National Children's Bureau Research Articles

Youngsters have their say on school nursing

As part of the School Nurse Development Programme, the National Children's Bureau was commissioned by the Department of Health to gather the views of 6-11-year-olds on the school nursing service.

EYFS: Progress Check at two - Step two

The ‘Know How’ guide will see you through the progress check at two, says Susan Soar, development officer, National Children's Bureau.

Demonstrating the Merits of the Peer Research Process: A Northern Ireland Case Study

This article discusses the benefits and challenges of involving peer researchers in social research projects. A research project on pupil participation in policy making on school bullying in Northern Ireland's schools was commissioned by the Office of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People and undertaken by the National Children's Bureau in conjunction with researchers from Queen's University Belfast in fourteen schools across Northern Ireland, utilizing a mixed methods approach. We trained and employed nine 15—18-year-old peer researchers to support them in this project. After the project's completion, we conducted interviews with six of the peer researchers to investigate how they experienced their involvement in the research. We discuss the findings from these interviews and contextualize in a review of literature on research involving children and young people.

‘All Salted?’ Reducing salt intake in young parents and their children

Nutrition BulletinVolume 33, Issue 3 p. 247-249 ‘All Salted?’ Reducing salt intake in young parents and their children S. Pobi, S. Pobi Sonita Pobi is a project development worker at the NCB with a responsibility for the ‘All Salted?’ project. To find out more details, e-mail Sonita Pobi at spobi@ncb.org.uk.Search for more papers by this author S. Pobi, S. Pobi Sonita Pobi is a project development worker at the NCB with a responsibility for the ‘All Salted?’ project. To find out more details, e-mail Sonita Pobi at spobi@ncb.org.uk.Search for more papers by this author First published: 13 August 2008 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2008.00714.x Sonita Pobi, Project Development officer, National Children's Bureau, 8 Wakley St. London ECIV 7QE, UK.E-mail: spobi@ncb.org.uk Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume33, Issue3September 2008Pages 247-249 RelatedInformation

Decision making capacity does not arrive with puberty

A recent report by the National Children's Bureau showed that some 29% of secondary schools in England now have sexual health clinics with one in 20 providing children with prescriptions for a variety of contraceptives (Emmerson, 2008). Condoms, pregnancy tests and morning-after pills are being offered in schools to hundreds of thousands of children, some as young as 11, without their parents being informed. The services are open access and confidential and therefore rely on the child to consent to the advice and treatment they receive. Do such services suggest that a child's ability to make treatment decisions simply arrives with puberty or does the law impose a higher standard of capacity for children under sixteen?

Reflections on Practical Approaches to Involving Children and Young People in the Data Analysis Process

This article reflects on key methodological issues emerging from children and young people's involvement in data analysis processes. We outline a pragmatic framework illustrating different approaches to engaging children, using two case studies of children's experiences of participating in data analysis. The article highlights methods of engagement and important issues such as the balance of power between adults and children, training, support, ethical considerations, time and resources. We argue that involving children in data analysis processes can have several benefits, including enabling a greater understanding of children's perspectives and helping to prioritise children's agendas in policy and practice. © 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2007 National Children's Bureau.

Oral Language Competence, Social Skills and High‐risk Boys: What are Juvenile Offenders Trying to Tell us?

A cross‐sectional study examining the oral language abilities and social skills of male juvenile offenders is described. Fifty juvenile offenders and 50 non‐offending controls completed measures of language processing and production, and measures of social skill and IQ. Information about type of offending, substance use histories and learning/literacy problems was also gathered.Young offenders performed significantly worse on all language and social skill measures, but these differences could not be accounted for on the basis of IQ. Just over half of the young offenders were identified as language impaired. This subgroup was compared with non‐language impaired offending peers on a range of variables. The findings have particular implications in the areas of early intervention for high‐risk boys and investigative interviewing of juvenile offenders. © 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2007 National Children's Bureau.

Out‐of‐Home Placement of Children Exposed to Violence

There is growing concern about the increasing number of children in the USA who are exposed to community violence and the need to remove some of them from their families. This study examines risk factors for out‐of‐home placement among a large pool of children and adolescents who were referred for general clinical assessment following exposure to violence and/or psychological trauma in their communities or homes. Children with greater familial and environmental support and children exposed to incidents involving a non‐parental personal threat were associated with a significantly lower risk of out‐of‐home placement. A greater likelihood of being placed out of home was associated with older age (adolescents), history of mental health service use, involvement with law enforcement agencies, higher clinical ratings of depression or impaired thought processes, lower clinical functioning and greater exposure to traumatic events. Evidence of maltreatment and a threat to life was associated with 13.6 times greater likelihood of being placed out of the home. This study raises an important issue in respect to the children's past use of mental health service and current symptoms. It is not just the risk of violence but also evidence of psychiatric problem that trigger out‐of‐home placement. Further studies are needed to assess the quality and effectiveness of mental health services provided to children exposed to violence. © 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2007 National Children's Bureau.

Pre‐teenage Children's Experiences with Alcohol

This article reports on the drinking experiences and motivations of 77 pre‐teenage children. The main reason which the children gave for occasional or regular drinking was the pleasure which they derived both from the effects of the alcohol and from the social interaction which accompanied the activity. Several of the children claimed that they were partly motivated by boredom. Peer influence appeared to play a minor role as far as the recurrent consumption of alcohol was concerned. A number of causes for concern are identified in the article. These include the frequency of the children's drinking and the volume of alcohol consumed by some of them; their tendency to combine different types of alcoholic drink in the same session; the unreliability of measures undertaken by the children to reduce risk and ensure their safety and the ease with which alcohol could be obtained. These findings emphasise the need for drug education programmes to alert children to the dangers of alcohol consumption and equip them with the skills to deal effectively with peer pressure. There is also a pressing need to improve the leisure facilities available for young people as alternatives to drinking and other problem behaviour. © 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2007 National Children's Bureau.

Parents Dilemmas in Sharing Donor Insemination Conception Stories with their Children

Parents of children conceived by gamete (sperm or egg) donation often find it challenging to share donor conception stories with their children. This study reports findings of a qualitative study of families with children conceived by donor insemination in New Zealand, a country where the policy and practice of sharing information in donor insemination is advanced. Almost all parents had told, or planned to tell, their children about their origins, but some parents faced considerable dilemmas around disclosure. Parents need to be given support and guidance as they inform their children about their donor family history. © 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2007 National Children's Bureau.

A ‘Children's Government’ in England and Child Impact Assessment

Despite structural changes made to central government and the development of the Every Child Matters programme in England, compartmentalised child policy proposals are often created for service settings and in response to a specific political imperative. This article provides a rationale for child impact assessment — a systematic process in which proposals for policy and legislation are reviewed and assessed for their potential impact on children and young people — and reviews project work in England involving the National Children's Bureau and the Children's Legal Centre.

It's Good to Talk! A Multidimensional Qualitative Study of the Effectiveness of Emotional Literacy Work in Schools

This paper reports on a small‐scale research study evaluating the work of an emotional literacy project in the North West of England. The purpose of the evaluation was threefold: to assess the degree of success of the emotional literacy project in achieving its aims; to capture and disseminate learning of what works, with whom and in which context, when promoting emotional literacy; and to provide policy makers and practitioners within the LEA, and beyond, with research evidence upon which best practice can be delivered to children, young people and their families. A multi‐dimensional qualitative study was designed to explore the views of children, young people, parents/carers, headteachers, teachers, project workers and allied professionals regarding the emotional literacy project from their own perspective. The findings contribute to the growing body of research evidence on, and models of best practice in, promoting the emotional well being of children and young people. © 2006 The Authors(s).Journal compilation © 2006 National Children's Bureau

Partners in Power: a Radically Pluralistic Form of Participative Democracy for Children and Young People

The central concern of this article is to advocate an inclusive and pluralistic notion of a public sphere similar to those advocated by feminist writers such as Iris Marion Young and Nancy Fraser. These ideas complement the plethora of initiatives from statutory and voluntary agencies to take on board the participation and voices of children and young people. This reflects a movement away from simplistic top–down governance through the State towards a co‐production of governance through partnerships and community involvement. However, children's participation in this public sphere is constrained through the inhibition of children's voices. These inhibitions, it is argued, pervade the private and intermediary as well as public spheres of children's lives. Thus it is unrealistic to expect children to adjust to an undifferentiated and often hostile public arena. © 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2007 National Children's Bureau

Torn labial frenum in isolation not pathognomonic of physical abuse

Searches were made for studies using Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Caredata (the social work and social care knowledge base), Child Data (the National Children's Bureau Database), the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, Embase, Medline, the System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe, the TRIP database (www.tripdatabase.com), Sciences Citation Index, and ISI Proceedings (covers conference papers in all scientific and technical fields). Authors were contacted where necessary. All studies of children 0-18 years with intra-oral injuries because of physical child abuse, and torn labial frena of any aetiology, in live and fatal cases were included. Review articles, expert opinion or guidelines that did not include primary evidence, studies with mixed adult and child data where the children's data could not be extracted, studies that addressed complications or management of abusive injuries, intra-oral injuries because of sexual abuse, thermal injuries or dental neglect were excluded. Studies were reviewed by the Welsh Child Protection Systematic Review Group. Standardised data extraction and appraisal forms were used and a qualitative synthesis undertaken. Nineteen out of 154 studies reviewed were included, representing 591 children. There were no comparative studies of accidental and abusive torn labial frenum to enable a probability of abuse to be determined. Nine studies documented abusive torn labial frena in 27 children, of whom 22 were younger than 5 years old and 24 had been fatally abused. Only a direct blow to the face was substantiated as a mechanism of injury. Two studies noted accidentally torn labial frena, both from intubation. Abusive intra-oral injuries were widely distributed to the lips, gums, tongue and palate and included fractures, intrusion and extraction of the dentition, bites and contusions. Current literature does not support the diagnosis of abuse based on a torn labial frenum in isolation. The intra-oral hard and soft tissue should be examined in all suspected abuse cases, and a dental opinion sought where abnormalities are found.ome of the traditional and normative predictors of successful outcomes.

Project Jump: Young People's Perspectives on a Sexual Health Drama Project for Hard to Reach Young People

This article explores the qualitative process findings from an evaluation of Project Jump — a sexual health drama project for hard to reach young people. Project Jump aimed to enable young people to consider their sexual behaviour and its impact and consequence on other people and themselves. The research aimed to capture the experiences and perceptions of young people's involvement in the project, particularly in relation to the use of drama as a medium for learning. Findings from young people demonstrate that drama can offer an important alternative to traditional health promotion in that young people articulated positive aspects of their involvement. These included enthusiastic participation, empowerment and sexual health skills acquisition. In addition, critical areas for consideration for policy‐makers and practitioners in employing a drama‐based approach particularly in relation to effective identification, engagement and ongoing follow‐up activity with vulnerable groups are highlighted. © 2006 University of the West of England. Journal compilation © 2006 National Children's Bureau.

Parents’ Perceptions of Services for Young Children with Faltering Growth

This article reports on a qualitative study exploring the experiences of parents of young children with faltering growth and feeding difficulties. They were interviewed as part of an evaluation of two projects using a behavioural model to resolve persistent feeding problems. The 22 respondents provided valuable insights into their experiences of parenting such children and of the various services they had received. One important finding was the extent to which they found input by some professionals unhelpful. It concludes by suggesting how workers in this field might better support parents, using the principles of partnership combined with behavioural techniques. © 2006 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2006 National Children's Bureau

Government and NCB work towards improving quality

The government has joined forces with the National Children's Bureau to launch a project aimed at improving the quality of early years provision.

What Works in Strategic Partnerships for Children: a Research Review

Strategic partnerships have a key role to play in delivering the government's ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda. There is a developing body of research and other evidence and practice‐informed literature about what works in relation to partnership working. Drawing on a research review commissioned by Barnardos on strategic partnership working for children, this study summarises research findings from a number of sectors relating to the development, delivery and review of effective partnerships. Although there is widespread consensus within the research on the factors contributing to effective partnership processes, there is, currently, relatively little evidence that partnerships lead to positive outcomes for children and young people. © 2006 The Author(s). Journal compilation © National Children's Bureau.

Towards Extended Schools? How Education and Other Professionals Understand Community‐Oriented Schooling

The government in England is proposing that every school should offer extended services to children, families and communities. However, in the absence of agreed models of how such community‐oriented schooling should operate, its form will depend on how it is understood by the education professionals and their partners in other agencies who have to make it work in practice. This article draws on data from interviews with over 350 professionals to outline two such understandings. It suggests that they rest on different assumptions about fundamental social and educational issues and argues for a more open debate around these issues. Copyright © 2006 The Author(s). Journal compilation © National Children's Bureau.

Teenagers as Victims in the Press

Research into press reporting on young people has tended to concentrate on young people as offenders. In contrast, this article focuses on press coverage of teenagers as victims. Reports in two Swedish newspapers (a morning broadsheet and an evening tabloid) were studied over a period of four months and subjected to a qualitative analysis of discourse on teenagers as victims of various forms of violence and ill‐treatment. It was found that danger and threats to the teenagers were seen as gendered, and as emanating from their own age group and from outside the home and family. The class background of the victims was not salient and child welfare issues were seldom mentioned. Copyright © 2006 The Author(s). Journal compilation © National Children's Bureau.