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Emma Bowell

Department, Institution: Institute of Education, UCL
UBEL Pathway: Education
Supervisor: Dr Caroline Oliver, Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou
Contact details: emma.bowell.24@ucl.ac.uk
Social Media: http://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-bowell-a9966644
About Me

I am a PhD student at the Institute of Education, UCL. I hold a BA (Hons) in Education with English from the University of Cambridge and an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Prior to starting my PhD, I worked in education policy, most recently as the Head of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Strategy at the Department for Education where I worked on government reforms of the SEND system. I also have a younger sibling who is autistic, and have lived experience of engaging with the SEND system as a family member.

Alongside my PhD, I am a keen supporter of women’s sports and am the Chair of a local grassroots women’s football club.

My Research

My research will look at the interaction between SEND, social class and parent-professional relationships; namely, the extent to which being a parent of a child with SEND reinforces or otherwise negates typical parent-professional relationships seen between professionals and parents from a working-class background, and those from a middle-class background.

Through research, I aim to identify policy solutions for SEND system improvement, based on real parental experience, rather than being modelled on stereotypes.

Using qualitative methods, I will examine the impact of parent-professional relationships at an individual family level, considering parental experiences and the impact on their child’s educational journeys. I will also examine the cumulative impact of these relationships on national and local SEND policy, through analysis of the language and intent of national and local government publications.

Impact of My Research

England’s SEND system is in crisis: children with SEND (17.3% of the school population) achieve poorer academic outcomes than their peers, alongside increased rates of exclusion, increased representation in the youth justice system and, in the most extreme cases, premature death. Families seeking support face a frustrating, bureaucratic process, made worse by chronic waiting lists for diagnosis and intervention. The system faces significant financial pressures, as it struggles to support an increasing number of children with SEND, and to manage the long-term consequences of failing to meet needs effectively. Improving the SEND system is a government priority, though repeated attempts to do so have had limited success.

Through my research, I aim to identify and explore the diversity of parental experiences within the SEND system, based on real experience rather than stereotypes.  This research is intended to build add much-needed evidence about parental interactions with the SEND system and pave the way for more informed policy making based on actual experiences, rather than perceptions.

As such, the research aims to inform the development of effective policy solutions for SEND system improvement. In particular, these policy solutions would be intended to improve parental confidence in the system, which has been repeatedly stated as one ambition of the Department for Education, and in turn improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.