research report

Recognising fathers: a national survey of fathers who have children with learning disabilities

This reports on results of a national survey of fathers who have children with learning disabilities’. It presents the findings from 251 fathers who completed a questionnaire. It highlights that current policies and practices often fail to acknowledge or support fathers in their role as carers and make recommendations to address the situation.

Black and Ethnic Minority Young People and Educational Disadvantage

From research based on the primary and secondary education system, this report collates and builds on the existing knowledge and information in this area to identify gaps in understanding and make recommendations for further research where appropriate. The key component of the report explores the extent and nature of educational change experienced by children and young people of ethnic minority backgrounds.

Family minded: supporting children in families affected by mental illness

Report based on the experiences of a number of Barnardo’s services that work with children whose lives are affected by parental mental ill-health. It is informed by the academic literature in this field and explores the challenges of parental mental illness for both policy and practice, addressing mental health policy and practice in all four nations of the UK.

‘Step inside our shoes’: young people's views on gun and knife crime

As part of our Growing Strong campaign, children and young people were consulted on gun and knife crime – how they are affected by it, why they think it happens and what they think the solutions might be. Young people deserve the chance to be heard, to highlight their experiences and to have a role in shaping the solutions to this important issue.

Local authorities : a change in the cultural climate?

Paper arguing that some local authorities in England need to reconsider their attitudes to culture. It contends that culture is a public good in its own right as it contributes to important social goals such as encouraging a creative younger generation and keeping older people mentally and physically fit. However, research has shown that some local authorities fail to recognise this and treat culture as a marginal area.

The exclusion from school of children aged four to seven

The number of children aged seven and under who are excluded from primary schools is very small but some children of this age are receiving fixed-period exclusions, occasionally leading to permanent exclusion. This study investigated the reasons for this and the ways some schools manage to avoid using exclusion. Sixty nine schools participated in a survey. Thirty schools had excluded several young children. Another 27 schools, each near to one of the first 30 schools, had not excluded any children in the same period. Twelve schools had only excluded one child, but on several occasions.

Person-centred support: what service users and practitioners say

Opinions of service users, practitioners and managers on person-centred support. This study examines person-centred support, a key new concern in public services. It does this by bringing together for the first time the views, ideas and experience of service users, face to face practitioners and managers. Government is committed to ‘personalisation’, ‘self-directed support’ and ‘individual budgets’ in social care, aiming for increased choice and control for the people who use services. This is a move away from traditional, 'one-size-fits-all' approaches.