Professor Rick Hood

About

I lead on research in the department with responsibility for undertaking applied research in the field of social work and social care, developing proposals and applications for external funding, supervising doctoral students, and supporting research and scholarship within the team. I am a registered social worker with over 10 years' experience of statutory child and family social work, and teach across a range of modules in pre- and post-qualifying social work courses.

My research takes a mixed methods approach to applying systems ideas to social care, particularly services for children and families. Recently completed research funded by the Nuffield Foundation has explored the link between system conditions and welfare inequalities in children's social care, as well as analysing the social gradient of intervention using the national datasets for England. Other recent projects include a study of reunification and re-entry to care, an evidence review of decision-making and risk assessment, and an analysis of patterns of demand and provision in adult social care. I am currently leading a two-year quantitative study exploring the outcomes of children's social care services for different types of demand, funded by Nuffield Foundation. I am Co-I on a two-year Nuffield-funded study of domestic abuse in child protection (PI, Kate Morris), which uses an intersecting inequalities approach to create new understandings and responses. I am also Co-I on a four-year NIHR-funded study (PI, Robbie Duschinsky) examining what CAMHS interventions predict positive outcomes for which young people with a social worker.

I believe that research, teaching and scholarship can make a difference to people's lives. The difference I would like to make is to promote systems thinking in social care policy, management and practice, so that our services can shed their bureaucratic constraints and harness the potential offered by human relationships and capabilities.

Academic responsibilities

Professor of Social Work

Qualifications

  • PgCert, Professional Education and Training, Kingston University and St Georges, University of London
  • PhD, 'Complexity and Interprofessional Working in Children's Services', Royal Holloway, University of London
  • MSc, Social Work, Royal Holloway, University of London
  • BA(Hons), German and Spanish, Jesus College, University of Cambridge

Teaching and learning

Research

Selected Grants and Projects

2023 - 2025

Nuffield Foundation, £298,770, Linking household benefits, financial precarity and child welfare (PI)

2022 - 2026

NIHR, £1.3m, What CAMHS interventions predict positive outcomes for which young people with a social worker: A mixed-methods study of clinical support and cost-effectiveness utilising linked operational data (Co-I)

2022 - 2024

Nuffield Foundation, £429,802, Rethinking Domestic Abuse in Child Protection: Responding differently (Co-I)

2021 - 2023

Nuffield Foundation, £184,129, Studying the outcomes of different types of demand in children's social care (PI).

2021 - 2022

What Work Centre for Children's Social Care, £19,962, Improving the chances of successful reunification for children who return home from care: a rapid evidence review (PI)

2018 - 2021

Nuffield Foundation, £317,659, Identifying and understanding the link between system conditions and welfare inequalities in statutory children's social care services (PI)

2021

What Works Centre for Children's Social Care, £19,469, Improving the quality of decision-making and risk assessment in children's social care: a rapid evidence review (PI).

Research student supervision

Main supervision

Other supervision

Publications

Number of items: 70.

Article

Hood, Rick, Goldacre, Allie, Jones, Ed, King, Adam, Clements, Keith and Webb, Calum (2023) Categorising demand for child welfare services using latent class analysis : a study of the national data-sets on children in need in England. The British Journal of Social Work, ISSN (print) 0045-3102 (Epub Ahead of Print)

Goldacre, Allie and Hood, Rick (2022) Factors affecting the social gradient in children's social care. The British Journal of Social Work, 52(6), pp. 3599-3617. ISSN (print) 0045-3102

Goldacre, A., Hood, R., Davis, A., Jones, E. and Wang, C. (2022) Reunification and re-entry to care : an analysis of the national datasets for children looked after in England. The British Journal of Social Work, ISSN (print) 0045-3102 (Epub Ahead of Print)

Hood, Rick, Goldacre, Allie, Abbott, Simon and Jones, Ray (2022) Patterns of demand and provision in English adult social care services. The British Journal of Social Work, bcac011. ISSN (print) 0045-3102 (Epub Ahead of Print)

Hood, Rick (2022) What linking children's social care and benefits data can tell us. Policy in Practice,

Hood, Rick and Goldacre, Allie (2021) Exploring the impact of Ofsted inspections on performance in children’s social care. Children and Youth Services Review, 129, p. 106188. ISSN (print) 0190-7409

Hood, R., Goldacre, A., Webb, C., Bywaters, P., Gorin, S. and Clements, K. (2021) Beyond the toxic trio : exploring demand typologies in children’s social care. The British Journal of Social Work, 51(6), pp. 1942-1962. ISSN (print) 0045-3102

Hood, Rick, Lansley, Sue, Mitchell, Toni and Gaskell-Mew, Elaine (2021) Using outcome measures in child protection work. Child & Family Social Work, 26(3), pp. 318-328. ISSN (print) 1356-7500

Hood, Rick, O'Donovan, Brendan, Gibson, Jo and Brady, Dermot (2021) New development : using the Vanguard Method to explore demand and performance in people-centred services. Public Money & Management, 41(5), pp. 422-425. ISSN (print) 0954-0962

Hood, Rick, Gorin, Sarah, Goldacre, Allie, Muleya, Wilson and Bywaters, Paul (2020) Exploring drivers of demand for child protection services in an English local authority. Child & Family Social Work, 25(3), pp. 657-664. ISSN (print) 1356-7500

Hood, Rick, Goldacre, Allie, Gorin, Sarah and Bywaters, Paul (2020) Screen, ration and churn : demand management and the crisis in children's social care. The British Journal of Social Work, 50(3), pp. 868-889. ISSN (print) 0045-3102

Cohen Konrad, Shelley, Fletcher, Simon, Hood, Rick and Patel, Kunal (2019) Theories of power in interprofessional research : developing the field. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 33(5), pp. 401-405. ISSN (print) 1356-1820

Hood, Rick, Nilsson, David and Habibi, Ruth (2019) An analysis of Ofsted inspection reports for children's social care services in England. Child & Family Social Work, 24(2), pp. 227-237. ISSN (print) 1356-7500

Hood, Rick, Brent, Maria, Abbott, Simon and Sartori, Daniele (2019) A study of practitioner–service user relationships in social work. The British Journal of Social Work, 49(3), pp. 787-805. ISSN (print) 0045-3102

Hood, Rick (2019) Demand management is making problems worse for local authorities under pressure. Community Care,

Hood, Rick (2019) What to measure in child protection? The British Journal of Social Work, 49(2), pp. 466-484. ISSN (print) 0045-3102

Hood, Rick, Gorin, Sarah and Goldacre, Alexander (2018) Why are children treated unequally by social care services? Community Care,

Hood, Rick (2017) [Book Review of] Blinded by Science: The Social Implications of Epigenetics and Neuroscience, David Wastell and Susan White. The British Journal of Social Work, 47(6), pp. 1824-1826. ISSN (print) 0045-3102

Grant, Robert L. and Hood, Rick (2017) Complex systems, explanation and policy : implications of the crisis of replication for public health research. Critical Public Health, 27(5), pp. 525-532. ISSN (print) 0958-1596

Hood, Rick, Price, Jayne, Sartori, Daniele, Maisey, Daryl, Johnson, Jessica and Clark, Zoe (2017) Collaborating across the threshold : the development of interprofessional expertise in child safeguarding. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 31(6), pp. 705-713. ISSN (print) 1356-1820

Hood, Rick, Grant, Robert, Jones, Ray and Goldacre, Allie (2016) A study of performance indicators and Ofsted ratings in English child protection services. Children and Youth Services Review, 67, pp. 50-56. ISSN (print) 0190-7409

Hood, Rick, Goldacre, Allie, Grant, Robert and Jones, Ray (2016) Exploring demand and provision in English child protection services. British Journal of Social Work, 46(4), pp. 923-941. ISSN (print) 0045-3102

Hood, Rick (2016) How deprivation affects the way social work referrals are handled. Community Care,

Hood, Rick (2016) Child protection interventions are on the rise – and the trend shows no sign of slowing. Community Care,

Hood, Rick (2016) How professionals talk about complex cases: a critical discourse analysis. Child and Family Social Work, 21(2), pp. 125-135. ISSN (print) 1356-7500

Hood, Rick (2016) Be careful what you measure in child protection because it influences practice. Community Care,

Hood, Rick (2016) Combining phenomenological and critical methodologies in qualitative research. Qualitative Social Work, 15(2), pp. 160-174. ISSN (print) 1473-3250

Hood, Rick, Gillespie, Judy and Davies, Jonathon (2016) A conceptual review of interprofessional expertise in child safeguarding. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 30(4), pp. 493-498. ISSN (print) 1356-1820

Hood, Rick (2015) A socio-technical critique of tiered services: implications for interprofessional care. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 29(1), pp. 8-12. ISSN (print) 1356-1820

Hood, Rick (2015) How professionals experience complexity : an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Child Abuse Review, 24(2), pp. 140-152. ISSN (print) 0952-9136

Hood, Rick (2014) Complexity and integrated working in children's services. British Journal of Social Work, 44(1), pp. 27-43. ISSN (print) 0045-3102

Norrie, Caroline, Weinstein, Jenny, Jones, Ray, Hood, Rick and Bhanbro, Sadiq (2014) Early experiences in extending personal budgets in one local authority. Working with Older People, 18(4), pp. 176-185. ISSN (print) 1366-3666

Jones, Ray, Bhanbhro, Sadiq M, Grant, Robert and Hood, Rick (2013) The definition and deployment of differential core professional competencies and characteristics in multiprofessional health and social care teams. Health & Social Care In The Community, 21(1), pp. 47-58. ISSN (print) 0966-0410

Hood, Rick (2012) A critical realist model of complexity for interprofessional working. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 26(1), pp. 6-12. ISSN (print) 1356-1820

Book

Hood, Rick (2023) Inequality and social work. London, U.K. : Sage. 200p. ISBN 9781529768794 (In Press)

Hood, Rick (2018) Complexity in social work. London, U.K. : Sage. 240p. ISBN 9781473993815

Book Section

Ghate, Deborah and Hood, Rick (2019) Using evidence in social care. In: Boaz, Annette , Davies, Huw , Fraser, Alec and Nutley, Sandra, (eds.) What works now? : evidence-informed policy and practice. Bristol, U.K. : Policy Press. pp. 89-109. ISBN 9781447345480

Hood, Rick (2016) Assessment for social work practice. In: Davies, Keith and Jones, Ray, (eds.) Skills for social work practice. London, U.K. : Palgrave. pp. 82-104. ISBN 9781137390264

Hood, Rick (2015) Prevention and protection: the development of safeguarding in children’s services. In: Evans, Tony and Keating, Frank, (eds.) Policy and Social Work Practice. London, U.K. : Sage. pp. 48-65. ISBN 9781848606982

Conference or Workshop Item

Hood, Rick (2021) Social work, systems thinking and digital technology. In: Social work, human rights and digital technology : findings from research; 09 Dec 2021, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2021) Reflexive regulation: Exploring the impact of Ofsted inspections on children’s social care services. In: Joint Social Work Education and Research Conference 2021; 08-09 July 2021, Online. (Unpublished)

Grant, Robert and Hood, Rick (2021) Evidence and public health policy in complex systems : a view from the UK after COVID-19. In: International Web Workshop on Computational Economics and Econometrics : Unfolding Policy Learning : Theory, Models and Applications; 02 Jul 2021, Online. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2021) Socioeconomic inequalities: reforming an unjust child welfare system. In: KEE 2: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Children’s Social Care and Social Work; 24 May 2021, Online. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick and Brendan, O'Donovan (2021) Measuring what matters : a systems approach to evaluating impact and effectiveness in children's social care. In: Evidence, Evaluation and Impact: Improving Outcomes for Children; 30 - 31 Mar 2021, Held online. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick and Goldacre, Allie (2021) Concentrations of inequality in children's social care: lessons for policy and practice. In: Contemporary Issues & Debates in Social Work Education, Research & Practice; 16 Mar 2021, Online. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2020) The challenges facing children : what's driving the demand for children's services. In: Westminster Education Forum keynote seminar : Children's services in England - inspection, effective multi-agency working and innovation in delivery; 03 Jun 2020, Online. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2019) Managing demand for children's social care. In: European Social Work Research Conference 2019; 10-12 Apr 2019, Leuven, Belgium. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2018) Identifying and understanding the link between system conditions and welfare inequalities in statutory children's social care services. In: Social Work Seminar Series; 05 Dec 2018, Edinburgh, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2018) Regulation, risk and blame culture in social work. In: 8th European Conference for Social Work Research : Social Work in Transition : Challenges for Social Work Research in a Changing Local and Global World; 19-21 Apr 2018, Edinburgh, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2017) An analysis of performance and inspection in English child protection services. In: 7th European Conference for Social Work Research; 19-21 Apr 2017, Aalborg, Denmark. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2017) Measuring outcomes and performance in child protection services. In: Contemporary Issues and Debates in Social Work Education, Research and Practice; 14 Feb 2017, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2016) Inspection and the measurement of services. In: Community Care Live Birmingham 2016; 10-11 May 2016, Birmingham, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick and Goldacre, Allie (2015) Exploring performance measures in child protection. In: School of Social Work Annual Conference: Great Thinkers, Great Ideas, Great Impact; 23 Apr 2015, Kingston, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2012) How professionals experience complexity and joint working in child protection. In: 8th Congress: Keeping Children Safe in an Uncertain World: Learning from Evidence and Practice; 15-18 Apr 2012, Belfast, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2011) Outcomes, indicators and professional work in integrated children’s services. In: 3rd Conference of the International Society for Child Indicators: Children's Well-Being: The Research & Policy Challenges; 27-29 Jul 2011, York, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick (2011) The tail and the dog : the role of research in developing integrated children's services. In: European Conference for Social Work Research; 23 - 25 Mar 2011, Oxford, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Monograph

Feinstein, Leon, Hyde-Dryden, Georgia, Baginsky, Mary and Hood, Rick (2023) Overcoming behavioural & cultural barriers to multi-agency information sharing in children's social care. (Project Report) Oxford, U.K. : Rees Centre, University of Oxford.

Hood, Rick, Goldacre, Allie, King, Adam and Jones, Ed (2022) Covid-19 and trends in children's social care : an analysis of the national datasets for England. (Project Report) Kingston upon Thames, U.K. : Kingston University. 16 p.

Webb, Calum, Bennett, Davara, Bywaters, Paul and Hood, Rick (2022) Impact of investing in prevention on demand for statutory children's social care. (Working Paper) London, U.K. : National Children's Bureau. 6 p. (Evidence paper)

Hood, Rick, Abbott, Simon, Coughlan, Barry, Nilsson, David, Duschinsky, Robbie, Parker, Pamela and Mannes, Julia (2022) Improving the quality of decision making and risk assessment in children’s social care : a rapid evidence review. (Project Report) What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. 65 p.

Hood, Rick, Abbott, Simon, Nilsson, David, Baginsky, Mary, Dimond, Claire and (2022) Improving the chances of successful reunification for children who return home from care : a rapid evidence review. (Project Report) What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. 74 p.

Hood, Rick, Goldacre, Allie, Jones, Ed and King, Adam (2021) Reunification and re-entry to care: an analysis of national children's datasets for England. (Project Report) Kingston University and St Georges, University of London. 4 p. (Unpublished)

Featherstone, Bird, Webb, Calum, Bywaters, Paul, Gupta, Anna, Bilson, Andy, Morris, Kate and Hood, Rick (2021) The case for change : a response. (Discussion Paper) Parents, Families & Allies Network. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick and Goldacre, Allie (2021) The social gradient in English child welfare services : an analysis of the national children's social care datasets. (Project Report) Kingston University and St Georges, University of London. 58 p. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick, Featherstone, Brid, Bywaters, Paul, Gupta, Anna, Bilson, Andy, Morris, Kate and Webb, Calum (2021) Evidence for system reform needed to address the socio-economic drivers of demand and reduce inequalities in child welfare provision. (Discussion Paper) Parent, Families and Allies Network. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick, Goldacre, Allie, Gorin, Sarah, Bywaters, Paul and Webb, Calum (2020) Identifying and understanding the link between system conditions and welfare inequalities in children's social care services : Final Report. (Project Report) Kingston upon Thames, U.K. : Kingston University and St Georges, University of London. 107 p. (Unpublished)

Brady, Dermot, Watson, Susan and Hood, Rick (2018) Prevent SOC pilot evaluation report. (Project Report) Kingston Upon Thames : Kingston University and St Georges, University of London. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick, Lindsay, Jane and Muleya, Wilson (2015) Caring Dads: multi-site evaluation in London 2013-2015: final report. (Project Report) Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Kingston University and St George's, University of London. 107 p. (Unpublished)

Hood, Rick, Lindsay, Jane and Muleya, Wilson (2014) Evaluation of Caring Dads: a single site evaluation in an urban local authority: interim report. (Project Report) Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Kingston University and St George's, University of London. 60 p. (Unpublished)

Weinstein, Jenny, Ellison, Sarah, Hood, Rick and Jones, Ray (2012) Evaluating the experience of older people and people with mental health issues of being assessed for and receiving a personal budget in Wandsworth. (Project Report) London, U.K. : Wandsworth Local Involvement Network. 59 p.

This list was generated on Wed Sep 13 07:07:01 2023 BST.

Business, knowledge transfer and international

Consultancy and training

2023 Overcoming cultural and behavioural barriers to information sharing in children's social care  - Oxford/LB Newham

2020-2021 DIMA (Digital Maturity Project) - Achieving for Children / Home Office

2020-2021 Applying complexity concepts to the management of children's social care - Kent Children's Services