‘This is not just about history…’ Addressing the disconnect in historic (non-recent) child abuse investigations

Key Practitioner Messages •Historic (non recent) child abuse investigations need to consider the effects of investigative processes on victims and survivors •Such investigations include those undertaken by the police and by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) •Victim and survivor accounts need to be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly in order for them not to feel let down by, and disconnected from, criminal justice and IICSA processe

Advancing participatory research

There are both advantages and challenges in conducting research with vulnerable or marginalised populations – people with learning disabilities and mental health problems, children and young people, for example – and it is critical to identify ways of working with these participant groups that promote and enhance their active and meaningful participation. This means ensuring that the methods used in research are genuinely participatory and that are flexible and designed with the needs of participants in mind. It is therefore important that researchers (and practitioners) work with recognised and tried and tested models of participation that advance the rights and needs of vulnerable participants and, more broadly, the PR field. This paper considers the advantages and challenges in conducting participatory research (PR) with vulnerable or marginalised populations, and discusses the utility of a PR model that has been designed specifically for research with participant groups who may be (and, in the past, often have been) overlooked in studies that use conventional methods

Introduction to the issue: promoting children's participation in research, policy and practice

It is more than twenty years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child gave governments and states an international mandate to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people and to promote their participation in decisions that affect their lives. Considerable advances have been made since that time that have, in some but not all instances, seen transformations in the status, roles and responsibilities of children and young people and in the ways in which they are perceived and treated. These advances have included greater inclusion of children’s voices in research, policy and practice underpinned by children’s rights to participation and ‘best interests of the child’ decision-making. Bringing together a unique collection of international articles from authors with considerable expertise in researching and working with children and young people, this thematic issue explores some of the ways in which facilitating constructive dialogues with children and young people, and engaging them more directly in consultation about their lives, has led to genuine improvements in the way they are treated and understood. It also considers some of the barriers that exist to prevent children and young people from full participation in public life, some of which occur as a result of structural or systemic factors, while others are the result of the decisions adults make on their behalf

Where are we now? Twenty-five years of research, policy and practice on young carers

It is more than 25 years since the critical dialogue on young carers was played out in the pages of this journal (see Morris and Keith, 1995; Aldridge and Becker, 1996). Since that time, research evidence has given us a clearer picture of the extent of young caring in the UK and its consequences for children and families, including two new national studies that focus on the prevalence and impact of young caring in England. The introduction of the Care Act, 2014 and the Children and Families Act, 2014 also places new duties on professionals to identify and support young carers and their families. However, this increased focus, not only in policy and practice but also in terms of public awareness, has created a number of dilemmas and challenges for health and social care professionals, whose duty it is to identify and support young carers. These challenges, to a large extent, both mirror and advance issues raised in the original dialogue on young carers in the mid-1990s. They centre on the drive to generate data on the numbers of young carers to support policy directives and service delivery and, some have argued – in the current climate of serious fiscal retrenchment and cuts to youth services – on promoting the needs of one group of vulnerable children and young people over other groups of children in need. This article considers some of these challenges and dilemmas

Social and therapeutic horticulture: evidence and messages from research

A summary of the main findings of a review of the literature on social and therapeutic horticulture – the use of horticulture and gardening to promote health, well-being and social inclusion among vulnerable people

Health, well-being and social inclusion: therapeutic horticulture in the UK

This evidence paper summarises the findings of the third and final phase of the Growing Together study of the use of social and therapeutic horticulture (STH) as a form of health and social care provision for vulnerable adults. The first phase of the research, a review of the literature, has already been published (Sempik et al, 2003) and summarised in Evidence Issue 6. The second phase, findings from a survey of STH projects showing the level of activity and participation in the UK were summarised in Evidence Issue 8. Full details of these findings have recently been published (Sempik et al, 2005). In order to study the effects of participation in STH, 24 garden ‘projects’ were examined in depth. Interviews were recorded with 137 clients, 88 project staff and carers, and 11 health professionals. The findings show that STH is an effective form of social care which promotes social inclusion and well-being for people with a wide range of social, mental and physical problems, including those with mental ill health, learning difficulties, challenging behaviour, physical disabilities and others

Roma community perspectives on migration to the UK

In recent years the UK has receive a larger number of Roma migrants, of which a significant proportion is from Romania. Migration and the free movement of people makes an important contribution to community cohesion, social capital, social inclusion and the UK economy (Kofman et al, 2009). Roma migration, as a subset of the broader phenomenon of migration to the UK and as an important contribution to social and economic capital in the UK, is routinely misunderstood and affected by public misconception and prejudices related to migration. The is the first of two reports into Roma migration in the UK - community perspectives; and policy context

Drivers of Roma migration: Understanding migration in politically uncertain times

This report discusses some of the current drivers and challenges of Roma migration to the UK. Roma migration is a contested topic. The pages of the UK and European tabloids often portray Roma people as the shameful face of European freedom of movement. Roma people are frequently described as “welfare tourists” and abusing free movement rights. In this context, Roma’s own aspirations to mobility and freedom of movement are construed as anomalous

The lives of young carers in England omnibus survey report. Appendices to research report

The lives of young carers in England omnibus survey report. Appendices to research repor

Why not a criminal justice major?: It's fascinating.

Why not a criminal justice major?: It's fascinating