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The Evidence Quarter

What Works for Children’s Social Care

What Works LGBTQ+

What Works for Children’s Social Care (WWCSC) is committed to improving the evidence base around the experiences and outcomes of  LGBTQ+ children who have, or have had a social worker. WWCSC has recently partnered with academics at the University of Birmingham to launch a new project aiming to better understand and ultimately improve LGBTQ+ young people’s experiences of social care. Within this project we will use qualitative research techniques to interview LGBTQ+ young people in residential care homes, so we can better understand the experiences of these individuals. In the second phase of the study, we will evaluate a specific LGBTQ+ training programme for social workers, to test the impact on practitioners’ confidence and understanding of how best to support the LGBTQ+ young people they work with. We will be working with various stakeholders throughout this process, including young people, social workers, carers, support organisations and policymakers to co-produce this study.  WWCSC leads and provides secretariat for the What Works Network LGBTQ+ group.

Louise Jones [She/her]

Since joining the team in January 2019, Louise has led on building What Works for Children’s Social Care’s grant funding capacity and she also supported the set-up of the internal research team during the early establishment of the Centre. Her work includes oversight of an extensive portfolio of programmes and independent evaluations. She is also responsible for the Spark Grants Scheme, which provides seed funding opportunities to individuals underrepresented in research. 

In 2020, Louise founded What Works LGBTQ+, a collaborative group which brings together expertise from other What Works Centres, to focus on improving the outcomes of LGBTQ+ people.

Prior to WWCSC, Louise worked as a Research Manager for the Behavioural Insights Team and as a Neuroscience and Mental Health Grants Advisor at Wellcome. 

Louise identifies as bisexual, and is from a mixed white and Asian background. She thoroughly enjoys being a boat dweller in London and dabbles in aerial silks in her spare time.