| Title: |
A Cluster randomised controlled trial of social workers in schools in England |
| Authors: |
Westlake, David; Pallmann, Philip; Lugg-Widger, Fiona; Schroeder, Elizabeth-Ann; Adara, Linda; Munnery, Kim; Ayayo, Sharon; Bennett, Verity; Meindl, Melissa; Smith, Philip; Condie, Jennifer; Daher, Shahd; Roberts, Louisa; Rawlinson, Sarah; Forrester, Donald; Petrou, Stavros; White, James |
| Publisher Information: |
SAGE Publications |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
Cardiff University: ORCA (Online Research @ Cardiff) |
| Description: |
Purpose: ‘Social Workers in Schools’ (SWIS) is a school-based intervention aiming to reduce the need for children to receive child protection services in England. This paper reports findings of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) designed to evaluate SWIS. Method: The study was a two-arm pragmatic cluster RCT with an embedded process and economic evaluation. The intervention physically located social workers within schools. The primary outcome was the rate of child protection enquiries and secondary outcomes included care entry and educational outcomes. Results: 278,858 students in 268 schools were randomised to the intervention (136 schools) or control arm (132 schools). We found no statistically significant effects on primary or secondary outcomes. SWIS was implemented well and positively perceived. Discussion: SWIS appears ineffective in reducing the need for statutory services. The study demonstrates it is possible to conduct a large-scale school-based social work RCT. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178006/17/westlake-et-al-2025-a-cluster-randomized-controlled-trial-of-social-workers-in-schools-%28swis%29-in-england.pdf; Westlake, David https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A2398492J.html orcid:0000-0001-7507-3413 orcid:0000-0001-7507-3413, Pallmann, Philip https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A2341958V.html orcid:0000-0001-8274-9696 orcid:0000-0001-8274-9696, Lugg-Widger, Fiona https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A0960398.html orcid:0000-0003-0029-9703 orcid:0000-0003-0029-9703, Schroeder, Elizabeth-Ann, Adara, Linda https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A2260439J.html orcid:0000-0002-0015-3942 orcid:0000-0002-0015-3942, Munnery, Kim https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A21885274.html, Ayayo, Sharon, Bennett, Verity https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A2143993C.html orcid:0000-0002-9311-4124 orcid:0000-0002-9311-4124, Meindl, Melissa https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A24070379.html orcid:0000-0002-1231-0175 orcid:0000-0002-1231-0175, Smith, Philip https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A1861656P.html orcid:0000-0002-3491-4519 orcid:0000-0002-3491-4519, Condie, Jennifer https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A28301678.html, Daher, Shahd, Roberts, Louisa https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A21195369.html orcid:0009-0009-5596-0280 orcid:0009-0009-5596-0280, Rawlinson, Sarah https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A24695278.html, Forrester, Donald https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A2224322Z.html orcid:0000-0002-2293-5718 orcid:0000-0002-2293-5718, Petrou, Stavros and White, James https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A131567C.html orcid:0000-0001-8371-8453 orcid:0000-0001-8371-8453 2025. A Cluster randomised controlled trial of social workers in schools in England. Research on Social Work Practice 10.1177/10497315251338227 https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315251338227 file https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178006/17/westlake-et-al-2025-a-cluster-randomized-controlled-trial-of-social-workers-in-schools-%28swis%29-in-england.pdf |
| DOI: |
10.1177/10497315251338227 |
| Availability: |
https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178006/; https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315251338227 |
| Rights: |
cc_by_nc_4_0 |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.2A9B9FE0 |
| Database: |
BASE |