Home > Rees Centre > Projects > Hadley Programme – Looked After Children

Hadley Programme – Looked After Children

The Project

Project: Independent Advocacy Services

The characteristics of young people using independent advocacy services funded by the Hadley Trust.

 

Related project: See Bright Spots for ongoing work in this area.

Additional Information

The Hadley Trust

One of the major contemporary concerns is how best to provide stability and permanence for children whose own parents are unable to care for them consistently or predictably. Children may be cared for by relatives, foster carers or adoptive parents.

The Hadley Trust has a keen interest in improving practice in children’s social care by funding research and active dissemination of findings. Initially the Trust funded the work of the Hadley Centre at the University of Bristol (2000-2019). Funding has now transferred to the Hadley research programme based at the Rees Centre where work on understanding and improving the lives of looked after and adopted children continues.

Report

Research Team

More Projects

  • Siblings in contact with children’s social care
    September 2026 - March 2028
    Research suggests that many children in England have contact with a social worker at some point during their school years.
    Discover more
  • Academic Leadership for Data First: Maximising the Impact of Linked Justice Data
    October 2026 - October 2031
    The Ministry of Justice’s Data First programme, funded by Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK), brings together administrative data from across the justice system, creating new opportunities to understand people’s experiences of justice and generate evidence to inform policy and practice.
    Discover more
  • The enactment of part-time timetables in English schools
    June 2026 - May 2027
    Adopting a policy enactment framing, this mixed methods research study will investigate how national policy on the use of part-time timetables is being interpreted, translated, and put into practice in England.
    Discover more
  • Interdisciplinary hub to promote developmental recovery for infants
    November 2025 - December 2026
    This hub focuses on promoting optimal outcomes for infants who have had significant adverse early  life experiences and whose cognitive, social and emotional development may have been impacted as a result.
    Discover more
  • The Welsh Basic Income Scheme
    July 2022
    The two-year pilot intends to give each eligible care leaver a monthly payment of £1,280 (net) over  twelve months with the aim of giving greater financial security during the vulnerable period of leaving care.
    Discover more
  • Evaluation of Bright Spots
    October 2019 - October 2020
    This evaluation explored how local authorities (LAs) had used the findings from the Bright Spots surveys to improve the lives of the children they look after.
    Discover more

More News

  • Students
    Blog
    Supporting foster families: lessons from a Norwegian visit to Oxford and the Rees Centre
    October 26, 2026
    Read More
  • Students
    Blog
    Achieving and thriving through belonging
    September 24, 2026
    Read More
  • Students
    News
    New toolkit supports ethical and effective use of children’s information
    September 23, 2026
    Read More
  • Students
    News
    Researchers awarded funding to support Ministry of Justice Data First programme
    September 15, 2026
    Read More
  • Students
    News
    New funding to explore children’s social care within families
    September 1, 2026
    Read More
  • Students
    News
    New Honorary Norham Fellow
    June 24, 2026
    Read More

Project Details

Funder: The Hadley Trust
Theme: Rees Centre; Theme 1: Language, Cognition and Development