There is currently limited research which considers the implementation of new policies in child protection practice. In this article, we explore policy implementation in children’s social care using recent Welsh policy on Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) as a case study.

Meetings to enhance shared decision-making, such as family group conferences, potentially contribute to enhancing meaningful involvement of families. Such meetings are also claimed by some to reduce the need for children to be in care, either by increasing support from family for parents or by identifying care from within the family network. This rapid realist review aims to develop an understanding of how meetings that facilitate shared decision-making between professionals and families might work to safely reduce the need for children to be in care. It identifies mechanisms that are thought to make a difference and contextual factors that influence the impact of identified mechanisms.

Parental advocacy is an emerging area of research and policy interest in Wales and across the UK. Although there is little research in the UK context to date, international research has indicated that parental advocacy can improve the relationship between parent and professional in the field of child protection social work. This paper aims to ascertain how the implementation of a parental advocacy programme supports parents to play a meaningful role in decision-making when children’s services are working with them and their families.

In this article, we explore practitioners’ perceptions of how they work with young people experiencing, or at risk of, CSE and whether they believe the new Welsh CSE Guidance is effectively implemented in their practice. This small-scale qualitative study utilised small group interviews and semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives of twelve participants in the initial phase of the guidance release. A thematic analysis of the data demonstrates a lack of professional awareness of the new Welsh CSE guidance, raising questions surrounding implementation efficacy.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the current state of literature on peer parental advocacy, offering practical insights and ideas for researchers and practitioners interested in this evolving field.

This realist-informed study considered how a newly implemented PPA programme supported parents in two English Local Authorities. Our findings highlight the unique role peer advocates can play as a resource to influence decision-making, power relations and working relationships between professionals and parents. This article presents our final programme theory, which identifies four key mechanisms that support perceived effectiveness in PPA implementation…

Although children's social care is an area rich in guidance, there is very little research looking at the implementation of new policies in the United Kingdom. In this article, we report on the first stage of a realist evaluation of the implementation of the new Safeguarding Children from Child Sexual Exploitation guidance in Wales. We discuss the development of an initial programme theory, for which we conducted semi-structured interviews with practitioners and managers in three local authorities. We developed programme theories across three areas: policy nature and development, implementation plans and organizational context.

Peer parental advocacy (PPA) is a form of peer advocacy whereby parents with lived experience of the child protection system support other parents to navigate and engage with it (Tobis, Bilson & Katugampala, 2020). Proponents of PPA suggest that it has the potential to promote more shared decision-making, improved relationships between social service professionals and families, and enable increased participation by parents…