Areas Of Multiple Deprivation Research Articles

Supporting children’s wellbeing through music participation during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Scotland

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of strengthening the health and wellbeing of children as a global priority. This paper explores the impact of an inclusive music programme, that was delivered, prior to and during the pandemic, in an area of deprivation in Scotland. The main research question was, ‘How does an inclusive music programme support wellbeing of children living in areas of multiple deprivation during COVID?’. Multiple perspectives and data collection methods were included, e.g. comic strips, interviews, focus groups and questionnaires. Results suggest that the programme provided continuity and stability to children, especially during lockdown. All participants highlighted the positive impact the programme had on the emotional wellbeing of children, which was linked to a sense of security and trusting relationships that were formed as part of the programme, not only during COVID but prior to it too.

Spartans Alternative School: Building a bridge of trust

Spartans Alternative School is an education project based within the Spartans Community Football Academy. Operating in an area of multiple deprivation in North Edinburgh, the school offers part time alternative education provision for 14–16 year olds at risk of exclusion and/or under achieving. This paper explores how the alternative school has met the complex needs of young people who have suffered or are suffering from adverse childhood experiences. The ethos of Spartans, and the Alternative School, is to support young people in a holistic way to achieve the very best version of themselves. The students are supported by a team of staff who have chosen to focus their training on being youth work led, trauma informed and attachment aware rather than focused on the narrow and inappropriate parameters associated with aspects of ACEs-informed practice.

Exploring the effect of an attachment intervention in areas of multiple deprivation on adult–child interaction and the implications for children's social, emotional and behavioural development

ABSTRACT This paper explores the incidence of children’s social, emotional and behavioural difficulties within areas of multiple deprivation in one Local Authority in Wales and the potential effects of targeted training interventions on the quality of adult–child interactions. The quality of adult–child interaction was measured pre and post-test using the Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing Scale (SSTEW). Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) identified social, emotional and behavioural difficulties of children aged two to three years old illustrating the levels of difficulties presented by children attending Flying Start childcare. The SDQ results highlight a high incidence of social emotional and behavioural difficulties for children in areas of multiple deprivation. The SSTEW results highlight the potential impact of targeted professional development on the quality of adult–child interactions with the consideration that good quality childcare is associated with better outcomes for emotional, hyperactivity and peer problems with an improvement in pro-social skills.

Feasibility and Efficacy of an Adapted Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI) in Areas of Socioeconomic Deprivation (SED)

Prolonged exposure to ‘toxic stress’ caused by financial hardship and social exclusion can result in reduced well-being, increased risk of illness and impaired cognitive function and can negatively impact the physiological processes underlying ageing. Evidence suggests that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may reduce stress and improve well-being in clinical and non-clinical populations, and recent studies indicate they may also help address well-being-related effects of poverty. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of delivering an adapted MBI training to adults living with the psychosocial stress caused by poverty and its effectiveness in improving participants’ well-being. In this mixed method, non-randomised waitlist-controlled feasibility pilot study, 40 adults (n = 20 in the training group) from regeneration areas in Scotland earning less than the Living Wage completed the adapted MBI. Delivery proved feasible, even though, as with previous studies on psychosocial interventions in socioeconomically deprived (SED) areas, the rate of participant attrition from recruitment (n = 107) to completion (n = 40) was high (58%). The results showed significant increases in well-being post training for the training group only (p < 0.001). No changes in mindfulness were found in either group. Further qualitative analyses suggested a possible shift in participants’ conceptualisation of well-being from being difficult to manageable or workable. These results indicate that MBI training can be feasibly delivered within SED communities and potentially improve the well-being of course participants. The practicalities of developing accessible MBIs for those living in areas of multiple deprivation are discussed.

Mapping pediatric A&amp;E respiratory presentations with air quality

IntroductionWest Belfast Partnership Board undertook a collaborative public health investigation to explore what if any correlation exists between air quality and children from the Falls Divis area presenting to RBHSC with a respiratory condition.&#x0D; BackgroundAn analysis of Emergency Department Attendances showed monthly trend in 2015/16 differed from previous years with a peak in November 2015 which was 27% higher than the number of attendances in November of 2014. The overall increase in 2015/16 across the 4 main paediatric categories was 10%. The increase for respiratory was 34% higher. West Belfast accounted for 32% (248n) of this spike.&#x0D; There exists a compelling case for linkage between air quality and a range of conditions which is socially patterned. Falls and Divis area appears in the top 3 areas of multiple deprivation.&#x0D; ApproachWe identified periods of elevated paediatric presentation at A&amp;E with repository compliant and mapped over air quality monitoring data from the same period in the Falls Divis area; Factoring potential incubation time between exposure to potential harmful air pollutants.&#x0D; ConclusionBased upon a review of air quality data no causal link was established between air quality and periods of elevated presentation of children at A&amp;E with respiratory evident.

Supporting progression to HE: the role of colleges and vocational courses

PurposeVocational courses in England support the progression to higher education (HE) of large numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, yet there is little research exploring the college experiences of these young people prior to entering university. The purpose of this paper is to consider the experiences of young people on Level 3 Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) vocational courses in their progression to HE from differently positioned post-16 colleges in England.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study was undertaken into the experiences of students on BTEC courses in four subject clusters (science, technology, engineering and maths, arts and humanities, social sciences and health) at both a Further Education College and a Sixth Form College in an area of multiple deprivation and low HE participation. Young people’s experiences of BTEC courses and the support and guidance they receive are explored through the conceptual lens of “possible selves” and using Bourdieu’s ideas of capital, habitus and field.FindingsPedagogies and practices on BTEC courses are found to support the development of relevant social and cultural capital and help young people formulate well-articulated “possible selves” as university students, even amongst students who previously had not considered university as an option. The findings illustrate how differently positioned colleges support students’ progression and identify challenges presented by an increasingly stratified and marketised system.Originality/valueThe study highlights the transformative potential of BTEC courses and their role in supporting progression to HE amongst young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The current emphasis on standardisation and rigour as mechanisms to better equip students for HE neglects the unique contribution BTEC pedagogies and practices make to encouraging HE participation. A Bourdieusian and “possible selves” theoretical framework has provided new insights into these valuable learning processes.

Diversity and Social Justice – Beyond Motherhood and Apple Pie

The majority of teachers are aware that inequalities impact on the lives of individual pupils. For others, there is also deeper awareness of how inequalities impact at community and societal levels. For those who work in areas of multiple deprivation, many are reminded on a daily basis of the ‘everydayness’ of coping or survival for their pupils and their families. However, research has also found that teacher and student teacher confidence levels on addressing equality and discrimination issues vary depending on the issue and the context. This article considers why it is important for teacher personal commitment to equality issues to be underpinned by an understanding of social justice concepts and frameworks.

Managing teacher leave and absence in South African rural schools

Research increasingly points to the negative impacts of teacher absence from school on access to schooling and success in learning in schools, in particular in schools in areas of multiple-deprivation (including rural schools). South African schools are no exception. In this regard, like any other employer, the South African Department of Basic Education has a set of policies that govern teachers’ conditions of service. Among others, these include policies that govern leave and absence from school. While the policies are meant to enhance teachers’ conditions of service, they are also aimed at safeguarding the rights of learners to quality education by ensuring that teachers remain on task, and that teaching and learning is not interrupted. Using Lipsky’s theory of discretion, this paper takes the view that as street-level bureaucrats, principals use their discretionary power to manage teacher leave and absence from school, and that the strategies they employ are informed by their understandings and conceptualisations of policy. The paper reports on a study undertaken to explore teacher leave in South African schools. In particular, it critically examines principals’ use of their discretionary powers to make decisions about teacher leave-taking, and the coping mechanisms they use to manage teacher absence and to safeguard the rights of learners to quality education.

School leadership practices that work in areas of multiple deprivation in South Africa

This paper reports on evidence from five school principals regarding leadership practices that work in multiple deprived contexts. The South African educational landscape is complex, often described as a cocktail of first and third world institutions. Looking at the schooling system on a continuum, on the one end there are first class schools which can compare favourably with the best in developed countries. On the other extreme there are dysfunctional schools. However, along the scale there are few schools in multiple deprived areas which display high degrees of resilience and perform at levels comparable to first class schools in terms of Matriculation examination results. This paper draws from a study based on the proposition that leadership was the greatest factor to explain such performance. The study was then informed by a quest for knowledge regarding the nature of such leadership. Such knowledge is needed as the country fights to turn around the many dysfunctional schools there are. While there is a corpus of scholarship that ‘speaks’ to this matter internationally, there remains need for home-grown insights in that regard. Two theoretical lenses (servant leadership and the asset-based approach) were applied. The study employed a qualitative approach involving individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews with five purposively selected school principals each representing their school. Findings suggest that the schools in question adopted inside-out development approaches involving the philosophy that they were masters of their own destiny. Time, commitment, and accountability were some of their greatest assets, things that did not have to come from outside the schools. Internal success paved the way for stronger and more fruitful synergies with the ‘outside world’. We conclude that schools in areas of multiple-deprivation need leadership that moves them away from notions of victimhood and deficit thinking towards asset-based approaches.

Exploring lay views on physical activity and their implications for public health policy. A case study from East Belfast

It is now recognised that inactive lifestyles underpin much of the disease burden evident in the richer nations of the world. Indeed, the WHO has identified physical inactivity as a ‘global public health problem’ and has established minimum physical activity (PA) targets for people at different stages of the life-course. Yet, according to WHO, just under 1/3 of working age adults across the globe meet those targets and it is not at all clear how the disjunction between the recommendations of policy makers and the behaviour of ordinary people might be surmounted.Using an opportunity to examine the impact of an urban regeneration project on community residents in East Belfast (Northern Ireland) this paper examines the views of some 113 people on how to increase rates of PA in an area of multiple deprivation. The results of the analysis suggest that lay people rarely consider PA as a discrete issue, or one that centres on individuals and their motivation, but rather as one component in a complex web of concerns, processes and events that include such things as the actions of neighbours and relatives, material and political environments, vandalism, violence, and the weather. We explore and unravel the nature of those concerns using novel methods of content analysis that generate ‘issue webs’. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which lay people conceptualize ‘activity’ and to the manner in which they point to ways of encouraging activity that are rooted in everyday life rather than in the corpocentric, agent-centred and often sport dominated strategies favoured by local policy makers. Our results support those who argue that interventions to increase rates of PA need to move beyond behavioural approaches that focus on individuals and consider the social, political and material contexts in which ‘activity’ occurs.

‘I am reading to her and she loves it': benefits of engaging fathers from disadvantaged areas in their children's early learning transitions

Findings presented here relate to the evaluation of a one-year father-inclusion project, which took place in an area of multiple deprivation in the North of England. The project's goal was to engage fathers and male carers in their children's transition from an early years setting to a reception class and to maintain that involvement in the mainstream school setting. The project was successful in engaging men, recording 76 male attendances, 19 of which were recorded at school-based activities after the transition. Key benefits identified by fathers engaged in the project were closer relationships with their children and greater involvement in their play and learning. Children were very positive about their fathers' involvement and school staff identified a better rapport with fathers following the project.

Smoking and intention to quit in deprived areas of Glasgow: is it related to housing improvements and neighbourhood regeneration because of improved mental health?

BackgroundPeople living in areas of multiple deprivation are more likely to smoke and less likely to quit smoking. This study examines the effect on smoking and intention to quit smoking...

Eating the elephant whole or in slices: views of participants in a smoking cessation intervention trial on multiple behaviour changes as sequential or concurrent tasks

BackgroundThis paper explores smoking cessation participants’ perceptions of attempting weight management alongside smoking cessation within the context of a health improvement intervention implemented in Glasgow, Scotland.MethodsOne hundred and thirty-eight participants were recruited from smoking cessation classes in areas of multiple deprivation in Glasgow and randomised to intervention, receiving dietary advice, or to control groups. The primary outcome of the study was to determine the % change in body weight. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 intervention and 15 control participants at weeks 6 (during the intervention) and 24 (at the end of the intervention). The current paper, though predominantly qualitative, links perceptions of behaviour modification to % weight change and cessation rates at week 24 thereby enabling a better understanding of the mediators influencing multiple behaviour change.ResultsOur findings suggest that participants who perceive separate behaviour changes as part of a broader approach to a healthier lifestyle, and hence attempt behaviour changes concurrently, may be at comparative advantage in positively achieving dual outcomes.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the need to assess participants’ preference for attempting multiple behaviour changes sequentially or simultaneously in addition to assessing their readiness to change. Further testing of this hypothesis is warranted.Trial RegistrationISRCTN94961361

Engaging fathers from disadvantaged areas in children’s early educational transitions: A UK perspective

Findings presented here relate to the evaluation of an innovative one-year pilot project in an area of multiple deprivation in the north of England, the goal of which was to engage fathers and male carers in their children’s transition from an early years setting to formal schooling to enhance children’s enjoyment, achievement and learning at this critical early stage of development. The project was successful in engaging men, recording 76 male attendances at activities during the project period, 19 of which were recorded at school-based activities, following transition. Strategies found to be effective in engaging men at a strategic level were partnership working with an expert agency on male inclusion and the use of a highly gender differentiated approach. At an operational level, successful approaches included the use of a highly individualized, strengths-based, empowerment orientated approach, within a partnership context, implemented by an extremely skilled Fathers Transition Worker, complemented by intensive follow-up contact via mobile phone, the use of male orientated activities and the engagement of mothers, as well as fathers.

The development of intrapersonal intelligence in pupils experiencing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

This article draws from an evaluative case study of a group work approach – Support Groups – designed by the author to support pupils perceived as having Social and Emotional Behavioural Difficulties within a Secondary school situated in an area of multiple deprivation in Scotland. The study, which is principally qualitative, draws from the accounts of 69 pupils who participated within the intervention during its first four years of inception and from a range of stakeholder accounts – parents, Support Group Leaders, class teachers and senior managers. The intervention focused upon collaborative, discussion-based activities designed to foster reflection, understanding and thinking skills. The study utilises data drawn from attendance, attainment and discipline statistics, comparing the Support Group population to wider comparator groups, in addition to questionnaires (open and closed), scheduled interviews and focus group discussion. This article focuses specifically upon the extent to which pupils developed intrapersonal intelligence. The findings indicate that the majority of pupils had, to at least an extent, developed greater understanding of their behaviour and that these outcomes were still in evidence up to two years after intervention.

The relationship between deprivation and referrals in a learning disability child and adolescent mental health service

Children with learning disabilities are more likely to experience mental health problems and social disadvantage. Referrals to a learning disability child and adolescent mental health service were audited, it was found there were more referrals from areas of multiple deprivation.

Inclusion of pupils perceived as experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD): affordances and constraints

This paper takes as its principal theme barriers to the inclusion of pupils perceived as experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and how these might be overcome. It draws upon an evaluative case study of an initiative, devised by the author, to support pupils – the Support Group Initiative (SGI) – which was conducted over a five‐year period in a Scottish Secondary School situated in an area of multiple deprivation. The central focus of the discussion is the range of variables that impacted upon pupil outcomes, illustrating the ways in which these variables acted as affordances or constraints in the pursuit of inclusive practice. The paper takes as its starting point the contested nature of inclusion and introduces, briefly, the Scottish policy context as it pertains to inclusion before exploring the nature of the problem – the barriers to the inclusion of and the difficulties presented by the inclusion of pupils perceived as having SEBD, as discussed in the literature. The findings of the study are discussed in relation to central themes – the ethos of the Support Group; the process of re‐signification through which pupils are enabled to effect improvement; the classroom context; and wider variables relating to school policy, practice, ethos and the management of change. The paper concludes by exploring what inclusion has meant to the pupils involved within the intervention, summarising the affordances and constraints to its realisation, before reflecting upon the significance of the study.

Towards the development of self-regulation in pupils experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD)

The paper focuses upon the development of self-regulation as it pertains to pupils experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) within the context of a case study evaluating an intervention, designed and implemented by the author, to support such pupils within a Scottish secondary school situated in an area of multiple deprivation. The paper examines the extent to which pupils participating within the intervention developed the capacity to regulate their behaviour with good judgement in a range of contexts, identifying variables which fostered or impeded progress. The study is principally qualitative but draws also from quantitative data. It focuses upon four cohorts of support group pupils (N = 69), inclusive of six case studies. The findings indicate that the intervention had impacted positively upon the capacity of the young people to self-regulate their behaviour, if to varying extents, and that pupil outcomes were highly context related.

An increased incidence of SGA persists in areas of multiple deprivation despite a decade of increased social intervention: insights from the Leeds Cohort Study 2000–2008

IntroductionDeprivation is a known risk factor for low birthweight and adverse neonatal outcome. The authors set out to characterise the impact of social intervention strategies within the most deprived areas...

Capital, culture and community: understanding school engagement in a challenging context

Engagement in learning is seen as a key to success at school. The article reports on a study into the ways in which one school has attempted to engage with its community in an area of multiple deprivation. Using Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital, the article explores the ways in which school management aims to boost students’ embodied cultural capital as a means towards achieving academic success, and looks at the perceptions of key informants and school students on these issues. The report shows the considerable efforts schools in such areas need to expend, the economic challenges, and the difficulties and dilemmas which students often encounter in trying to negotiate the cultural divide between home and school.