Children, young people and families

The British Academy has undertaken work that seeks to re-frame debates around children, young people and families in public policy and in public spaces more widely, aiming to break down academic, policy and professional silos in order to explore new conceptualisations of children in policymaking.

Over the last 150 years, the experience of being a child in the United Kingdom has changed hugely in terms of how children are viewed, valued and cared for. During this period, policymaking and research relating to children and families have also undergone dramatic changes.

The British Academy has investigated different aspects of these changes through a number of research activities, including policymaking landscape reviews for each of the four UK nations; case studies on approaches across the four UK nations towards children leaving care and childhood poverty, and evidence on the effectiveness of these different approaches; and a series of stakeholder workshops with policymakers, practitioners and academics.