Institute for Children's Futures Discover how we are leading the way in children’s research and shaping policy and practice for better outcomes for children.

We are a cross-university institute at @manmetuni.bsky.social.

Through interdisciplinary research and engagement, we advance conceptualisation and implementation of children and young people’s rights, opportunities and wellbeing.

Learn more: www.mmu.ac.uk/institute-fo...

#ChildrensFutures

Race, class and the weaponisation of child safety "Race, class and the weaponisation of child safety" published on 24 Feb 2025 by Policy Press.

Myself and @drleona.bsky.social have edited a new Special Collection for Critical and Radical Social Work:

'Race, Class and the Weaponisation of Child Safety'

- now available online!

Editorial here: shorturl.at/nj4O9

Links to the other papers in the thread below (almost all Open Access!) 👇

‘I received a first but it felt tainted and undeserved’: inside the university AI cheating crisis More than half of students are now using generative AI, casting a shadow over campuses as tutors and students turn on each other and hardworking learners are caught in the flak. Will Coldwell reports ...

How to move beyond the trust issues? The last paragraph surely has a compelling answer…:make HE less impersonal.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Lovely to see this being used Jo!

Very excited to be here in the beautiful Brooks building for the launch of the Institute for Children’s Futures @manmetuni.bsky.social. This afternoon we will be sharing the work of colleagues from @scswmcrmet.bsky.social @jenfish.bsky.social

Your rights online Curious how children's rights apply online? Here's some useful information.

Great new website from #digitalfutures4children and Sonia Livingstone at London School of Economics.

www.digital-futures-for-children.net/for-children...

blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...

Depletion: a new lens for understanding the human costs of caring All societies, and all economic activity, ultimately relies upon “social reproduction” – the work of renewing and maintaining life itself. But what happens when the outflow of this labour exceeds t…

blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...

Unless caring and carers are supported and resourced…

Facts. They shalt never meet.

Woah

Snowy park with orange tree and fallen leaves

Light dusting of snow this morning in Manchester. #notice

Depends what time of day. Ketchup for dinner (lunch) tartare for tea (dinner)

This webinar also features David Tobis on his new research into parent advocacy, Tammy Mayes PFAN cochair and advocate, and other great speakers

Come and give us a follow!!!

More than one in three children in poverty as UK deprivation hits record high Exclusive: Study finds almost quarter of UK population living in poverty, reaching the highest level this century

Worrying findings in our latest Social Metrics Commission report. 2 million more people plunged into hardship since 2019, 260 000 children. As I say in the article, we see the consequences of this as @trusselluk.bsky.social foodbanks strive to meet soaring need. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

Here's a starter pack on people working on Class Analysis, broadly understood. Follow these people and let me know who I am missing (including yourself)!
go.bsky.app/VTirGYT

🎓 We've made a starter pack of university policy institutes like us, and people who work for/are connected to them – do give it a follow!

We'll add to it as more institutes join, and let us know if there's anyone we should add! ⬇️

I’m so excited to reveal the cover for my brand new book, Who Wants Normal? The Disabled Girls’ Guide to Life.

Out 17th April 2025 with Fig Tree, Penguin.

go.bsky.app/HHa3CL6

New users? New followers? Hi!

I’m a sociologist teaching in a department of social work at a public university. I study disability policy and organizing, and I post about it and related topics. And Chicago. And Star Wars. And other stuff.

I’m in this starter pack alongside some great folks.

In case we do, I put together a social work academic Starter Pack. I’m sure I’ve unintentionally omitted folks who are already here, but I’ll keep updating.

Did this social work starter pack less than a week ago and it's already tripled in size. Lots of lovely people doing interesting things in the social work world. Shout me if you'd like an add!

Starter pack of scholars whose work looks critically at schooling & efforts to interrupt the social reproduction of inequality through education in transformative ways (U.S. & global) - updated w/ requests (sorry if I missed your request - inundated with notifications today) go.bsky.app/BYF1JZJ

There's so many autism research (#AutRes) accounts on Bluesky that I now have two Starter Packs!

go.bsky.app/B9XV8UA

go.bsky.app/Pfbbvot

And HUGE apologies if I'm missing people. I've gone from 300 to 2k followers in a week, and my notifications are out of control 😱

I've started a north of England journalists starter pack. Please do flag others for inclusion! go.bsky.app/EyHBenr

I created a pack focusing on critical social, political, & economic theory.

go.bsky.app/RfyAjod

An image of a kaleidoscope and text saying it’s not the gift of adults. It’s the right of the child

Marking the 100th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child with some reflections on the child’s right to participation.