Dr Vicky Sharley
PhD (Cardiff), BSc (Plym.), PG Cert (Cardiff)
Expertise
Vicky teaches on professional social work practice. Her research focuses upon child care, welfare and protection in the UK and Namibia. She is Regional Editor (UK & Europe) for Child & Family Social Work Journal.
Current positions
Senior Lecturer in Social Work with Children and Families
School for Policy Studies
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
Vicky is co-author of the Good-Practice Guide ‘Working with Children who have Experienced Neglect’ published by Coram BAAF (2023). At the University of Bristol, Vicky co-directs the Families and Parenting Faculty Research Group in the faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences. Vicky sits on the national Joint University Social Work Association (JUSWA) International Committee.
Since 2014, Vicky has been collaborating internationally with social work and education colleagues at the University of Namibia. Vicky is currently co-Principal Investigator (Bristol Partner) for a cross-institutional, Perivoli Foundation-funded project in Namibia, entitled ‘The Perivoli Schools Trust Early Child Care and Education Model: exploring lived experiences and wider social impacts’. The project sits within the University of Bristol’s Perivoli Africa Research Centre (PARC).
Vicky’s PhD in Social Work (Cardiff University) entitled 'Identifying and Responding to Child Neglect in Schools in Wales’ was funded by Welsh Government/Llywodraeth Cymru through Health and Care Research Wales/Ymchwil lechyd a Gofal Cymru.
Research interests
Vicky’s research areas focus upon child care and protection and interprofessional collaboration across organisational/sectoral boundaries. Child protection is a serious issue that commonly involves a complex network of professionals. Vicky’s research specifically explores the interactional environment within child welfare systems, and in what way processes and policies can be improved and practice enhanced, so that professionals are better able to protect children.
As a Social Work academic, Vicky’s research centres upon creating impact in front-line practice and service delivery to improve children’s welfare. As such, her work prioritises the translation of research for practice contexts through practical and accessible strategies.
Methodologically Vicky has experience of mixed methods, quantitative and qualitative approaches: including social work case file analysis, semi/structured interviews, observations, focus groups. She is familiar with researching sensitive topics with children, families, and professionals, in personal and community settings, and of undertaking collaborative needs-led research within different cultural contexts both in the UK and in Africa.
PhD Supervision
Vicky welcomes applications from PhD Candidates - particularly in the areas of child protection and safeguarding, education, interprofessional collaboration with child care professionals, in the United Kingdom and internationally.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
The Perivoli Schools Trust Early Child Care and Education Model: exploring lived experiences and wider social impacts
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
22/03/2022 to 31/12/2024
Kids Under Cover Feasibility Study
Role
Co-Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
03/02/2020 to 28/02/2022
Understanding Child Fosterage in Namibia; children’s health and wellbeing in extended family contexts
Principal Investigator
Description
Child fosterage is the non-regulated tradition in Namibia whereby a child is raised collectively; fostered-in to, or fostered-out to, extended family members away from their biological parents. When children from…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
14/11/2018 to 31/07/2019
Understanding Child Neglect in Namibia
Principal Investigator
Description
Global Challenges Research Fund - Ad-Hoc SupportManaging organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
02/02/2018 to 02/02/2019
Publications
Selected publications
03/07/2023Working With Children Who Have Experienced Neglect
Working With Children Who Have Experienced Neglect
Missing Data, Complex Processes and Differing Contexts
Child Abuse Review
Identifying and Responding to Child Neglect within Schools :
Child Indicators Research
Child Neglect in Namibia
British Journal of Social Work
Conceptualising child neglect in Namibia
International Social Work
Recent publications
25/09/2024A Short Film - The Perivoli Schools Trust Early Child Care and Education Model Research Study
Journeys into and through Social Work Education for International Social Work Students
British Journal of Social Work
The Perivoli Schools Trust Early Child Care and Education Model
The Perivoli Schools Trust Early Child Care and Education Model
Glocal Social Work Education
The Routledge International Handbook of Glocal Social Work
Blog Post - Working with Children Experiencing Neglect
Teaching
In 2024-25, Vicky is teaching on three units on the MSc Social Work -‘Social Work Studies’, ‘Social Work Studies 2’, and ‘Applied Social Sciences and Law’. Vicky supervises students’ MSc Social Work dissertations on an annual basis. In 2025-26 Vicky will also teach on the 'Dissertation Unit' on the MSc Global Health Policy.
Vicky became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK) in 2019. She sits on the Joint University Social Work Association International Committee which is a national group which advises government and aids social work education reform in the UK. Vicky is a visiting academic and University of Bristol Lead for the International Social Work Summer School at the University of Lapland, Finland. She has developed new social work education curriculum for qualifying programmes which require regulatory approval by an external professional body. Vicky externally examines on the BA Social Work for the University of Birmingham.
