Nick Axford & Vashti Berry 
Forty Years of Research, Policy and Practice in Children’s Services 
A Festschrift for Roger Bullock

Founded in 1963, Dartington Social Research Unit conducts
scientific research into child development within the context of
children?s services with a view to informing interventions for
children in need. Originating from a festschrift to celebrate the
work of Roger Bullock, one of Dartington?s first researchers and a
Fellow of the Centre for Social Policy, this book from a
prestigious author team examines developments in children?s
services over the past forty years, providing a context for future
policy making. Ten key areas are covered including foster care and
family support, while two overview chapters explore ?40 years of
Social Research? and ?Gaps in the Knowledge and Future Challenges?.

Table of Content

List of Contributors.

About the Cover.

Acknowledgements.

Part I: SETTING THE SCENE.

1. Introduction (Nick Axford, Vashti Berry, Michael Little and
Louise Morpeth).

2. Then and Now (Roy Parker).

Part II: CHILDREN’S SERVICES FROM DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES.

3. Forty Years of Educational Change (Ewan Anderson).

4. Children in Residence (Roger Clough).

5. Reforming Juvenile Justice (Henri Giller).

6. Young Offenders, Mental Health and Secure Care (Sue
Bailey).

7. Stability through Adoption for Children in Care (June
Thoburn).

8. Going Home or Staying Away (Ian Sinclair).

9. Child Protection (David Berridge).

10. The Evolution of Family Support (Michael Little and Ruth
Sinclair).

11. Research into the Family Justice System (Mervyn Murch and
Douglas Hooper).

Part III: LOOKING FORWARDS.

12. European Developments in Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile
Justice (Peter van der Laan and Monika Smit).

13. Creative Arts and Social Research (Roger Bullock).

14. Where Next for Social Research at Dartington? (Nick Axford
and Louise Morpeth).

15. Messages for Research, Policy and Practice in
Children’s Services (Nick Axford, Vashti Berry, Michael
Little, Jill Madge and Louise Morpeth).

Appendix A: Roger Bullock – A Brief Biography.

Appendix B: Roger Bullock’s Main Publications.

Index.

About the author

Nick Axford has been at Dartington since 1997 after working
for the Shaftesbury Society in a family centre in London. He was
jointly responsible for a Department of Health study on patterns of
need and service use among children living in the community, and
currently works on an evaluation of an innovative programme for
disaffected young people, using a random allocation design. He is
joint author of a review for the Department for Education and
Skills of the literature on refocusing children’s services
towards prevention, and has been closely involved in developing and
implementing several practice tools with clinical and planning
functions. In 2003 he completed a Ph D on childhood social
exclusion.

Vashti Berry joined the Dartington Unit in 2001 after
working on the Equal Opportunities Policy Team at Northamptonshire
County Council. Prior to this she was an academic tutor at the
University of Natal in Durban, South Africa. She is studying for a
Ph D on the differential effects of domestic violence and child
abuse on children’s development, and working on a random
allocation evaluation of a programme for young people who display
antisocial behaviour. She has completed a small-scale study of
asylum-seeking and refugee children and families in Ireland and
co-authored best practice papers on user involvement and pre-school
family support facilities.

Michael Little Building on an established research
centre, Michael is co-founder with Roger Bullock of a collection of
research, development and dissemination activities known as the
Warren House Group at Dartington. At the University of
Chicago’s Chapin Hall Center for Children he leads a study of
child development in the context of residential education. An
acknowledged expert on child protection, out of home care and youth
justice Michael has also supported efforts to improve international
networks of policy makers, managers, researchers and practitioners
working with children in need. He holds appointments at the
Universities of Bath and Chicago and is the author/joint author of
15 books and eight practice tools aimed at helping put research
into practice.

Louise Morpeth moved to Dartington in 1997 after working
for four years as a community health development co-ordinator with
North Staffordshire Health Authority. She was jointly responsible
for a Department of Health study on patterns of need and service
use among children living in the community and has been involved in
designing, implementing and evaluating new interventions, using
need data gathered using Matching Needs and Services in a
rural district in England. She has co-authored several practice
tools aimed at getting research into practice, and in 2004
completed a Ph D on the effects of the organisation of
children’s services on outcomes for children in need.