Dr Nicole Gridley

Rock climbing is a sport which is growing in popularity across the world. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of rock-climbing activities aimed at the under-fives, perhaps influenced by research that has highlighted benefits across a variety of outcomes, including developmental and psychological, for young people and adults. Whilst theoretically, rock climbing could be considered beneficial for helping children acquire key social-emotional, cognitive, and motor abilities, little research has been performed in this area. This chapter begins with an overview of play and movement in the early years. The benefits of active and risky play in the early years are then explored, followed by the theoretical alignment to rock climbing. A discussion of embodied cognition as an appropriate theoretical lens to understand rock climbing’s potential mechanisms of change on development in the early years is then presented. The chapter concludes with recommendations for both future research and practice.

Background Prevention and early intervention are key to addressing poor child mental health. Systematic reviews have highlighted a lack of brief, valid and reliable outcome measures that can be implemented in both research and practice to assess social, emotional and behavioural outcomes in the early years. The Preschool Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (2–4 years) is a promising candidate to fill this gap, but the measurement properties of this tool are not yet known in very young children. Methods A secondary data analysis of two clinical trial datasets was conducted to examine the internal consistency reliability and structural validity of the parent-report English preschool version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a sample of 505 infants with mean average age of 18 months (SD .81). The measure was designed for children aged 2–4 years and was not modified prior to use with 1-year-olds in this study. Structural validity was examined in two Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) testing two-factor and five-factor models (representing factor structures proposed by the developers of SDQ), and McDonald’s coefficient Omega was estimated for each subscale with values > .70 considered acceptable. Results The model fit values for the two-factor model demonstrated a poor fit to the data (X2 = 626.067(151) = p < .001, CFI = 0.612, RMSEA = 0.079 [90% CI .073 to .085], SRMR = .077) and the omega value was below acceptable at ω = .57 for the internalising subscale and ω = .76 for the externalising subscale. The five-factor model also demonstrated a poor fit to the data (X2 = 836.813(242) = p < .001, CFI = 0.676, RMSEA = 0.070 [90% CI .065 to .075], SRMR = .081). Omega values were below acceptable for three out of five subscales. Discussion We concluded that the measure has poor internal consistency and lacks structural validity in this very young age group. Further research to adapt the SDQ in order to improve content and face validity is recommended prior to any further psychometric analyses with this very young age group. The paucity of robust and practical outcome measures of early social, emotional and behavioural poses significant challenges to the early identification of need and evaluation of interventions.

Background This study investigated the factor structure of the parenting sense of competence (PSoC), a measure of parenting self‐efficacy, in a sample of parents recruited when their infants were under 2 months old. Due to the lack of longitudinal analysis of the PSoC's factor structure over time, the study sought to establish if the published two‐factor structure was consistent over an 18‐month period. Methods Data collected from 536 parents who had participated in a randomised controlled trial of universal proportionate parenting support, delivered in five sites in England, were subject to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results CFA revealed that a three‐factor model was the best fit for the data. Longitudinal measurement invariance testing examined the stability of the three‐factor model across an 18‐month period. The results suggest that while the PSoC appeared to have configural variance, the metric and scalar variance were not supported. PSoC may be unstable across time and might be unreliable as a measure of parenting competence in parents of infants. Conclusion These findings are particularly salient for researchers and clinicians who are utilising the PSoC as a measure of change in routine practice or as part of evaluations of interventions. Further investigation of individual items is needed to refine the PSoC and improve its psychometric validity. Additional analyses are also needed to establish the invariance of the measure across different groups (age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status).

Research findings reveal a relationship between acute bouts of exercise and procedural/declarative memory. Prior systematic reviews report small/moderate effects of acute exercise on episodic long-term declarative memory. A somewhat overlooked issue is the influence of exercise on specific types of episodic memory processing. The primary focus of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of acute bouts of exercise prior to, during, and following encoding on free-, cued-recall, and recognition episodic memory. PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCO databases were entered, and 42 experiments were subject to meta-analysis. Exercise prior to encoding improved memory (d = 0.23) and affected free-recall (d = 0.40) tests of memory more than cued-recall (d = 0.08) or recognition (d = −0.06) memory. Exercise following encoding improved memory (d = 0.33) and affected recognition (d = 0.62) memory more than free- (d = 0.19) or cued-recall (d = 0.14) memory. Exercise during encoding did not influence memory (d = −0.04). Moderator analyses revealed that exercise before encoding impacted memory differentially on the basis of age, exercise type, and test-timing. When exercise occurred after encoding, age and exercise type, but not timing of the test influenced memory performance. Exercise before and after encoding has selective effects on episodic memory. Additional experiments that evaluate how bouts of exercise influence memory encoding are warranted. Systematic review registration PROSPERO, identifier CRD42020202784.

The findings from evaluations of parenting programmes can help inform policy and practice decisions, including how best to allocate scarce resources designed to support families. However, studies often fail to consider the extent to which the findings can be generalised to other settings or populations. One, yet unexplored solution, is to compare study findings and large-scale data sets including publicly available population data. The aims of this study were to assess the feasibility of assessing sample representativeness using publicly available data and to identify the challenges involved in considering the generalisability of study findings. Sociodemographic data from two community-based evaluations of parenting programmes conducted in England and Ireland between 2015 and 2018 were used in the study (N = 395 parent-infant dyads). The results indicated some differences between the trial samples and the wider population. However, it is difficult to reach definitive conclusions about these findings due to the limitations associated with using the comparative data sets. Our study revealed three key challenges, including: (1) how best to define and conceptualise representativeness; (2) the availability of comparative data sets; and (3) the quality of the available data. Our study suggests that there is a need for up-to-date, good-quality comparative data sets to allow for the assessment of representativeness. Further work is required to identify parameters for making claims about representativeness, specifically regarding the acceptable level of difference between the target population and the study sample. This is the first study to explore the feasibility of using publicly available population data in two jurisdictions, for the purpose of making judgements about the representativeness of the findings from parent programmes. It is hoped that our results will encourage further investigation around the reporting of trial external validity to enable effective decision-making at policy and practice level.

Introduction: Behavioural and mental disorders have become a public health crisis and by 2020 may surpass physical illness as a major cause of disability. Early prevention is key. Two Incredible Years parent programmes that aim to enhance child wellbeing and development, IY-Infant and IY-Toddler, will be delivered and evaluated in a proportionate universal intervention model called E-SEE Steps. The main research question is: Does E-SEE Steps enhance child social emotional wellbeing at 20 months when compared to services as usual?

The Incredible Years (IY) universal child Classroom Dinosaur and Teacher Classroom Management programmes are delivered in all 102 primary schools in Gwynedd County, Wales. This article describes a pilot study of the IY Therapeutic (small group) Dinosaur School social and emotional coaching programme, developed as a treatment programme, in one such school. The aim was to assess the added benefit of this programme for young high-risk children in order to inform a larger randomized controlled trial. Twenty-four children, aged between 5- and 9-years-old, were identified as likely to benefit from the programme. Twelve children received ten two-hour sessions, the other 12 were wait-list control. The-programme was reduced to ten weeks to fit the school and research timetable. A full set of pre- and post-intervention data was collected for 19 children, using child and researcher completed measures. No significant differences between conditions were found post-intervention. Sub-sample analysis of 12 children rated by teachers as high-risk demonstrated significant benefits for the intervention children by comparison with control in terms of increases in problem-solving skills. These findings suggest an important role for psychologists in training and supporting schools in implementing the evidence-based IY interventions as is currently happening across Wales. The study also provided guidance on targeting and evaluation measures for a more rigorous study using the full programme.

Many sports programmes designed for children under five claim improvements in physical, social, and psychological outcomes. However, few have been subject to any form of inquiry. This paper reports an initial exploratory study of parental perceptions of an indoor bouldering programme designed for children younger than 6 when delivered in England. Six parents who accessed an average of four sessions took part in a telephone interview to gather initial perceptions, and to establish whether they felt that there had been changes in their children’s and their own behaviour by attending the Rock Tots/Kids classes. Thematic analysis indicated that parents were generally positive about the programme, and could identify some changes in their children’s intrapersonal, interpersonal, and climbing specific skills when participating in the sessions. Parents also reported changes in their own approaches to parenting. Suggestions for future research of sports programmes targeted at this age group are discussed.

This systematic review sought to identify observational measures of parent-child interactions commonly implemented in parenting program research, and to assess the level of psychometric evidence available for their use with this age group. Two separate searches of the same databases were conducted; firstly, to identify eligible instruments, and secondly to identify studies reporting on the psychometric properties of the identified measures. Five commercial platforms hosting 19 electronic databases were searched from their inception to conducted search dates. Fourteen measures were identified from Search 1; a systematic search of randomized controlled trial evaluations of parenting programs. For Search 2, inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied to 1327 retrieved papers that described the development and/or validation of the 14 measures identified in Search 1. Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria, resulting in five observational measures for the final review. Data were extracted and synthesized using the COSMIN rating system to describe the methodological quality of each article alongside the overall quality rating of the psychometric property reported for each measure using the Terwee checklist. Measure reliability was categorized into four domains (internal consistency, test-re-test, inter-rater, and intra-rater). Measure validity was categorized into four domains (content, structural, convergent/divergent, and discriminant). Results indicated that the majority of psychometric evidence related to children aged from birth the three with internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and structural validity the most commonly reported properties, although this evidence was often weak. The findings suggest further validation of the included measures is required to establish acceptability for the whole target age group.

Considering the impact of Covid-19 on community parenting support.

Parenting programmes are effective interventions for preventing and treating conduct problems in young children. Up to 20% of children in disadvantaged areas have conduct disorder. Recent government initiatives such as targeting early years services to designated disadvantaged Flying Start areas in Wales have resulted in increased nursery-care provision for pre-schoolers, yet little has been done to equip nursery staff with effective child behaviour management strategies. The purpose of this non-randomised trial platform study was to establish the feasibility of delivery and the effectiveness of the new Incredible Years Toddler Parent Programme in supporting nursery staff in managing difficult behaviour in the nursery. The Parent Programme is a 12-session (a two-hour session/week) course for carers/parents of children aged one to three years old, which encourages carers to: establish positive relationships with children through play and child-centred activities; use praise, rewards and incentives to encourage appropriate behaviours; and use effective limit setting and clear instructions. Thirteen nursery workers were recruited from two Flying Start nurseries in Wales. Measures were completed on 28 nursery children by their parents and nursery workers, baseline and four months post-baseline, with the intervention delivered in the interim. Paired t-test analyses demonstrated statistically significant improvements (p<0.05) for child behaviour in the nursery and nursery staff's self-reported stress and sense of competence. No improvement in child behaviour was reported in the home. In conclusion, nursery worker training could incorporate the Incredible Years parent programme to support the staff in managing child behaviour in the nursery. The intervention should be delivered to both home and out-of-home carers to encourage consistency in child management strategies.

Purpose – Socio-economic disadvantage is linked to poor parenting skills and subsequently poorer child development. The most deprived geographical areas in Wales have been targeted under the Welsh Government Flying Start scheme to receive additional resources. Unfortunately, many in-need families either lived outside these areas or required further intervention above what was provided. The Welsh Government decision to extend Flying Start is appropriate but the proposed targeting method may still fail to reach all high-risk families. The purpose of this paper is to explore an alternative targeting method. Design/methodology/approach – The current study examined the association between five socio-economic and demographic risk factors and parenting outcomes in a sample of Flying Start families. Findings – Quality of housing (overcrowding and housing standards) played a significant role in predicting poorer parenting outcomes in terms of language and home stimulation. Exposure to multiple risk predicted poorer outcomes regardless of which risk factors were present. Originality/value – This paper contributes to discussion about effective ways of allocating limited resources to best effect.

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between attribution style and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBDs), and to explore differences in attribution tendencies between adolescents with and without SEBDs. In total, 72 adolescents attending a school in London were recruited; 27 were receiving support for SEBDs from the behaviour and education support team at their school and 45 were recruited from the main school population. Participants completed the Children’s Attribution Style Questionnaire and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that adolescents with SEBDs had a more negative attribution style, made more stable attributions of negative events and reported fewer internal attributions of positive events than students without SEBDs. The findings highlight the importance of cognitive factors in providing a basis for interventions intending to address young people’s behaviour and cater for the heterogeneous nature of SEBDs.

Background Parental language is associated with children's later language development. Parenting programmes, based on social learning theory, enhance a range of parenting behaviours, yet there is limited evidence for their effect on parental language. AimTo assess the benefits of a behavioural-based parenting programme, which features components of language and communication, to enhance parental language. Method Parents of toddlers, aged 12 to 36 months, were recruited from eight Flying Start early intervention centres across Wales. Participants were randomised 2:1 either to a parenting programme (n = 60) or to a wait-list control group (n = 29). Researchers were blind to participant allocation throughout the trial. Fifteen-minute video-recorded observations of parents and children interacting during free-play, both at a pre-intervention and at 6-month follow-up, provided the data for the study. Five observed measures of parental language were assessed; quantity and variety, encouraging, critical, child-led and parent led interactions. InterventionThe Incredible Years Parent-Toddler Programme (IYPTP) is a 12-week group-based behavioural intervention that teaches effective relationship and behavioural management skills including social, emotional and persistence coaching to enable parents to better support their children's development. ResultsOf 89 dyads that completed pre-intervention assessments 81 (54 intervention and 27 control) met the criteria for the current study. Intention to treat analysis indicated that child-led language interactions significantly benefited from the intervention [regression coefficient (B) = -1.44, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = -2.59 to -0.29, P = 0.015, effect size (ES) = 0.47] and a positive trend for encouraging language in favour of the intervention sample was evident. Per-protocol sample analysis replicated these findings with encouraging language reaching statistical significance (B = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.11 to 2.03, P = 0.03, ES = 0.52). No further benefits were evident. Conclusions The IYPTP has limited evidence as an effective programme for enhancing some aspects of parental language

The relationship between materialism and social-emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBDs) was assessed by comparing a sample of adolescents receiving in-school behavioural support with adolescents not receiving any support. All participants completed the Youth Materialism Scale and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Binary logistic regression indicated that adolescents who reported higher levels of materialism were more likely to be classified into a group considered ‘at-risk’ for developing conduct and peer problems. Hierarchical logistic regression assessed the moderation of behavioural support and indicated that adolescents in receipt of behavioural support who reported higher levels of materialism were at a greater risk of hyperactivity in comparison to those who receive support but reported lower levels of materialism. For adolescents not receiving behavioural support, less materialistic attitudes placed them at a greater risk of hyperactivity. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between different SEBD typologies and the potential effects of materialism during adolescence.

The About Me Questionnaire (AMQ; Maras, 2002) has been used to measure components of social identity, academic self-concept and selfworth in children and adolescents in the UK and abroad. Studies have reported simple reliability statistics but a comprehensive assessment of thescale's psychometric properties has not been conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis, using a sample of 5082 children aged 6-18 years from combined datasets of five cross-sectional research studies, was employed to establish the psychometric soundness of the 29-item AMQ. Analysis revealed generally adequate reliability with the seven factor structure confirmed in a replication sample. Results provide evidence of adequate psychometric properties, optimised with the omission of reverse coded item and selected items, suggesting it is suitable for assessing social identity and academic self-concept of children and adolescents in appliedsettings. Tests for measurement invariance showed that the assessment of parallel constructs was strongly supported across males and females and partially supported across primary and secondary school age groups.

Observation is the ‘gold standard’ for assessing parent-child behavior, however few studies have compared coding live, in real time, versus coding from videotapes in terms of their achievable levels of coder reliability within the field of parent programme research. This is important for practitioners and researchers for whom decisions might be influenced by time and financial constraints, but where outcomes may have real practical and clinical implications. Trained coders in the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System Revised, coded 40 half-hour videotapes of 33 parent-toddler dyads interacting in the home on 29 items of dyadic behaviour. Four theorised composite variables were constructed. Videotaped data were compared to data drawn from the same interactions previously coded ‘live’ in the home. Correlations indicated significant agreement between the two modes at the item by item level (p < .001). Wilcoxon Rank tests revealed significant differences (p < .001) between the two modes. Eight items exceeded a ±30% change in median score suggesting clinically relevant differences. Although both methods achieved acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability, video coding achieved higher levels of agreement. Subtle differences exist between the two modes. Whilst neither mode proved superior it is suggested that they should not be used interchangeably.

The increasing prevalence of mental health issues is a global concern, and implementing low-cost, effective, population-level interventions is critical. Physical activity interventions, including climbing, hold promise as one way to bridge this gap. Climbing is a non-mainstream form of physical activity that is gaining popularity and is being increasingly investigated as a potential mental health intervention, with promising findings. As this field of enquiry grows, the range in methods, intervention components, outcome measures, and participant characteristics is increasing, making cross-study comparisons challenging. There is a need to characterise the literature and identify common methods and gaps in knowledge. PsycInfo, CINAHL, Web Of Science, Embase, MEDline, Scopus, SportDISCUS were searched for studies including climbing and a measure of mental health or wellbeing. CENTRAL and clinicaltrials.gov were searched for ongoing trials. All study designs were eligible for inclusion. Grey literature and reviews were excluded. All screening, data extraction, and quality assessments occurred in duplicate. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Fifty-nine papers were eligible for inclusion, covering a wide range of study designs (interventions, experimental studies, descriptive studies, qualitative and mixed-methods studies), contexts, and samples (clinical/non-clinical, climbers/non-climbers, adults/children and adolescents). Overall, climbing interventions and participation seemed to have benefits for mental health and wellbeing across a range of individuals. It is unclear what the mechanisms leading to these benefits might be. Further high quality research is warranted to investigate exactly how, where, when, and for who climbing can improve mental health and wellbeing, and to investigate theories of change.

Parenting programs are effective in the early intervention and treatment of children's social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. However, inconsistency in the use of outcome measures limits the comparability of programs and creates challenges for practitioners seeking to monitor progress of families in their care. A systematic review was conducted to identify measures, appraise their psychometric properties and ease of implementation, with the overall objective of recommending a small battery of measures for use by researchers and practitioners. This article provides an overview of the most commonly used measures in experimental evaluations of parenting programs delivered to parents of children up to, and including, the age of 5 years (including antenatal programs). An in-depth appraisal of the psychometric properties and ease of implementation of parent outcome measures is also presented (findings in relation to child and dyadic outcome measures are presented elsewhere). Following a systematic search, 64 measures were identified as being used in three or more of 279 included evaluation studies. Data on the psychometric properties of 18 parent outcome measures were synthesised from 87 development and validation studies. Whilst it was not possible to identify a definitive battery of recommended measures, we are able to recommend specific measures that could be prioritised in further research and development and hold promise for those seeking to monitor the outcomes of parents and children in receipt of parenting programs.

This systematic review is one of the three which sought to identify measures commonly implemented in parenting program research, and to assess the level of psychometric evidence available for their use with this age group. This review focuses specifically on measures of child social-emotional and behavioral outcomes. Two separate searches of the same databases were conducted; firstly to identify eligible instruments, and secondly to identify studies reporting on the psychometric properties of the identified measures. Five commercial platforms hosting 19 electronic databases were searched from their inception to conducted search dates. Twenty-four measures were identified from Search 1: a systematic search of randomized controlled trial evaluations of parenting programs. For Search 2, inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied to 21,329 articles that described the development and/or validation of the 24 measures identified in Search 1. Thirty articles met the inclusion criteria. resulting in 11 parent report questionnaires and three developmental assessment measures for review. Data were extracted and synthesized to describe the methodological quality of each article using the COSMIN checklist alongside the overall quality rating of the psychometric property reported for each measure. Measure reliability was categorized into four domains (internal consistency, test-re-test, inter-rater, and intra-rater). Measure validity was categorized into four domains (content, structural, convergent/divergent, and discriminant). Results indicated that supporting evidence for included measures is weak. Further work is required to improve the evidence base for those measures designed to assess children's social-emotional and behavioral development in this age group. PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42016039600.

Poor language skills can have a negative effect on a developing child if not identified early. Current strategies to identify families with children who may need additional support are limited, and may not detect child language problems before they become entrenched. The present study explores observed indices of parental language as a means of identifying families whose children are at risk of poor outcomes. Fifteen-minute observations of 68 parent–toddler dyads were coded for 11 categories of parent language. Three complex measures were developed; parent prompts, encouraging and critical language. Two simple language indices (parent total words and total different words) were calculated for comparison. Two complex measures evidenced acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability, reasonable stability over time and some construct validity. “Parent prompts” predicted toddler receptive and expressive language six months later. In comparison, the two simple measures were more reliable and stable over time and just as predictive of toddler language. The findings suggest observed parental language could prove useful in identifying high-risk families in need of specific support and simple measures could be integrated into existing assessment frameworks used by early years services. Further research is required to establish the feasibility of integrating such methods into current service delivery.

Background: Group-based parent programmes demonstrate positive benefits for adult and child mental health, and child behaviour outcomes. Greater fidelity to the programme delivery model equates to better outcomes for families attending, however, fidelity is typically self-monitored using programme specific checklists. Self-completed measures are open to bias, and it is difficult to know if positive outcomes found from research studies will be maintained when delivered in regular services. Currently, ongoing objective monitoring of quality is not conducted during usual service delivery. This is odd given that quality of other services is assessed objectively, for example by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED). Independent observations of programme delivery are needed to assess fidelity and quality of delivery to ensure positive outcomes, and therefore justify the expense of programme delivery. Methods: This paper outlines the initial development and reliability of a tool, the Parent Programme Implementation Checklist (PPIC), which was originally developed as a simple, brief and generic observational tool for independent assessment of implementation fidelity of group-based parent programmes. PPIC does not require intensive observer training before application/use. This paper presents initial data obtained during delivery of the Incredible Years BASIC programme across nine localities in England and Wales, United Kingdom (UK). Results: Reasonable levels of inter-rater reliability were achieved across each of the three subscales (Adherence, Quality and Participant Responsiveness) and the overall total score when applying percentage agreements (>70%) and intra-class correlations (ICC) (ICC range between 0.404 and 0.730). Intra-rater reliability (n = 6) was acceptable at the subscale level. Conclusions: We conclude that the PPIC has promise, and with further development could be utilised to assess fidelity of parent group delivery during research trials and standard service delivery. Further development would need to include data from other parent programmes, and testing by non-research staff. The objective assessment of quality of delivery would inform services where improvements could be made.

Social emotional development in infancy is a predictor of outcomes in later life, yet there is little evidence of effectiveness for parenting interventions designed to enhance infant social emotional well-being. An 18-month two-arm randomised controlled pilot trial evaluated the feasibility of a definitive trial of Incredible Years (IY) Infant and Toddler parent programs delivered in a proportionate universal model, called Enhancing Social-Emotional Health and Well-being in the Early Years (E-SEE) STEPS. Intervention families received an IY Babies book (universal dose), followed by the IY Infant and/or the Toddler group-based programs, based on parent depression (PHQ-9) and/or child social emotional development (ASQ:SE-2) scores. Control parents received services as usual. Primary endpoints for the study were feasibility parameters relating to recruitment, retention and intervention fidelity. A total of 205 parents from two English local authorities with a child eight-weeks-old or younger were randomised (152:53, intervention:control). Trial retention rate was higher than expected, with a completion rate of 88% (n=181, 137:44) at follow-up 3; equating to 94% of 192 expected participants. Intervention uptake was lower than expected. Fidelity of delivery was acceptable. A definitive trial is feasible with design amendments to include: introduction of a child screener for intervention eligibility; enhanced intervention material; revised sample size and random allocation ratio. Our internal pilot became an external pilot due to these changes. Trial registration number; ISRCTN11079129.

This document reports on findings from a research project conducted by staff from Leeds Beckett University’s School of Education and School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The purpose of the research was to develop understandings of the facilities and provision at Burmantofts Community Nursery and to explore how the nursery can plan for the future to better meet the needs of the local community.

In early 2020, universities across the world ceased face-to-face teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores the experiences of first-year UK university students during this time. Four main themes were identified in the data. Regarding course delivery, students valued the flexibility of blended learning, which involved attending some live sessions while working on others in their own time. Student interaction was mentioned to be critical for learning and how the use of webcams and breakout rooms can facilitate or hinder it. Regarding staff, continuous communication, availability and online drop-ins were highly valued and had a positive impact on satisfaction. Finally, while students benefitted from a coherent use of online tools provided by the university, they also valued the flexibility of using less-regulated tools, including social media.

    In 2014, the Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (DfE & DoH, 2015) introduced four broad areas of need to describe pupils who required special educational provision in England. One of these categories was Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH). A narrative literature review revealed a paucity of research in this area. While the general language of special education and the impact of categorising children was the subject of interesting research, papers focused on SEMH had several shortcomings. This thesis used the work of Michel Foucault to explore the emerging discourses of SEMH and their impact on the lives of children. Research was undertaken at an SEMH special school in England and activities were conducted as year 11 pupils prepared for the transition to post-16 education. Data were collected from teachers and parents via experiential focus groups. Data were collected from pupils via semi-formal interviews.  (Critical) discourse analysis was used to consider and compare the discourse used by pupils, parents and teachers when describing SEMH. Phenomenology was used to consider pupils’ experiences of this discourse.  The findings were conceptualised as a ‘Game of Truth’.  The findings suggested that a clear and consistent discourse of SEMH does not yet exist. Instead, a myriad of voices contributed to a series of diverse discourses being simultaneously generated, applied, accepted, subverted and rejected. These discourses included those of difference, deviance, protection and trauma. There was evidence to suggest that elements of these discourses caused some pupils significant distress and contributed to feelings of anxiety and shame. An original model was used to illustrate the link between power, discourse and subjectivity and revealed some teachers and parents to be parrhesiastic truth-tellers. The work of Avery Gordon emerged as an effective and original way to theorise the haunting experienced by pupils and capture their desire for something to be done. A cautious recommendation is made to those working in SEMH special schools so that support is offered to pupils while further research is undertaken.