• CASCADE Voices Autumn 2021

    CASCADE’s award-winning care experienced young people’s research advisory group CASCADE Voices, run in partnership with Voices from Care Cymru has been hard at work virtually during the pandemic. While we were all finding the best ways to manage during a pandemic our dedicated young people have continued to get involved in our group and we couldn’t be more… Read More
  • CASCADE’s Work on Safeguarding

    Written by Jonathan Scourfield, Deputy Director of the Centre As we are a research and development centre for children’s social care, safeguarding has of course always been a key priority for CASCADE. With this being National Safeguarding Week, I’d like to highlight some of our work on this theme. We aim to do research with… Read More
  • Enhancing understandings of involvement in risky behaviours amongst children receiving social care

    It is widely accepted that children looked after have poorer educational and health outcomes than the general population. However, low numbers and the tendency to treat children looked after as a homogenous group is problematic not least because it overlooks differences based on individual needs and circumstances. To understand the reasons for these inequalities, a… Read More
  • Research into the experiences and outcomes of autistic children in foster or kinship care launched

    There is very little research on the experiences and outcomes of autistic children in foster or kinship care. This is an area I have been passionate about for a while and I am excited to be able to start a new project, made possible by a Health and Care Research Wales three-year fellowship. From the… Read More
  • Leaving a pupil referral unit: Exploring the transitions and post-16 destinations of care experienced young people across Wales

    As a qualified youth and community worker, I’ve always had an interest in working with young people who struggle with formal education, and who are marginalised or under-represented in research. It is widely known that, on average, many children in care find education to be difficult. What is less well understood is what happens to… Read More
  • Schwartz Rounds end-of-project blog

    I really like Schwartz Rounds. I know when you undertake a scientific evaluation of something, you are supposed be carefully neutral, to avoid the suggestion of bias or that you might have pre-empted the outcome. But I am only human, and I have to be honest. I liked the idea of Schwartz Rounds before we… Read More
  • Cut outs of a house, two people with one holding a balloon and clouds on a blue background
    Replacing Child Protection Conferences with Family Group Conferences

    Over the past two decades in the UK and elsewhere, the importance of involving children, young people and parents in social work decision-making has been increasingly recognised. When enabled and supported to take part, children, young people and parents can play an essential role in the planning and delivery of services. Improved engagement and participation… Read More
  • CASCADE and What Works for Children’s Social Care: Partners in research but no longer the Research Partner

    In November 2017, the Department for Education announced that CASCADE would be its Research Partner for the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care. Nesta were awarded a contract to help incubate and deliver the Centre itself.     It’s been nearly three years since then, and much has changed. The What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care has been renamed and firmly established… Read More
  • What is the point of child and family social work?

    A blog by Professor Donald Forrester An edited version of this blog was previously published by the NSPCC I came into social work to help people. Helping social workers to help people is still why I do my job, albeit through research and teaching. And in every study we carry out we hear stories of… Read More
  • Why don’t more care-experienced young people go to university?

    University can be one of the most exciting times in a young person’s life; they have the prospect of studying something they are really interested in, meet new people, have new experiences and have a place to make those first adult steps of independence into the world. With all this on offer, why are care… Read More