"I don't want to rise 'above' my community. I want to rise *with* it." This sentiment is often expressed to me by young people. They want individual success *and* to see improved conditions for all in their communities. This is a theme I explore in this blog: mabdallah.substack.com/p/mattering-...

Mattering is not just inside people’s heads: Mattering, inequality, schools and solidarity

Luke Billingham is a youth worker for Hackney Quest and a Research Associate for the Open University.

mabdallah.substack.com

"I don't want to rise 'above' my community. I want to rise *with* it." This sentiment is often expressed to me by young people. They want individual success *and* to see improved conditions for all in their communities. This is a theme I explore in this blog: mabdallah.substack.com/p/mattering-...

Mattering is not just inside people’s heads: Mattering, inequality, schools and solidarity

Luke Billingham is a youth worker for Hackney Quest and a Research Associate for the Open University.

mabdallah.substack.com

New @nuffieldfoundation.org funded research exploring racial disparity in diversion from the YJS. Sig findings and recs across education and the CJS.TY to my fellow researchers Isabelle Brodie Joe Kiff John Pitts + Timi Osidipe @manmetuni.bsky.social www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/raci...

Exploring racial disparity in diversion from the youth justice system - Nuffield Foundation

nuffieldfoundation.org

👀 Are you passionate about tackling inequality? Do you want to be part of a leading organisation in the social mobility space in the UK? Applications are currently open for a handful of roles in different teams at the Trust! Find out more 👇

Vacancies - The Sutton Trust

Look at all jobs and vacancies at the Sutton Trust.

recruitment.suttontrust.com

Incredibly proud of this new podcast with @robbiejourno.bsky.social and the Big Light. Young people are demonised on the street but what happens if we look through the stereotype and listen instead?

Kat Smith@profkatsmith.bsky.social · last yr.

Really enjoying listening to this new podcast series 'Young Warriors', featuring @crmnlgy.bsky.social exploring youth-led projects achieving positive social change across the UK: open.spotify.com/show/1KLXLNF... 1/2

🚨 We're looking for a Head of Research & Policy! This is a key role in our integrated Communications, Research and Policy team, and it's a great opportunity to play a meaningful part in effecting change for disadvantaged young people. Apply by 21st May ⤵️ recruitment.suttontrust.com/jobs/5909323...

Head of Research & Policy - The Sutton Trust

Do you have a deep interest in issues of educational equity, social mobility and increasing opportunity? Apply to be our Head of Research & Policy!

recruitment.suttontrust.com

🔊NEW EPISODE This week @lucybrisbane.bsky.social & Lee talk to Sandra Ruiz from the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission about the importance of collective community action & how that has helped relatives & survivors take ownership of the ways Grenfell is memorialised. www.inquest.org.uk/podcast

🧵We learned today that a record 4.5 million children faced poverty this year, but we also learned that policy change can make a difference. changingrealities.org/writings/cut... New analysis with @cpaguk.bsky.social for @nuffieldfoundation.org

The latest Household Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics show that poverty continues to affect millions of children in the UK, with 4.5 million affected by poverty during 2023-2024, an increase of 100,00 on the year before. These figures should shame us all, and must be examined alongside the UK Government’s proposals to take £4.8 billion in social security support from some of the most vulnerable, and indeed poorest, among us. The Government’s own Impact Assessment suggests that 50,000 more children will be pulled into relative poverty as a direct result of these changes. But another way is possible. For the past five years, almost 200 parents and carers living on a low-income from all four nations of the UK have been working alongside researchers at the University of York and Child Poverty Action Group to document everyday life in poverty and to push for change. The project started life as Covid Realities in the pandemic and became Changing Realities in a cost-of-living crisis that has never gone away. In our work together, we have contributed real-time evidence to policymakers, challenged harmful media narratives, and developed co-produced recommendations for change.

changingrealities.org

Richard Yeboah's book about Hackney & gentrification is out soon. Pre-order here: www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/from-h... I reviewed it & said: "Neither a lecture nor a rant, [the book] guides the reader through the contours of controversy with gentle tenacity, careful balance & a lot of heart"

From Hackney, With Love

The London Borough of Hackney is one of the poorest areas in the country and a cultural epicentre for London’s diverse, working-class communities. It is also under threat. From Hackney, With Lov...

bitebackpublishing.com

📢 Against Youth Violence, the book me and Keir Irwin-Rogers published in 2022, is now fully open access! 📢 Link here: bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/display/book... Contents list in image. You can download chapter by chapter, or the whole thing. Please share!

1) Grey Play - taking down the no ball games signs on a Lambeth Housing Estate. Good to see the urban debate on play gathering momentum... www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Yes, ball games: drive to take down signs warning against play begins in London

Charity says thousands of signs on capital’s estates deter children from being active, and is covering some of them up

theguardian.com

Fancy a life changing opportunity? We're looking for a person with character and chemistry.https://www.oasisuk.org/job/lead-youth-practitioner-ae-oasis-hub-waterloo/

The Who is Losing Learning Coalition raises urgent concerns about exclusions and attendance in England’s schools. Luke Billingham @lbilli91.bsky.social makes a powerful case for a four-sided approach to tackling exclusion. Read more: www.the-difference.com/blog #WhoIsLosingLearning

Drug Policy Constellations: The Role of Power and Morality in the Making of Drug Policy in the UK. An introductory thread. 1/11 bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/drug-policy-...

Drug Policy Constellations

Drug Policy Constellations - The Role of Power and Morality in the Making of Drug Policy in the UK; Drawing on the author’s participation in high-level policy discussions, this book presents three key...

bristoluniversitypress.co.uk

Now out in Critical Criminology. #Interventionitis in the Criminal Justice System: Three English Cases. By me, @schreeche.bsky.social, @lbilli91.bsky.social & Keir Irwin-Rogers. 1/? link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Time is running out to save 50% on ALL our books in the January sale! ⏰ You have until Friday 31 January to get 50% off all books using code BUP2S at the checkout. #BristolStudents #50Off #JanuarySale #BookSale Find out more: https://buff.ly/3C3FV88

The UK Government ‘mission’ to prevent violence: What should it involve? Blog by me & Keir Irwin-Rogers - societal-challenges.open.ac.uk/blog/the-uk-...

At The Children’s Society, we aim to consult young people on the issues that affect them as much as possible. Our latest report consulted 324 young people to understand what may be preventing adults from taking effective action around child exploitation. childrenssociety.org.uk/information/...

📢 YOUTH WORK INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY AT HACKNEY QUEST - PLEASE SHARE! 📢 Great opportunity for someone who wants to dedicate their career to supporting young people. Info below. DM me for general info on HQ. Email Janita (address in webpage) re role. Info: www.hackneyquest.org.uk/blog/job-adv...

📢 In a new policy briefing, Keir Irwin-Rogers & I assess recent violence reduction policy in Britain & suggest a way forward. We argue that there's been progress, but more must be done at national level to address macro-social determinants of violence: changingviolence.org/publications...

Grim reality of life inside Manchester prison. Death, self harm and dehumanising regimes.

INQUEST@inquest-org.bsky.social · 2y ago

@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social latest inspection of HMP Manchester reveals the grim reality for the people inside: - little time out of cells - rat infestations - one of the highest rates of self-harm in men's prisons - 7 self-inflicted deaths since 2021

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Another article written by Susie Hulley and me. Might be of interest.

Joint enterprise in England and Wales: why problems persist despite legal change

The law in England and Wales (as in Australia and other jurisdictions) enables a person to be convicted of an offence committed by another using complicity liability, sometimes termed ‘joint enterp...

tandfonline.com

New OPEN ACCESS paper by Stephen Crossley, Gijs van Campenhout and me, about the past, present & future of informal youth football in the UK. Provides a history of informal football and highlights the dangers of formalisation, containment & instrumentalisation. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

‘It’s a far cry from small boys in the park, jumpers for goalposts. Isn’t it?’ the changing space of informal youth football in the UK

It is often remarked that all that is required for children to play football are ‘jumpers for goalposts’. Space is also required, however, and so is permission to play, and to see the game through....

tandfonline.com

Gloria Morrison, the founder of the campaign group @jengba.bsky.social said: “The idea we are locking up young people that have their whole lives ahead of them, who haven’t played any real role in a crime, is incredibly depressing.” www.theguardian.com/law/article/... #jointenterprise

Murder and manslaughter charges under joint enterprise rise despite concern

Nearly 1,000 people charged in five years in England and Wales under doctrine that supreme court said had taken ‘wrong turn’

theguardian.com

This work is political: it is about whose lives are valued, the impact of poverty and racism, and the under resourcing of communities in contrast to the billions we pump into failing institutions. www.inquest.org.uk/end-of-year-...

INQUEST's end of year message✨

An end of year message from our Director, thanking our supporters and looking forward to 2025.

inquest.org.uk

New Publication: "The Rehabilitation Industry: Lived Experience and Performance" (10min read) Andi Brierley & I explore our observations of what we describe as a Rehabilitation Industry and reflect on our roles within it We pose tough questions for all CJS stakeholders—read & join the discussion!

Important questions being asked about Serious Violence Reduction Orders here...

Centre for Crime and Justice Studies@crimeandjustice.bsky.social · 2y ago

Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were introduced in 2022 to tackle knife crime, but the Home Office's lack of transparency means what happened next has been shrouded in secrecy. A short thread🧵

The founding assumption of the CSJ report on recovery is that all illicit drug use/possession is inherently problematic, and so must be dealt with either by punishment or treatment. I.e. they are still in line with the traditionalist wing of the "medico-penal" framework #DrugPolicyConstellations

Alex Stevens@profalexstevens.bsky.social · 2y ago

The new Centre for Social Justice report on addiction and recovery is a mixed bag (a thread) 1/? www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Case reviews ‘silent’ on racial bias in child protection decision making www.communitycare.co.uk/2024/12/03/c...

Case reviews ‘silent’ on racial bias in child protection decision making

Should social workers have a safeguarding role in any future assisted dying process? Yes, this would help protect people against coercion No, the existing safeguards in the assisted dying bill are suf...

communitycare.co.uk

Damning evidence on #poverty in the UK — urgent, sustained action and investment is desperately needed.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation@jrf-uk.bsky.social · 2y ago

Today's ONS stats illustrate the devastating impacts of poverty on life expectancy. Most areas across Great Britain have experienced a fall in life expectancy. 📢 With some of the most deprived areas having the lowest expectancy. 1/3