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Dr Karen Broadhurst
Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Social Science
Department: Applied Social Science
Degree: BA Hons (Psychology) DipSW, PGCE, PhD
Associated research centres and groups: Assure Evaluation, Child care, child protection and children in care, Child Welfare Research Unit CWRU
Current Teaching
I convene and teach courses on the BA and MA Social Work that focus on social work with children, families and young people. I chair the departmental ethics group and take a lead role in service user and carer involvement in the social work degrees. I currently supervise a cohort of 6 PhD students.
Research Interests
Current Projects
I am currently involved three socio-legal research projects:
1. Department for Education: Review of Contested Adoption Cases with Barry Luckock (Sussex University). This study has been commissioned by DfE to inform the national review of adoption.
2. CAFCASS: Pre-proceedings Pilot. This study examines the role of the Children's Guardian in public law pre-proceedings work. Funded by the Child and Family Court Advisory Services, 2011-2013 (Principal Investigator). The interim report from the Coventry and Warwickshire Pre-Proceedings Pilot is now available in full. An article in which Dr Karen Broadhurst and Ms Kim Holt set out the arguments that have provided the rationale for this project is available on the web-site of Family Law Week. Click on both links for free download.
3. Responding to the Southwark Judgment. This project has been commissioned by Lancashire County Council, with Lancashire Health and Housing and Barnardo's. The project examines new innovative multi-agency solutions for young people aged 16-17. The study will follow these young people over a 12 months period in the first instance.
Recently completed projects:
1. Academic Lead: National Evaluation of Peer Support Pilot Programme - Children's Workforce Development Council. This evaluation examined the potential and actual impact of peer support for children's services managers tasked to lead change in the context of workforce reform. This 12 months project completed inMarch 2011. Reports available from CWDC web-site.
2. Principal Investigator - Lancashire County Council Children's Services: 'Front-Door Troubles'. This project examined processes of referral and response in children's services and the operation of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). The project team worked alongside the local authority to troubleshoot 'front-door' problems with respect to safety and consistency of thresholds for initial response. In partnership with Lancashire County Council, the project aimed to generate new locally derived solutions to entrenched national/international problems of referral and response in child welfare and protection (completed, 2011). Reports available from project team.
3. Intended and Unintended Consequences of Legal Protocols: the case of the Public Law Outline. Working with Kim Holt (Bradford University), this project focused on the impact of the Public Law Outline, specifically the intended and unintended consequences of the new protocol's likely diversion of a percentage of 'edge of care' cases from care proceedings. The study focused in detail on decision-making in the administrative space, in regard to Human Rights issues (completed 2010). See publications list below.
4. A two year ESRC funded project, with the title:'Error blame and responsibility in child welfare: problematics of governance, an invisible trade' is recently concluded (with Sue White, Principal Investigator, Dave Wastell,Chris Hall, Sue Peckover and Andy Pithouse). There are a number of outputs from this project which focus on issues of regulation, discretion and the introduction and impact of Information Technology in child welfare practice. http://www.publicservices.ac.uk/research/error-blame-and-responsibility-in-child-welfare-problematics-of-governance-in-an-invisible-trade/
5. A 24 months study ofchildren missing from school systems (see publications list below for published reports of this project).This project was undertaken between 2002 and 2004 and was funded by the CYPU (Children and Young Person's Project) http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/faculty/activities/257/ - See publications list below for outputs.
Publications:
Free Access: Ten Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them (NSPCC): http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/findings/tenpitfalls_wda78613.html
Free Access: Broadhurst, K., Wastell, D., White., S., Hall., C., Peckover., S., Thompson., K., Pithouse, A and Dolores, D., (2009, Jan 19.) Performing Initial Assessment: Identifying the latent conditions for error in local authority children's services. British Journal of Social Work, available on line 19. Jan 2009 Advance Access. Abstract: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/2/352
Books:
Broadhurst, K., Grover, C., Jamieson, J. (2009) Critical Perspectives on Safeguarding Children. Wiley- Blackwell http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470682329.html
Journal Articles:
2012
Broadhurst, K. (forthcoming) Moral agency in everyday safeguarding work: reclaiming hope in the 'small stories' of family support - some lessons from John Dewey.Families, Relationships Socieities
Broadhurst, K, and Holt, K.E. (2012) , Involving the Family Court Advisor in Pre-proceedings Practice - Initial lessons from the Coventry and Warwickshire Pilot,Family Law Week: http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed97110
2011
Featherstone, B., Broadhurst, K. and Holt, K.E. (2011) Thinking systemically, thinking political: Building strong partneships with families in the context of rising inequality? British Journal of Social Work
Broadhurst, K.Holt, K.E.and Doherty, P. (forthcoming) Accomplishing parental enagement in child protection practice? A qualitative analysis of parent-professional interaction in pre-proceedings work under the Public Law Outline, Qualitative Social Work
Peckover, S., Wastell, D., White, S., Broadhurst, K., Hall, C. & Pithouse, A. (2011). The Fallacy of Formalisation: Practice Makes Process in the Assessment of Risks to Children. In Good Practice in Assessing Risk: Current Knowledge, Issues and Approaches. Kemshall, H. & Wilkinson, B. Jessica Kingsley. 84-101
Wastell, D., Peckover, S., White, S., Broadhurst, K., Hall, C. & Pithouse, (2011) Social work in the laboratory: using microworlds for practice research. British Journal of Social Work doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr014 first published online, April , 2011. http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/03/20/bjsw.bcr014.abstract
2010
Broadhurst, k. Hall, C. Wastell, D. White, S. Pithouse, A. (2010) Risk, Instrumentalism and the Humane Project in Social Work: Identifying the Informal Logics of Risk Management in Children's Statutory Services, British Journal of Social Work, Abstract: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/bcq011
Broadhurst, K., Wastell, D., White., S., Hall., C., Peckover., S., Thompson., K., Pithouse, A and Dolores, D., (2009, Jan 19.) Performing Initial Assessment: Identifying the latent conditions for error in local authority children's services. British Journal of Social Work, available on line 19. Jan 2009 Advance Access. Abstract: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/2/352FREE ACCESS to full document.
2009
Broadhurst, K & Holt, K.E. (2009) Partnership and the limits of procedure: prospects for relationships between parents and professionals under the new Public Law Outline, Child and Family Social Work. Abstract: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122607237/PDFSTART
Pithouse, A., Broadhurst, K., Hall, C., Peckover, S., White, S. (2009), Engaging early in children's needs through the common assessment framework (CAF): Newchallenges for practice in England and Wales, International Journal of Child Health and Human Development, 2(4), 00.
White, S., Wastell, D., Broadhurst, K., Hall, C., Peckover, S., Pithouse, A. (2009), Whither practice-near research in the modernization programme? Policy blunders in children's services, Journal of Social Work Practice: Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Health, Welfare and the Community, 23 (4) pp. 401 -
White, S., Wastell, D., Broadhurst, K., Hall, C. & Peckover, S. (in press), When policy o'erleaps itself: the tragic tale of the Integrated Children's System, Critical Social Policy, vol 30(3) pp405-429.. Abstract: http://csp.sagepub.com/content/30/3/405.short
Wastell, D., White, S., Broadhurst, K., Hall, C., Peckover, S. & Pithouse, A. (Special Issue, 2010), Children's services in the iron cage of performance management: street level bureaucracy and the spectre of Švejkism, International Journal of Social Welfare.
Older Papers:
Broadhurst, K. (2007) "Parental help-seeking and the moral order. Notes for policy makers and parenting practitioners on 'the first port of call' and 'no one to turn to', Sociological Research Online, 12(6) http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/6/4.html. *Paper listed in the International Bibliography on Membership Categorisation Analysis.
Broadhurst, K., Mason, C. & Grover, C. (2007) "Sure Start evaluation and the 're-authorisation' of Section 47 child protection practices", Critical Social Policy, 27 (4), pp.443-461.
Broadhurst, K. & Pendleton, T. (2007) "Revisiting children 'home on trial' in the context of current concerns about the costs and effectiveness of the Looked After Children system: findings from an exploratory study", Child and Family Social Work, 12 (4), pp. 380-389.
Broadhurst, K. Dimopoulos, M. & Morgan, H. (2007) "Reflections on an English/Greek exchange in Erasmus' anniversary year. Is English practice learning 'out of sync' with global scapes and flows", The Hellenic Journal of Social Science and Social Work (September issue). *Greek Translation only, invited paper, 6,500 words.
May-Chahal, C. & Broadhurst, K. (2006) 'Integrating Objects of Intervention and Organisational Relevance: The Case of Safeguarding Children Missing from Education Systems', Child Abuse Review, 15 (6), pp. 440-455.
Broadhurst, K., May-Chahal, C. & Paton, H. (2005) 'Children Missing from School Systems: exploring divergent patterns of disengagement in the narrative accounts of parents, carers, children and young people', British Journal of Sociology of Education, 26 (1), pp. 105-119.
Grover, C., Stewart, J. & Broadhurst, K. (2004) 'Transitions to Adulthood. Some Critical Observations on the Children Leaving Care Act 2000', The Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 11 (1), pp. 5-18.
Broadhurst, K. (2003) 'Engaging parents and carers with family support services: what can be learned from research on help-seeking?' Child and Family Social Work, 8 (8), pp. 341- 350.
Edited works contributions:
Broadhurst, K. (2009) 'Supporting Parents under New Labour: How does every parent matter?', in Broadhurst, K., Grover, G. & Jamieson, J. (eds.), Critical Perspectives on Safeguarding Children, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Broadhurst, K., Grover, G. & Jamieson, J. (2009) 'Introduction', in Broadhurst, K., Grover, G. & Jamieson, J. (eds.), Critical Perspectives on Safeguarding Children, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Broadhurst, K., Grover, G. & Jamieson, J. (2009) 'Conclusion' in Broadhurst, K., Grover, G. & Jamieson, J. (eds.), Critical Perspectives on Safeguarding Children, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Broadhurst, K & Pithouse, A. (2009) Can CAF deliver for children with additional needs? in Broadhurst, K., Grover, G. & Jamieson, J. (eds.), Critical Perspectives on Safeguarding Children, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Broadhurst, K. (2007) 'Multi-agency responses to refugee children', in Rutter, J. and Koser, K. (eds.) Rebuilding the Sanctuary. Multi-disciplinary approaches to working with refugee children, Bergahn Books.
Wastell, D., White, S. & Broadhurst, K. (forthcoming) The chiasmus of design: paradoxical outcomes in the e-government reform of UK children's services. In Dhillon, G. et al (eds). The role of IS in leveraging the intelligence and creativity in SMEs, Springer.
White, S., Wastell, D. & Broadhurst, K. (forthcoming) Performance Management in UK Child Welfare: Causes and Consequences of Injudicious Policy-Making. Chapter commissioned by Prof Holger Zeigler, University of Beilefeld for German book to be published by Waxmann.
Practice manuals and research reviews:
Broadhurst, K. (2008) Child Contact in Family Proceedings. A Resource Manual. Published online by Community Care Inform, http://www.ccinform.co.uk/Contact.
Broadhurst, K. (2008) Child Contact in Private Proceedings. A Research Review. Published online by Community Care Inform, http://www.ccinform.co.uk/.
Broadhurst, K. (2009) Supporting Parental Responsibility: Partnership, Contact and Reunification. A Resource Manual. Published online by Community Care Inform, http://www.ccinform.co.uk/.
Broadhurst, K. (2009) Supporting Contact in the Context of Care Proceedings. A Research Review. Published online by Community Care Inform, http://www.ccinform.co.uk/.
Broadhurst, K. (2009) Working in Partnership with Parents. A Research Review. Published online by Community Care Inform, http://www.ccinform.co.uk/.
Broadhurst, K., Fish, S. Munro, E. &White, S. (forthcoming) Good Practice in Risk Assessment in Safeguarding Work. NSPCC inform.
Media outputs/professional journal papers:
White, S., Wastell, D., Peckover, S., Hall, C. & Broadhurst, K. (2009) Managing Risk in a High Blame Environment: Tales from the 'Front Door' in Contemporary Children's Social Care, London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Oxford, London.
Broadhurst, K. & Hall, C. (2009) 'The informal logics of risk in safeguarding work', Professional Social Work, (June issue), 2009.
White, S. & Broadhurst, K. (2009), 'Raging against the machine', Professional Social Work, (January issue), pp 8-10.
White, S., Broadhurst, K. & Wastell, D. (2008), 'Research on problems in child protection when IT and humans interact', Community Care, 11/12/08, pp.22-23.
White, S., Wastell, D., Peckover, S., Hall, C., and Broadhurst, K. 'Getting it Wrong for Baby P? Despatches from the Frontline of Children's Social Care' Guardian Newspaper, Society, 19.11.2008.
White, S. Wastell, D., Peckover, S., Hall, C. & Broadhurst, K. 'ICS what part did it play in baby P?' Computer Weekly, 8.12. 2008.
SELECTED CONFERENCE CONTRIBUTIONS
Refereed:
Broadhurst, K. & Holt, K.E. (2009) Partnership with Parents: Is the PLO more than just procedure? BASPCAN International Conference, University of Swansea.
Broadhurst, K. & Mason, C. (2009) Collating the Case: Myths, Methods and Metrics: Reclaiming the Home Visit: Joint Social Work/Education Conference, University of Hertfordshire.
Broadhurst, K. & Holt, K.E. (2009) Partnership with Parents and the Limits of Procedure. Joint Social Work/Education Conference, University of Hertfordshire.
White, S., Wastell. D., Broadhurst, K., Peckover, S., Hall., C. & Pithouse, A. (2008) Managing Risk in a high blame Environment: Flight Deck Simulation in Childcare Social Work, Joint Social Work Education and 2nd UK Social Work Research Conference, Homerton College, Cambridge, July.
White, S., Wastell., D., Broadhurst., K., Peckover., S., Hall.,C. and Pithouse, A. (2008) Microworld Simulation in Childcare Social Work: Investigating Risk, Blame and Performance Management, Oxford e-Research Conference, September 11-13, 2000.
White, S., Wastell, D., Broadhurst, K., Peckover, S., Hall, C. and Pithouse, A. (2008) Managing Risk in a High Blame Environment: Making a 'Flight Deck' Simulation in Childcare Social Work, Interim Meeting of the International Sociological Association Research Committee 33(RC33) On 'Logic and Method in Sociology' Sept 1-5, Naples, Italy.
Broadhurst, K. & May-Chahal, C. (2004) Mobile or Just Missing: International Sociology Conference, Lancaster University.
Invited Keynotes:
Broadhurst, K. (2009) Improving Safeguarding: What needs to Change? North West Regional Safeguarding Conference (Lancashire County Council Children's Services: Lancaster House Hotel, day conference).
Broadhurst, K. (2009) Improving Safeguarding: What needs to Change? North West Regional Safeguarding Conference (Lancashire County Council Children's Services: Preston Football Club Conference Facilities, day conference).
Broadhurst, K. (2009) Improving Safeguarding: What needs to Change? North West Regional Safeguarding Conference (Lancashire County Council Children's Services: Burnley Football Club Conference Facilities, day conference).
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Potential Doctoral Proposals
PhD completions
Kellie Thompson: Child Protection (The development of integrated services to safeguard children and support families, ESRC CASE studentship) graduated 2009
I am currently supervising the following PhD students:
Peter Denenberg (with Sociology): Child-centred study of foster care
Joy Spiliopoulos (with Educational Research) : Migrant identities
Marjorie Hearton: Adoption (Adoption panels and decision making)
Paula Doherty: Child Protection (Defining significant harm in safeguarding work: analysing decision-making in borderline Cases, ESRC CASE studentship).
Emily Yeend (with Statistics, ESRC sponsored student)
Brendan Gray: Fabricated and induced illness in children - exploring the possibilities for prevention
I welcome applications from PhD students in the field of child welfare (see research interests above).
Eprints Publications Repository and Bibliographic Database
Karen Broadhurst has 10 selected publication records listed on this webpage. Use links to access abstracts and full text where available. View all records to sort by date, type and title. For all ePrints records go to http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk
Broadhurst, K. and Holt, K. E. (2009) Partnership and the limitations of procedure: prospects for parents and professionals under the new Public Law Outline. Child and Family Social Work. ISSN 1356-7500
Broadhurst, K. and Wastell, D. and White, S. and Hall, C. and Peckover, S. and Thompson, K. and Pithouse, A. and Davey, D. (2009) Performing initial assessment: identifying the latent conditions for error in children’s statutory services. British Journal of Social Work. pp. 1-19. ISSN 1468-263X
Broadhurst, K. (2009) Supporting Parents under New Labour: How does every parent matter? In: Critical Perspectives on Safeguarding Children. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. ISBN 0470697563
Broadhurst, K. E. (2007) Parental help-seeking and the moral order. Notes for policy-makers and parenting practitioners on 'the first port of call' and 'no one to turn to'. UNSPECIFIED.
Broadhurst, K. E. and Pendleton, T. (2007) Revisiting children 'Home on Trial' in the context of current concerns about the costs and effectiveness of the looked-after children system: findings from an exploratory study. Child and Family Social Work, 12 (4). pp. 380-389. ISSN 1356-7500
Broadhurst, K. and Mason, C. S. and Grover, C. (2007) Sure Start and the reauthorisation of s.47 child protection practices. Critical Social Policy, 27 (4). pp. 443-461. ISSN 0261-0183
Broadhurst, Karen E. and May-Chahal, Corinne (2006) Integrating objects of intervention and organisational relevance: the case of safeguarding children missing from education systems. Child Abuse Review, 15 (6). pp. 440-455. ISSN 0952-9136
Broadhurst, Karen E. and May-Chahal, Corinne A. and Paton, Helen (2005) Children missing from school systems: exploring divergent patterns of disengagement in the narrative accounts of parents, carers, children and young people. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 26 (1). pp. 105-119. ISSN 0142-5692
Featherstone, Brid and Broadhurst, Karen (2003) Engaging parents and carers with family support services: What can be learned from research on help-seeking? Child & Family Social Work, 8 (4). pp. 341-350. ISSN 1365-2206
Broadhurst, Karen and Hall, Chris and Wastell, Dave and White, Sue and Pithouse, Andy (2010) Risk, instrumentalism and the humane project – identifying the informal logics of risk management in children's statutory services. British Journal of Social Work, 40 (4). pp. 1046-1064. ISSN 1468-263X
Associated Keywords: Adolescent, Adoption, Applied Social Science, Child maltreatment, children in care, Children's centres, Conversation analysis, Discourse analysis, Ethnography, Ethnomethodology, Family law and society, Focus groups and interviewing, Globalisation & mobility, Help-seeking and family support, Informal care, Institutional talk, Parenting and family support, Parents, Philosophy of social research, Policy and practice improvement, Poverty and deprivation, Professional judgement, Qualitative research methods
View all research activities, ePrints, news and events associated with Karen Broadhurst.
Contact Details
Tel: +44 (0)1524 594116
Room: Bowland North, C07
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Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Lancaster University
Lancaster LA1 4YD
United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1524 510851
Fax: +44 (0) 1524 510857
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