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The School for Policy Studies goes from strength to strength

1 August 2010

We are very pleased to welcome new colleagues with such a wealth of expertise. The activities of our new Centres strongly complement the School’s existing work

Professor Alex Marsh (Head of School for Policy Studies)
On 1st August 2010, the School for Policy Studies will be joined by the Norah Fry Research Centre and the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences. Both Centres bring international reputations in their specialist fields. The enlarged School encompasses an unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise in policy-relevant research on children and families; physical activity, health and well-being; and services for vulnerable people.

Professor Alex Marsh, Head of the School for Policy Studies, said “We are very pleased to welcome new colleagues with such a wealth of expertise. The activities of our new Centres strongly complement the School’s existing work. The enlargement of the School opens up exciting new possibilities for teaching and research. We look forward to a future making an impact on policy and practice across an even broader range of fields”.

Norah Fry has a long history of collaboration and shared interest with colleagues in the School for Policy Studies....we look forward to a new and exciting chapter within SPS

David Abbott (Acting Head of Norah Fry Research Centre)
Professor Judith Squires, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, said “These new arrangements will provide a positive and productive framework for the continued future success of the School and all the Centres within it”.

The Norah Fry Research Centre has an international reputation in the field of applied research with disabled children and young people and adults with learning disabilities, parents and carers. The move to the School for Policy Studies will allow it to build on the strong existing research and teaching links with the School in areas such as research on personalisation, mental capacity and decision making and services for disabled people. David Abbott, acting head of the Centre, said “Norah Fry has a long history of collaboration and shared interest with colleagues in the School for Policy Studies. Last year marked the 21st birthday of the Centre and we look forward to a new and exciting chapter within SPS.”

We in the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences ... look forward to building upon our existing relationships and exploring new collaborations

Professor Janice Thompson (Head of Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences)
The Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences has an international reputation for the social scientific and interdisciplinary study of physical activity, nutrition and public health. Joining the School will facilitate our research agenda in areas such as childhood obesity, health inequalities, and active, healthful ageing. Professor Janice Thompson, the head of the Centre, says “We in the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences are thrilled to be joining the internationally renowned School for Policy Studies. This is an unprecedented opportunity to build upon our recent successes by expanding and diversifying our research portfolio and teaching programmes. We look forward to building upon our existing relationships and exploring new collaborations.”

The School now comprises seven research centres: 

Its research examines policy areas ranging from housing and neighbourhoods to health care, family policy to social justice, health inequalities to domestic violence, child welfare to social care for older people, poverty to social work, governance to criminology.

The very successful MSc in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health, MSc in Disability Studies (Inclusive Theory and Practice) and the Doctoral Programme in Educational Psychology will join the School’s well-established suite of postgraduate taught programmes in Public Policy, Social Work, Policy Research and Social Work Research.