Visiting
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Donald Forrester
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC
Research keywords:
; ; ;

In England and Wales, a policy to provide independent adults to act as ‘visitors’ for children who are looked-after has existed, in some form, in childcare legislation since 1969. Under the most recent re-formulation, all children in care are eligible to be considered for an Independent Visitor (IV) if it is in their ‘best interests’. Despite this, very few children in care receive one (3% in England and less than 1% in Wales) and there is evidence to suggest that the policy is increasingly marginalised in practice.

Gaps between policy and practice are commonly cited issues in social work research, as well as in studies of social policy more widely (Hudson et al. 2019). However, the contrast in this case appears particularly sharp: the policy lays out a theoretically universal provision for looked-after children, which in practice reaches only a very small minority of those eligible.

This case study will take a ‘bottom-up approach’ to policy making to understand why this is the case by using IV policy as a case study of policy making in CSC. It will explore how policy and practice surrounding providing Independent Visitors for children in care has developed over time and why, and examine what this might tell us about the relationship between policy making, implementation and evaluation in children’s social work.

Manistre, Laura Mayhew

Manistre, Laura Mayhew
Start date:
October 2019
Research Topic:
Adolescent Mental Health Care Leavers Mental Health and Transistions
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Donald Forrester
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship
Research keywords:
; ; ;

My background is in Youth Work practice. I hold an MA in CAMHS. Professional values such as promoting participation and developing social capitol are fundamental to my approach in practice and research.

I am currently undertaking an ESRC funded PhD, a Realist Evaluation looking at ‘What works to support care leavers mental health, wellbeing and transitions’.

I plan to work closely with stakeholders in both the statutory and charity sector, as well as working alongside young people with care experience, as the experts in this field.

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-manistre-188b456a/

Messenger, Rebecca

Start date:
October 2017
Research Topic:
Exploring the relationship between poverty, inequality and child neglect
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Prof Donald Forrester and Dr Annie Williams
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,

Poverty and inequality are rising in the UK and so to are numbers children in care. The prevailing neo-liberal discourse blames parents for their circumstances, failing to acknowledge the impact of poverty on child neglect and abuse. Current risk averse responses to child abuse and neglect seek to “rescue” or “save” children by removing them early from their families.

It is against this background that my PhD research aims to explore the intricacies of the relationship between poverty, inequality and child neglect in one Cardiff neighborhood. Using ethnographic and action research methods I seek to co-produce an explanatory model based on family and community understandings of child neglect and to consider whether a practicable community response to child neglect can be developed.

Moore, Rosie

Moore, Rosie
Start date:
October 2020
Research Topic:
Learning lessons: Informing suicide prevention from a documentary analysis of Child Practice Reviews and Adult Practice Reviews
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Tom Slater and Dr Alyson Rees
Supervising school:
Primary funding source:
ESRC
External Sponsor:
Health and Care Research Wales
Research keywords:
; ; ;

Suicide is a devastatingly prevalent public health issue and a key area of preventable death. Studies suggest that a large proportion of individuals who go on to attempt or complete suicide have had contact with services in the preceding year (Slater et al. 2015). This could be explained by the risk of suicide associated with social circumstances faced by individuals in need of services such as social deprivation, mental ill health and substance abuse (Slater et al. 2015). Additionally, suicidality is a source of considerable anxiety for practitioners (Slater et al. 2015; Briggs et al. 2017). Therefore, more research must utilise available sources to explore how services can be better informed to protect vulnerable people at risk of suicide.

When a vulnerable child or adult in Wales dies by suicide, a multi-agency practice review is commissioned to explore the lessons that can be learned from the case primarily with the view of mitigating future incidents. To date, there has been no comprehensive attempt to systematically review all Child Practice Reviews (CPRs) and Adult Practice Reviews (APRs) where a probable suicide death has occurred. Therefore, this project will utilise these valuable sources of data and explore how services can be better informed to protect vulnerable people at risk of suicide. The project will adopt a qualitative approach, combining a thematic analysis of documentary data with interviews with key stakeholders.

Murray, Andrea

Andrea Murray
Start date:
October 2014
Research Topic:
Investigating The Experiences of Informal Carers Within the Process of Long-Term Care Admissions: Implications for Social Work Practice
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr. Sara MacBride-Stewart, Dr. Alyson Rees
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

Whilst the primary responsibility for choosing and organising long term care placements most frequently falls to informal carers; the experiences of this group are relatively under-researched in comparison to studies focussed upon older people as they transition into care home settings.

This study will aim to:

  • Contribute to existing understandings of the experiences of family care-givers as they facilitate care home admission for older people
  • Explore the nature of support specifically required in facilitating the effective adjustment of family care-givers to long-term placement.
  • Consider the extent to which current social policy related to care home admissions and existing social work practice during placement reflects the concerns of informal care-givers and builds upon their need for specific types of support
  • In light of the above: to consider some of the actions that may be required (from both a policy and practice perspective), to enable practitioners to deliver interventions most suited to the needs of informal care-givers at a time of placement and therefore most likely to promote effective placement adjustment.

Newbury, Annemarie

Newbury, Annemarie
Start date:
September 2022
Research Topic:
Strengthening family responses for criminally exploited children
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Alyson Rees and Dr Nina Maxwell
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship
Research keywords:
; ; ; ;

Children who are criminally exploited are often extremely vulnerable, and at considerable risk of harm. Parents can be a protective factor for these children, thus, play an important role in supporting and safeguarding them. However, children who are exploited can display a range of challenging behaviours, and often, parents do not have the knowledge and awareness of criminal exploitation to understand these behaviours or to manage them effectively. Parents and extended family members need support from professionals to develop skills to effectively respond, support and protect their child from exploitation (The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2020).

To strengthen family responses to criminally exploited children, this research seeks to understand the role of parents as a protective factor for their child(ren), explore how services work with parents to address needs and mitigate risk, and identify the opportunities to further engage parents in the care and support of their child. An ethnographic approach will be used.

Parker, Rachel

Rachel Parker
Start date:
October 2016
Research Topic:
Understanding the Role of Schools in Adolescent Self Harming Behaviours
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Rhiannon Evans and Professor Jonathan Scourfield
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

My work centres upon understanding the needs of, and providing support for, the adolescent self-harm population group within secondary schools settings in Wales.
Secondary schools are key environments in regards to adolescent health behaviours and promotion, and although research is limited, schools can play an important role in identifying and responding to pupils’ emotional and mental health needs. This research project therefore aims to investigate the role of schools in regards to adolescent self-harm, specifically exploring staff and pupil perspectives regarding barriers and facilitators to schools intervening with students’ self-harm behaviour. This will help to develop system-level prevention and intervention.

ResearchGate:
Rachel_Parker6

Parr, Angharad

Angharad Parr
Start date:
October 2012
Research Topic:
The role of social work with older people with complex needs in times transition
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Judith Phillips
Supervising school:
College of Human and Health Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

My research involves the study of the role of social work with older people with complex needs in times of transition. More specifically, my PhD focuses upon older adult learning disabilities who take on the caring role, or who are in a mutual caring relationship. The research aims to explore mutual caring older families that involve a person with a learning disability, and examine their needs and experiences within the family, their caring role, and the role of social services. There is a great need to add to the current evidence base, especially given the increased life expectancy for people with learning disabilities. Further, the incidence of mutual caring appears to be growing, but the true extent of its increase is unknown as mutual caring amongst these older families often remains hidden. Many factors impact upon mutually caring older families, such as a) not fitting neatly into services and support, b) lack of recognition that they are carers, c) fear of interference, d) feeling judged, e) lack of infomation, f) lack of practical support, and g) social isolation.

Pell, Bethan

Start date:
October 2021
Research Topic:
Child to Parent Violence
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Rhiannon Evans and Dr Honor Young
Supervising school:
DECIPHer,
Primary funding source:
ESRC

Theorising inter-generational violence between children and parents: A qualitative study in Wales.

Child to parent violence (CPV) is highly prevalent internationally and within the UK. In the UK, the first large scale study conducted 2010-2013 found 1,892 reported incidents of CPV over one year. However, it is estimated that figures of CPV are increasing and have been particularly intensified by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

CPV is still significantly under-researched, particularly in Wales, despite it being a social care area of concern. It has been associated with a number of adverse child experiences including domestic violence and abuse in the home, which disproportionately affects children in care. Exposure to higher rates of adverse child experiences relates to poorer outcomes later in life, and evidence suggests greater inequality in Wales than England. Children who engage in CPV are also more likely to present with broader patterns of antisocial behaviour, which are highly linked to contact with social care services. CPV is also associated with negative physical and psychological health consequences, as well as significant economic costs.

There is no legal definition for CPV, or consensus on how to define it. It is currently acknowledged within the UK definition of Domestic Violence and Abuse and is therefore usually conceptualised and responded to as a form of Domestic Violence and Abuse. However, this definition does not sufficiently recognise the complexities of CPV. For example, it excludes CPV involving young people aged under 16, negates the consequences of labelling a child as a perpetrator, and does not account for the context of CPV (i.e. as a form of self-defence). Several definitions of CPV are used by different stakeholders (i.e. academics, practitioners, parents) which not only reinforces the complexity of the phenomena, but highlights the lack of conceptual framework on which the current knowledge base is formed.

Parents and practitioners have raised the need for clear and specific policy around CPV. Additionally, a recent inter-disciplinary workshop, establishing a future social and public health agenda for Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) research in Wales (https://decipher.uk.net/hosting-a-dva-research-workshop-online-what-did-we-learn/) identified understanding CPV as one of the key priorities in Wales. Developing a theoretical foundation on which to understand this phenomena has been recommended. This PhD addresses the current gap in knowledge; its aim is to theorise inter-generational violence between children and parents.

Pratchett, Rebecca

Start date:
October 2013
Research Topic:
Exploring the outcomes for children and young people in kinship care in South Wales.
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Paul Rees
Supervising school:
College of Human and Health Sciences,

My research focusses on kinship care, or family and friends care, in the United Kingdom with a particular focus on South Wales. As a placement option, kinship care has grown rapidly over the past 20 years with more than 170,000 children and young people currently thought to be living in such arrangements in the UK (Nandy, Selwyn, Farmer & Vaisey, 2011). The project is applied research working in close collaboration with the City and County of Swansea and Carmarthenshire County Council to examine the relative wellbeing and outcomes of children and young people in kinship care in South Wales, and strategies to maximise placement success.

LinkedIn:
uk.linkedin.com/pub/rebecca-pratchett/60/b7b/365/

Pye, Joanne

Start date:
October 2012
Research Topic:
Looked After Children and birth family contact
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Paul Rees
Supervising school:
College of Human and Health Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

This research project will investigate whether ‘contact’ between children who are looked after and their birth family impacts on the children’s development, stability, attainment, mental health, general well-being and aspirations. The project will examine the efficacy of using ‘contact’ purposely for the promotion of positive outcomes.

Reed, Hayley

Start date:
October 2016
Research Topic:
Coproducation of wellbeing interventions in secondary schools
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Prof Simon Murphy and Dr Rhiannon Evans
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

My PhD has two interlinked aims:

  1. To produce methodological guidance for the utilisation of coproduction in the development of school-based health interventions. This will support researchers and members of the public in coproducing quality health interventions, and provide research funders and peer reviewers with criteria to assess the quality of coproduction in research bids.
  2. To support students to coproduce substantive theories of how to tackle wellbeing in schools. The purpose is to compare the coproduced wellbeing theories with the current research evidence base, to see if stakeholders highlight theoretical gaps.

To achieve these aims, the objectives are to:

  1. Conduct a realist review of previous studies of coproduced school-based health interventions to understand coproduction.
  2. Conduct case study primary research with two secondary school cases that use coproduction to develop wellbeing interventions.

The research questions are:

  1. What coproduction processes are currently utilised in school-based health intervention development?
  2. What contextual factors and mechanisms are necessary for a successful coproduction process ?
  3. What wellbeing targets and what processes of change do the coproduced interventions developed focus on?
  4. Do the targets and processes of change highlight theoretical gaps in our understanding of wellbeing?
ResearchGate:
HayleyReed

Roberts, Louisa

Start date:
October 2021
Research Topic:
Young people mental health
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
David Wilkins
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC
External Sponsor:
HCRW
Research keywords:

Making the move: Understanding the transition of young people with social care needs from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to adult services
This studentship will explore the transition of young people with social care needs from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to adult services.
CAMHS find themselves in a period of unprecedented demand, a demand that will likely be transitioned to adulthood. Transitioning from CAMHS to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) is generally acknowledged to be a complex process with many young people often failing to qualify for support as adults.
Most of the current literature has focused on transitions solely to AMHS and has not looked at alternative pathways, or what happens to those who do not transition to AMHS. Equally there has been little identification of the complexities faced by those young people transitioning from CAMHS who have additional social care needs, such as those receiving support from local authority social services departments.
This research will explore the identified gaps in the evidence base and help to inform future practice, policy and research to ensure that young people with mental health needs are better supporting during their transitions to adulthood.

Rogers, Allyson

Allyson Rogers
Start date:
October 2016
Research Topic:
Age Friendly Wales
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Charles Musselwhite
Supervising school:
College of Arts and Humanities,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

This project is focused on Age friendly Wales, exploring accessibility when using mobility aids, with an interest in co-designing research with older people who use mobility aids.

Critical Gerontology seeks to understand the dynamic interaction between individuals and social structure, while mobilities offers a multi-disciplinary approach to exploring the man made systems which both assist and constrict human behaviour

Combining the mobilities paradigm with critical gerontology as both approaches acknowledge the role of systems in shaping everyday routines and lifestyles throughout the life-course. These systems both provide services and potentially inhibit individual choice, especially when individuals differ from the embodied norm. Linking these two theories will form the theoretical framework of the research.

Sheehan, Lucy

Sheehan, Lucy
Start date:
October 2017
Research Topic:
Knowledge and interactional possibilities across spaces of child protection practice
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Donald Forrester and Kate Moles
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

My PhD uses ethnographic and mobile methods to explore social work expertise, work practices, and interactional possibilities across spaces of practice. Social workers at the fieldwork sites plan to work with me to develop examples of promising practices emerging from a year of shadowing social workers in the office, family homes, meetings and court.

My research interest is social care generally, though I am interested in interdisciplinary research and have used varied research methods including detailed microanalysis of in talk interaction, ethnographic and mobile methods more broadly, and participatory research methods. I value developing flexible methodological approaches to social research that can constructively engage with one another.

Prior research includes a study of the interactional construction of poverty in social work home visits and I have a continued interest in such micro-practices. I also developed research with children and young people to evaluate their impact on policy consultation with Welsh Government and continue to be interested in the possibilities of co-constructed research. My professional background is in social care, I have worked in the voluntary and statutory sector, most recently as a social worker in child protection and substance misuse services. Alongside my PhD, I work as a Research Associate at Cascade and contribute to teaching.

Singleton, Aled

Aled Singleton
Start date:
October 2015
Research Topic:
Neighbourhoods and Older People
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr C.B.A. Musselwhite, Dr S.E. Rodgers
Supervising school:
College of Human and Health Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

Aled’s work considers the crossovers between the fields of ‘placemaking’ [human geography, architecture, planning and urban design] and gerontology. The latter study of the ageing population is starting to find its place within academia and public life as society realises that the median age is going up virtually everywhere in the World.

This research within Swansea University’s Centre for Innovative Ageing is an urban ethnography to consider wellbeing as people develop a relationship and attachment to place over their lifecourse. Through the use of GPS-mapped walk-along interviews mixed methods are intended to help society make sense of how people emotionally relate to, and negotiate, their local neighbourhoods; for example streets, green spaces, shops and public spaces.

The fieldwork will be conducted in Britain and take a ‘lifecourse’ approach to consider the relationships between place and health: how people in places have developed over time. The intention is to work closely with community-based organisations and artists who want to take a lead in making places age-friendly for their own localities.

Aled is Vice President of the Swansea University Postgraduate Research Society.

Recent articles

Singleton, A., 2016. Ageing Issues. British Society of Gerontology Blog
Available at: https://ageingissues.wordpress.com/2016/09/27/thoughts-ahead-of-mobility-mood-place-habitats-for-happy-healthy-ageing-conference/

Singleton, A., 2016. Ageing Issues. British Society of Gerontology Blog
Available at: https://ageingissues.wordpress.com/2016/10/21/mobility-mood-and-place-conference-reflections/

Conference presentations

Singleton, A., & Schifferes, J (2012). Reflections on action research towards resilience-building measures in an economically-deprived place. Paper presented at Cardiff International Conference on Sustainable Place-Making, Cardiff University

Singleton, A.,(2016). Is there a home within online place branding for dementia-friendly communities? Paper presented at British Society of Gerontology Conference, University of Stirling

Singleton, A.,(2016). Affect, emotion & place attachment: comparisons between methodologies in human geography & social psychology. Paper presented at College of Human and Health Sciences Postgraduate Conference, Swansea University

Smythe, Kara

Smythe, Kara
Start date:
September 2022
Research Topic:
Exploring the experience and use of long-acting reversible contraception among vulnerable population
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Honor Young and Gareth Thomas
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Wales
External Sponsor:
Public Health Wales

Exploring the uptake and provision of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) among ‘vulnerable’ groups: a mixed-methods study

This project focuses specifically on ethnic groups which are minoritised in Wales, and explores their experience in of accessing and using Long-Acting Reversible Contraception methods. It will employ a mixed-methods approach, with quantitative work that analyses use of LARC as reported in clinical records, both currently and over time. A survey component may also be included. The qualitative work hopes to examine the experience of LARC use among ‘vulnerable’ groups through semi-structured interviews/focus groups, both from a provider and user perspective. I hope to ground this work in the tenets of reproductive justice, while drawing on a feminist epistemology.

LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/karasmythe

Stevenson, Sylvia

Start date:
September 2019
Research Topic:
Reflect: A study examining the support services in place for parents at risk of compulsory child removals in Wales
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Louise Roberts and Dr Dawn Mannay
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC

Parents who have had a child compulsorily removed from their care are more likely to have a subsequent child removed. There are services across Wales which support these parents with the aim of reducing the number of subsequent pregnancies alongside helping the parents to make changes in their lives (Roberts et al. 2018). Reflect received £850,000 of funding in 2018 to roll out the service throughout Wales, being described by the Welsh Government as being a “key preventative work strand” (Welsh Government 2018). This research, which expands on the study I completed for my Masters programme (Hoyland 2021), looks to fill in gaps we have in our knowledge about the Reflect service. How does it support birth parents, how do parents and practitioners experience the service, and how does it differ across Wales?

This multi-site qualitative case study seeks to adopt ethnographic methods to paint a broad picture of the Reflect service in Wales.

References:

Hoyland, S. 2021. A study exploring how services in Wales support parents who have had a child removed from their care. Available at: https://www.exchangewales.org/services-for-parents-who-have-had-a-child-removed-from-their-care-a-new-study-in-wales/ [Accessed 06 July 2022].

Roberts, L., Maxwell, N., Messenger, R. and Palmer, C. 2018. Evaluation of Reflect in Gwent. Available at: https://www.exchangewales.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2020/03/7516f3_ad677bef7a884f92a13e8b38318fc612.pdf [Accessed 06 July 2022].

Welsh Government. 2018. Service helping to keep families together goes Wales-wide. Available at: https://gov.wales/service-helping-keep-families-together-goes-wales-wide-0 [Accessed 06 July 2022].

Waits, Charlotte

Waits, Charlotte
Start date:
September 2019
Research Topic:
Leadership in child protection services
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Donald Forrester
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship
Research keywords:
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My broad research interest is in identifying systems and approaches that promote effective social work with children and families.

My PhD topic is leadership and the question I ask is ‘what is leadership in child protection services?’. Although leadership is considered important for steering improvement in the children’s social care sector, the existing knowledge base is extremely limited. My aim is to advance leadership theory through an ethnographic study of leaders and leadership in local authority children’s services.

I retrained as a social worker in 2010 following an early career as a management consultant. My focus in recent years has been on child wellbeing and child protection and I have had interesting and varied roles in social work practice and research in England and Australia.

ResearchGate:
Charlotte_Waits2
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-waits-216b5656/

Warner, Nell

Nell Warner
Start date:
January 2016
Research Topic:
The impact of adversity on improvements in parental feelings of competence among Home-Start parents
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Chris Taylor and Dr Luke Sloan
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship
External Sponsor:
Home-Start UK

This PhD is examining the effectiveness of Home-Start support in improving parental feelings of competence among families facing different levels of adversity. Home-Start is a voluntary organisation which provides needs-based volunteer support to families with children five years old and under. Home-Start works according to a theory of change which suggests that social support can lead to improvements in the well-being of parents resulting in increased feelings of parental competence. This leads to more adaptive parental behaviour and improvements in child behaviour. This quantitative study is using Home-Start UK’s administrative data to investigating the nature and extent of adverse risk factors and adverse life events among families receiving Home-Start support. The effects adversity on both the way support is delivered and its effectiveness at improving parental feelings of competence are being examined.

Waters, Rachel

Rachel Waters
Start date:
October 2015
Research Topic:
The recovery approach in community mental health teams: a discourse analysis
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Dr Michael Arribas-Allyon, Dr Steven Stanley
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

The recovery approach in mental health focusses on how a person can live a rich and rewarding life despite the ongoing presence of mental illness symptoms. The approach is now a central tenet of mental health services both in Wales and internationally, however it is contested, with evidence of varying understandings between professional disciplines and between professionals and service users. Despite the commitment in policy to a recovery approach there is evidence that the bio-medical model still dominates in community mental health teams (CMHTs) and this raises questions regarding the future of the recovery approach in mental health.

My work will explore the relationships between discourses and reproduction of power in social practices and interactions within a CMHT. In particular I am interested in how recovery discourse is used in the CMHT to shape professional practice and interactions. I will use a variety of data including recordings of multi-disciplinary meetings, ethnographic field notes and policy documents.

LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rachel-waters-a80a424a

Wrigley, Zoe

Start date:
October 2016
Research Topic:
An analysis of referrals and outcomes for young people at risk of CSE
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Donald Forrester and Dr Sophie Hallett
Supervising school:
School of Social Sciences,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

Multi-agency working is a core feature of the service response to child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Wales, however there is little research understanding of what this looks like in practice.

The aim of this project is to provide an in-depth understanding of how multi-agency practitioner groups in Wales understand, navigate, and contribute to the construction of newly-implemented and evolving key concepts related to CSE, including risk and outcomes, within the context of inter-agency interactions, service planning, and decision making.

Social work, which can be defined as community-based response to social need, is a vital area for social science, especially in the light of fundamental ‘demand side’ shifts (e.g. age profile and other demographic changes) and ‘supply side’ re-conceptualisations (e.g. in regulation and provision). This pathway offers doctoral training with an emphasis on quantitative and outcome-focused research, which is particularly needed in the UK.

At Cardiff we have one of the largest groups of social work/social care doctoral students of any UK university and the School of Social Sciences is one of the largest such schools in the UK and a recognised centre of research excellence, scoring in the top three within the 2014 Research Excellence Framework. The School provides a diverse and challenging intellectual environment in which disciplines and fields of study benefit from continued exchange and interaction. Interdisciplinary combinations across a variety of funded projects, research centres and study groups are a hallmark of the School, as are impact and innovation.

The School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University has a vibrant research culture, and research students are a vital part of it. The School has a strong track record of international, peer-reviewed publication; it hosts several major disciplinary and methods-focused social science journals. Students on the Social Work and Social Care pathway routinely engage with staff and students from other disciplines and engage with the wide range of research centres, research groups and other forums hosted by the School.

The School supports and organises a number of doctoral cohort events including an annual PGR dinner (a social event and celebration of doctoral accomplishment); an annual doctoral student conference (including paper sessions and poster competition); the student-run Postgraduate Café, and various reading groups, which meet once a month to discuss a range of topics related to social research, politics and culture. In addition, the pathway has run an annual student-led doctoral social work and social care conference for several years. This event is led and run by the students themselves, and designed around their wants and needs.

Students on the ‘1+3’ route complete the specialist module Public Sector Management as part of the Social Science Research Methods programme, whilst also developing a breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills on this inter-disciplinary Masters. Subject-specific training and student development continues throughout the doctorate with a wide range of reading and discussion groups, roundtable sessions, seminar series, and data analysis workshops.