The Children, Young People and Families Network proudly reflects the University of Warwick's commitment to engaging with areas of international, national and regional priority in relation to children, young people and families.
Within the Network, we celebrate shared expertise and nurture positive collaboration within the University community and with external stakeholders. The Network is structured as an innovative eco-system of inter- and transdisciplinary teaching and learning, research and scholarly activity as well as community engagement and outreach activities. Here, we prioritise the direct and sustained support of children, young people, families and those who work with them.
Exploring the Child Arrangements of Separated Families
This 24-month project will address the significant evidence gaps concerning child arrangements made by separated families in England and Wales, from the perspectives of both parents and children. The research will specifically explore children's voices and agency within the decision-making processes during and after separation, focusing on the extent to which children are consulted and how they perceive and experience the arrangements.
Project Team
Project Lead Dr Rajnaara C Akhtar (Warwick)
Co-Leads
Dr Charlotte Bendall (Birmingham)
Dr Rachael Blakey (Warwick)
Caroline Bryson (Independent)
Dr Joanne Harwood (Essex)
Prof Emma Hitchings (Bristol)
Dr Fiona MacCallum (Warwick)
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Our Network activity is guided by our Steering Group, who prioritise the achievement of the Network's aims, as created by Network Members. In addition to this, we are delighted to have Network Members spanning across 16 different Departments within the University, as well as a wide range of external Networks and Stakeholder groups.
Dr Charlotte Jones (Founder)
Dr Charlotte Jones is the Founder of the Children, Young People and Families Network.
Charlotte holds the position of Associate Professor and Director of BA(Hons) Early Childhood, and BA(Hons) Child and Family: Mental Health. Charlotte is responsible for creating and delivering the strategic vision across her portfolio with particular focus on innovation, sustainability, and quality enhancement. Charlotte’s scholarly work and professional development notably focuses on areas relating to identity within early childhood contexts, drama and creative practices as well as mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan. Charlotte’s engagement with industry includes her role as Secretary for the Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Trustee for TACTYC (Together and Committed to Young Children).
Dr Aidan Thompson (Co-Chair)
Aidan Thompson is the Co-Chair of the Children, Young People and Families Network and also the Social Sciences Connect Programme Manager.
Aidan holds a PhD in Education under the title ‘Educating Ethical Value through Pop Song Lyrics’ (University of Birmingham, 2025). He is a published author with a sole authored book and a co-edited collection, as well as several sole and co-authored articles in the fields of character education and professional ethics. Away from academia, he is Chair of Trustees at ReconnectEd Link opens in a new window– a charity that works with young people at risk of exclusion from mainstream schooling. He is also a governor at Moor Hall Primary School
Dr Rajnaara Chowdhury Akhtar
Dr Rajnaara Chowdhury Akhtar is Associate Professor at the School of Law, University of Warwick.
Rajnaara is a socio-legal researcher with a focus on family law, family justice processes, child law and the intersections of gender and family justice. She has explored transitional relationship norms, normative influences, legal consequences and autonomy. She has conducted extensive empirical research on family law and family justice processes in the UK, Qatar and Australia, including work funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the Doha International Family Institute. Her work draws on a range of socio-legal theories and approaches, and is underpinned by Critical Legal Theory. She is co-author of International Child Law (4thEdition), Routledge.
With a background of teaching in primary schools to managing large-scale educational projects for the Social Inclusion and Widening Participation team at Warwick, Marie has over a decade of experience in educational outreach, and is passionate about helping young people from under represented backgrounds in Higher Education realise their potential through impactful educational initiatives.
Her area of interests are extreme social withdrawal, school absenteeism and exclusion. She is Chair of the newly formed Hikikomori UK - a support group for parents and families affected by prolonged social withdrawal and facilitates a monthly online meeting for families from the UK and around the world impacted by this condition.
Dr Emma Langley
Emma Langley is an interdisciplinary academic with a background in education, psychology, and early childhood studies.
Emma's research seeks to understand and reduce inequality for families, particularly those raising a disabled person. She is specifically interested in the experiences of fathers of disabled children and more broadly the transition to fatherhood for all fathers.
Emma’s work often involves collaboration with charities, families, and professionals to ensure that her research has a positive and tangible impact on the outcomes of parents and their children.
Jim McGoghegan
Jim McGoghegan is a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Centre for Life Long Learning.
Jim's background as a social worker in Coventry and Warwickshire includes predominantly working with children and families’ statutory social work. He worked within duty and assessment teams in child protection for a number of years. He has also submitted care plans to court in support of care applications for children. He also has experience of other legal assessments such as Special Guardianship applications. These experiences led Jim to a desire to teach knowledge and skills for children and families social work for qualifying courses at university. Jim has ten years’ experience of teaching Masters and Degree Apprenticeship students in children and families’ social work.
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Julie Taylor
Julie Taylor is currently an Associate Professor and Head of Primary Teacher Education in the Centre for Teacher Education.
Julie's research interests are centred around character, moral and values education. She has an MA in Character Education and is currently studying for a PhD focusing on allocentric virtues in teacher education.
She was awarded the Ambassador of Character award by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham for her pioneering character work in Initial Teacher Education and she has contributed to numerous research papers, conferences and webinars.
Martin Price
Martin Price is the Associate Director, Regional Engagement (Community) and leads the University's community engagement.
This includes building relationships with our close neighbours around campus and working with local stakeholders where our students and staff make their homes, to make lasting, positive impacts on people and communities across Coventry and Warwickshire.
Luda Ruddock
Luda's role as Academic Partnerships Manager involves developing capacity and prompting re- design or development of curricula to stimulate students’ engagement with innovation.
Luda's educational background spans: philology and pedagogy, public health and community work, education and she has worked with international and local charities, funding agencies, and non-profits in the UK and abroad.
Dr Rachael Blakey
Rachael Blakey is Director of the Academic Skills Programme (ASP) and Deputy Director of EDI (Student Facing) in the School of Law.
Rachael's research interests are in family law, socio- legal methods and access to justice.
Rachael's PhD considered the purpose of, and perceptions around, family mediation in the modern family justice landscape. Rachael re-examined family mediation as a process that promotes a new vision of family justice in the contemporary climate.D
Dr Nomisha Kurian
Nomisha Kurian is an Assistant Professor in Education Studies.
Nomisha's current research focuses on Artificial Intelligence in relation to children's wellbeing and development.
She is the first Education specialist to win the University of Cambridge Applied Research Award for "outstanding real-world impact" and also the recipient of the Cambridge Vice-Chancellor's Social Impact Award for "exceptional achievement in social change".
Dr Amy Lynch
Amy Lynch is an Assistant Professor at Warwick Business School.
Amy's research role focuses on developing collaborations with third sector and statutory organisations that deliver services for children and young people. Recent projects include evaluating new ways of working in child protection and children in care services by exploring practitioner, parent and children and young people’s perspectives.
Jamie Ormes
Jamie Ormes is a Community Partnerships Manager at the University of Warwick, helping to lead engagement across Coventry and Warwickshire with a strong focus on social and cultural development.
Jamie builds collaborative partnerships with political, statutory, voluntary and community stakeholders to improve opportunities for children, young people and families.
With a background in widening participation, teaching and youth work, Jamie has delivered projects for young people in a wide variety of settings from coaching football internationally to running youth clubs across Coventry. A qualified teacher, trainer and youth worker, he brings an engaging, people‑centred approach grounded in integrity, relationship‑building and practical experience across the education and voluntary sectors.
Jamie and his wife Danielle are also foster carers for Coventry, reflecting his personal commitment to supporting children and young people in the region.
Podcast Series 'Childhood Today'
This podcast series explores what it means to grow up in today’s world and how society can better nurture, protect, and empower children. Each monthly episode features thought-provoking conversations on hidden childhoods, big questions about the future, and evidence-informed ideas for building brighter futures.
Rachel Strisino - The hidden child: Children (birth to 5yrs) from refugee backgrounds in England
Nomisha Kurian - Artificial Intelligence and children’s futures
Patrick Tomlin - What is a good childhood? Philosophical questions
Alex Hanratty & Aidan Thompson, ReconnectEd - Supporting marginalised young people through emotion coaching and character building
Julia Welland - Caregiving in military families after injury
Marie Diebolt - Behind closed doors: Understanding young people extreme social withdrawal (Hikikomori)
Martin Price & Jamie Ormes - Youth work and Young People’s Voice
Julie Taylor - Why character matters: the role of schools in the development of character for children and young people
Amy Lynch - Innovations to support young people’s transitions from the care system: 5 ingredients to enable innovations to sustain
Jim McGeoghegan - Early Years and Family Help models
Briony Martin - Nurturing the inner child: How we can help our child selves heal
Early Childhood Insights: Poster Conference
04 June 2025, 6pm-8pm, Library, Teaching Grid
This Poster Conference provides the opportunity for our Finalist Undergraduate students to share the findings of their empirical research. This resear will reflect contemporary debates and discussions relating to a range of topics within Early Childhood contexts which span across the 0-8 years age range, including but not limited to, Special Educational Needs, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Parental Support and Children’s Development. Students will also be sharing their recommendations for future policy, practice and research.
Grant Collaboration Bootcamp
12 November 2025, MS Teams
Writing a large, collaborative research funding proposal is about managing people, expectations and project aims. This session unpacked Rajnaara and Rachael's experiences of applying for a £600,000 grant from the Nuffield Foundation, titled 'Exploring the Child Arrangements of Separated Families'. Discussing what works, what doesn't and what's up for debate when developing joint grant applications, this session shared good practices and dived into the 'grey areas' where judgement and diplomacy matter most.
Children, Young People and Families Network Meeting
03 June 2025, 10am-12pm, Oculus OCO.01
1001 Days: Setting the Foundations for Life
21 May 2025, 6pm-8.30pm, MS Teams
This event is driven by our committed pursuit to promote the voices and needs of our youngest members of society in all matters impacting upon them. Additional priorities include building a sustainable infrastructure and cross-Government strategy through which to address factors relating to health and wellbeing, the early childhood workforce and the role of preventative services. During this event, our speakers and attendees will explore these contemporary priorities, as well as some of the persistent challenges in supporting babies and their families. This event took place in collaboration with the University of Northampton.
Children, Young People and Families Network Launch Event
06 May 2025, 10am-12pm, Oculus OCO.01
We are delighted to be launching the new Children, Young People and Families Network at the University by inviting you to a face-to-face event that marks the first step in the launch of this new area of activity. Within the Network, we seek to celebrate shared expertise, to nurture positive collaboration across Centres, across Faculties and the University for the benefit of children and young people, families and our University community. This first event will serve as a unique platform to discuss our expertise, share insights, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. All are welcome.
See the degrees and programmes offered at the University of Warwick that may be of interest to participants and audiences of the Network:
BA(Hons) Child and Family: Early Childhood - offered part-time and full-time, distance learning
BA(Hons) Child and Family: Mental Health - offered part-time and full-time, distance learning
