Sarah joins the Rees Centre as a Senior Research Fellow, working on the Children’s Information Project.
Her interests lie in qualitative research and the use of participatory and co-productive approaches with children, young people, families and professionals working with them. Sarah’s previous research has primarily been focused on the child protection, care and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system. She is interested in undertaking research that amplifies the voice of families, addresses system inequalities and informs policy and practice change.
Sarah has a PhD in social work (fostering), a postgraduate diploma in research methods and a degree in sociology. She was a Senior Research Officer at the NSPCC for ten years (2001-2011) and managed a programme of research, including leading externally funded research projects in partnership with academic institutions on safeguarding young people, adolescent neglect, poverty and parenting. She has also worked on research projects at the Universities of Southampton, Kingston, for an inner London local authority in children’s services, as a respite care worker with children with disabilities and was a Lay Member of the Independent Review Mechanism for Adoption.
Before coming to the Rees Centre, Sarah worked at the University of Warwick where she was Assistant Professor on a Department of Education funded programme (2022-2025), What Works in SEND. Here she undertook qualitative research projects to improve services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This included research across education, social care and health, looking at: Alternative Provision outreach to schools; intervention in local areas when SEND systems have serious weaknesses; middle leadership in SEND systems; improving delivery of services for children with SEND; and improving inclusion of children and young people in schools.