Children, Young People and Families

What matters most in how poverty shapes children’s wellbeing and development? How can data inform social policy and approaches to improving outcomes for poorer children? What makes evidence useful? Young Lives has contributed powerful findings on the multiple impacts of poverty on the young. Using life course analysis from the Young Lives study of 12,000 Read More

Does the practice of hiring nannies and au pairs challenge inequalities in and between families, or does it reproduce them? Sara Eldén and Terese Anving, the authors of the first book in the Sociology of Children and Families series, Nanny Families: Practices of Care by Nannies, Au Pairs, Parents and Children in Sweden, answer this Read More

Extra-curricular activities are crucial for nurturing children’s ‘softer’ skills outside the classroom. However, our recent Social Mobility Commission report highlights a dearth of opportunities for young people in some communities, meaning many will spend the next six weeks with little to do. Extra-curricular activities have made it onto the government’s agenda in recent months. Activities Read More

Capturing the voices, views and experiences of children and young people directly and involving them more actively in the research process are increasingly seen as essential for good social research, evaluation, policy and service development. Often, the perspectives of children and young people are filtered through the interpretations of adults: with either parents or carers Read More

Occasionally a story is reported in the news that provokes a public response, stimulating discussion, particularly on social media, and prompting other similar follow up news stories. One such story emerged recently when it was reported in The Guardian that a housing developer in South London (Henley Homes) had developed segregated play areas at its Read More

Early in my career when I was a rookie reporter, a good while before I began writing about poverty, a conversation took place that keeps coming back like a niggling alarm on snooze.…Read more

Find immigration law & policy recommendations and care system policy recommendations in this briefing from the editors of Unaccompanied young migrants: Identity, care and justice…Read more

This International Women’s Day, Zoe Young, author of Women’s Work: How Mothers Manage Flexible Working in Careers and Family Life, highlights the lengths women go to in managing the complexities of flexible working. This year marks a hundred years since the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 lifted the bar on women entering the professions. It Read More

Katie Willis, Sue Clayton & Anna Gupta, authors of Unaccompanied Young Migrants: Identity, Care and Justice, look at the reality of immigration for unaccompanied and separated children.…Read more

Ray Jones explains the four steps that were taken to turn the crisis in children’s social services in England into a catastrophe, …Read more