Adela Kay, Assistant Headteacher at Aspire Virtual School, has conducted in-depth research on a variety of pressing issues affecting children and young people within our community.
For July’s research, Adela explores a range of issues affecting children and young people, including White working-class pupils’ reading fluency, school attendance and wellbeing, EBSA-informed transition planning, reunification for children in care, body image, online safety and age assurance, infant wellbeing, youth violence, and a medieval murder map resource for history teaching.
Below you’ll find summaries and links to the latest research and reports relevant to our work with children and families.
White Working-Class Pupils
Last month a big inquiry into Working Class Children’s Outcomes in Education was released, which I referred to in the June research email I sent a few weeks ago.
Off the back of that report, FFT have done some research into the reading fluency of White working-class pupils. Their focus on reading is because reading fluency is essential for accessing the secondary curriculum.
FFT have used their Reading Assessment Programme data over three years, 2023–26, to analyse outcomes for different groups. Disadvantaged White pupils come out significantly below disadvantaged pupils from other ethnic groups, and below non-disadvantaged White and other ethnic groups.
By the end of Year 6, looking at this data, 32% of White disadvantaged pupils do not have 90 words correct per minute, which is the measure of fluency being used. That means nearly a third of White disadvantaged pupils are joining secondary schools without the requisite reading skills to access the curriculum.
In fact, by the end of Year 6, a third of this group have the reading capabilities of a Year 3 pupil or below. This compares to 20% for other ethnic groups.
Pointing out the problem and not suggesting a solution is not necessarily helpful, but I think knowledge is power in this case. If we know that young people are coming into secondary school not yet ready for the curriculum, we can adapt the curriculum to support and bring their learning in line with their peers. This will support behaviour and attendance, as well as outcomes in the longer term.
📌 Read here: The reading fluency of White working-class pupils – FFT Education Datalab
School Attendance
The National Foundation for Educational Research has published new research on the relationships between life satisfaction, school belonging and absence rates among 15-year-olds in England.
The research analysed linked data from the 2022 Programme of International Student Assessment and the National Pupil Database. The results suggest that wellbeing may play a particularly important role in understanding persistent absence, with findings showing that higher levels of self-reported life satisfaction were associated with lower school absences.
Life satisfaction was a stronger predictor of school absence for girls than for boys. Recommendations include calls for government to ensure wider public services, including family support and mental health services, are equipped to work alongside schools and provide support to children and families.
However, I would also argue that regular school attendance can support wellbeing and help stabilise, particularly for my cohort, potentially chaotic family circumstances.
NFER has also published a report studying the links between attendance, wellbeing, and a sense of belonging. The latter term is being used more and more in the context of inclusive schools. I think the idea of a school as a central part of the community it serves is a running theme through many of the policy and legal changes that are coming, not only through education but also for social care.
📌 Read here:
Reunification
The National Children’s Bureau has published research into interventions which support reunification with parents after periods of time in care.
Its findings suggest that interventions before and after reunification support better outcomes for families and more children being returned home safely.
📌 Read here:
Body Image
The NSPCC has published a news story on children contacting Childline about body image and related concerns over the summer.
There were almost 1,000 Childline counselling sessions across June, July and August 2025 about body image issues and eating disorders. In total, Childline delivered 3,364 counselling sessions to young people about these concerns from April 2025 to March 2026.
They share insights based on Childline service users and tips on encouraging a healthy body image in children and young people.
📌 Read here: Childline is here this summer to support children on body image issues and eating disorders – NSPCC
Online Safety and Age Assurance
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has published research examining how children aged 11 to 17 experience age assurance online, common ways children get around age checks, and what motivates children to use virtual private networks.
The research included a survey of over 2,000 children and data was weighted to be representative of UK children aged 11 to 17.
Findings show around a quarter of children use a VPN, and use rises sharply with age. Most children have encountered some form of age check. Pretending to be older is the most common method of bypassing age checks, and many children are encountering harmful content after bypassing age checks.
📌 Read here: New social media curfews and crackdown on addictive features to better protect 16- and 17-year-olds online – GOV.UK
Giving Babies a Voice
The Institute of Health Visiting has published a report evaluating the impact of training health visitors in the use of the Alarm Distress Baby Scale, a tool to help with routine checks to promote infant wellbeing.
The tool focuses on a baby’s social behaviours, such as eye contact, facial expression, vocalisation and activity levels, to help practitioners better understand the ways babies express their feelings and to support parents and carers with bonding and attachment.
It can also be used to recognise early signs of psychological distress, enabling specialist support to be accessed as soon as it is needed.
Findings from surveys, audit data, focus groups and parent interviews include that ADBB training strengthens understanding of infant social withdrawal and increases practitioner confidence in observing and interpreting babies’ behaviour. Health visitors reported feeling better equipped to articulate the baby’s perspective, and parents described the 6–8 week review as reassuring, supportive and confidence building.
📌 Read here:
Youth Violence
Academics from the University of Cambridge’s Violence Research Centre have analysed thousands of crimes, including many committed by children.
Researchers felt that mapping co-offender data could help identify those more likely to be responsible for the most serious violent crimes. This research suggests that youth violence is deeply social, driven by relationships and peer groups.
It may be worth considering in the context of mapping tools and wider safeguarding work, including how areas of concern can be mapped to safeguard young people and identify those most at risk from exploitation.
📌 Read here:
- Youth crime “contagious”, say Cambridge University researchers – BBC News
- Breaking networks of youth serious violence – Violence Research Centre
Medieval Murder Map
Lastly, as a sop to the historian in me, and because I discovered it when looking at the University of Cambridge criminology department for the research above, I have found an interactive medieval murder map.
This would be so fun to use with primary or KS3 young people. When you click on an implement icon, it tells you how a real murder from the 14th century took place.
Not probably helpful for the social workers who receive this email, but hopefully this will wing its way to some history departments across the borough.
📌 Read here: Medieval Murder Maps
Best wishes,
Adela
