![Mrs Beth Tarleton](https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/289839739/TARLETON_Beth_2_1_.jpg)
Mrs Beth Tarleton
MPhil
Expertise
I'm a Senior Lecturer in the School for Policy Studies and am programme director for the Masters in Policy Research and Social Work Research. My research focuses on the support available to parents who have learning difficulties.
Current positions
Senior Lecturer
School for Policy Studies
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
I joined the Norah Fry Centre for Disability studies over 20 years ago. Since then I worked on a wide range of projects related to the support available for adults with learning difficulties. Over the last 15 years, my main research focus has the support available to parents who have learning difficulties/disabilities and I have been co-ordinator of the Working Together with Parents network that provides free support to professionals working with parents with learning difficulties.
I have taught about qualitative research methods generally and about inclusive research with disabled people and spent many years making easy information as part of the 'Plain Facts' project (funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation). I enjoy working closely with people with learning difficulties whenever possible.
Research interests
How do Adult and Learning Disability social workers engage with parents with learning disabilities?
Parents with learning disabilities (LD) often require support to ensure their children’s wellbeing. Parents who have a diagnosed learning disability are eligible for support from a Learning Disability team. They are also entitled to support under the Care Act (2014) from Adult Services alongside parents who have a milder intellectual impairment and/ or no formally diagnosed learning disability.
These parents are often over-represented in the Child Protection System and are disproportionately likely to have their children removed from their care. Literature focusing on children’s social workers’ response to these parents indicates that they find working with them difficult and that they are concerned about their lack of knowledge about parents’ needs, a lack of appropriate services and communication between workers/services. There is no specific literature that focuses on Adult and LD social workers’ response to these parents. It is not known if parents are provided with support by Adult Services or if, when and how LD teams work with parents with diagnosed LD.
This research aims to investigate how Adult and LD social workers identify and engage with these parents and if, how and when they provide them with support.
In five Local Authorities (LA) in England, three areas with a specific policy or protocol regarding the expected LA response to parents with LD and three LAs where there is no specific policy or guidance, we will:
- Analyse LA Policies to understand how practitioners are expected to respond to parents.
- Interview managers from the LD team and Adult Services, a commissioner and other key stakeholders (25). We will discuss how parents with LD are identified, responded to and referred between services and how their local policies say these parents should be supported.
- Carry out focus group interviews (15), in each area, with groups of:
- Adult social workers
- Learning Disability social workers
- Children's social workers
- The professionals will discuss vignettes (fictional short stories) to compare their responses to a vulnerable parent (without LD), a parent who has a diagnosed LD, and a parent suspected of having a milder/borderline learning disability to investigate if workers have different responses to parents with and without LD or different ‘levels’ of learning disabilities. They will also be asked how they think other professionals ‘see’ these parents and respond to them, how they work with other professionals and how policies guide their response.
- Carry out interviews with parents, four in each area (20), including those with and without a diagnosis, which will focus on how Adult and LD social workers have engaged with them.
We will be guided by a parents from Speakup Self Advocacy (a support/advocacy group of parents with LDs) and a professional advisory group so that the recommendations we make will:
- enable the development of clear policies and pathways regarding support for these parents;
- influence practice in Adult Social Care;
- enable parents to access support for their parenting.
We will produce practice guidelines, run two webinars and share our findings in collaboration with the organisation Research in Practice. This organisation supports professionals to improve their practice.
Substituted parenting: What does this mean in the family court context?
This project will investigate the concept of 'substituted parenting' and what it means in the family court context.
Parents with learning disabilities (LD) are legally entitled to support from statutory services. Long-term support may be needed to keep some families together and to help parents raise their children safely. However, while courts are confirming the right to parental support, a shift in thinking about that support seems to be emerging.
The term ‘substituted parenting’ is being used by local authorities when they believe the parental support needed is excessive. They assert that the level of support is detrimental for children as it confuses them as to who the parent is.
It is unclear how the use of the term developed and there is no clear guidance on what the courts understand by the term. There is no research on this issue or on the potential for support being labelled ‘substituted parenting’ becoming a discriminatory policy based on cost, prejudice, or other inappropriate factors.
The project’s overall aim is to build consensus about the term ‘substituted parenting’ and how it is used and understood by legal and social work professionals and parents with LD, with a view to ensuring that policies and practices are transparent and fair – in the interests, ultimately, of the children’s welfare.
Collaboration will guide the research as professionals and parents’ views will be relied upon through advisory groups. A series of interviews will be conducted with a range of professionals and parents. These answers will be subject to thematic analysis to identify patterns and then discussed in the advisory groups to further draw out their understanding of the data.
The project team will develop a range of outputs to disseminate among legal and social welfare professionals as well as parents with LD. Emerging findings will be shared with the professional advisory group alongside an open access report, briefing papers, journal articles and webinars. A short film and an easy read briefing will be produced in conjunction with the parent advisory group. Outputs will be shared via social media to ensure they reach as wide an audience as possible.
You can also find out about the project here: Substituted Parenting | School for Policy Studies | University of Bristol
Working Together with Parents Network – This is a free network for professionals working with parents with learning disabilities and their children. The network provides professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds with up-to-date information on policy and practice as well as access to support from a regional group and email discussions. There are 4 regional practitioner networks England and national networks in Wales and Scotland. See wtpn.co.uk for more details.
Recent projects
Getting things changed project - Beth led a strand of work on Successful practices in supporting parents with learning difficulties in this unique project. Getting Things Changed (Tackling Disabling Practices: Co-production and Change) was a three year research study funded by the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) in the UK. The project was completed in 2018. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sps/gettingthingschanged/
Evaluation of the Parent Pioneers/Mellow Futures projects.
Mellow Futures is a programme of ante antal and postnatal support for mothers with learning difficulties. The programme enables mothers with learning difficulties to attend Mellow Bumps (an antenatal programme) and Mellow Babies (post-natal parenting programme) while also being supported by a volunteer mentor. In England, this programme is also known as Parent Pioneers.
Beth was the sole evaluator of the Parent Pioneers Project in England which was piloted in two sites. With support form Raq Ibrahim, Mellow Parenting Evaluations Assistant, Beth evaluated the piloting of this programme in 4 sites in Scotland.
Evaluation of the Valuing Parent Support Service. This evaluation was of a specialist support services for parents wtih learning difficulties in Medway. The project was innovative and jointly funded by Adults and Children's services and was shown to be having a positive impact on the outcomes for the children in the families.
Methoidst Chaplaincy Development Project evaluation using the Mug of Tea Stories methodology.
The current stage of the project (August 2016 - July 2019) is focusing on 'Strategic change'. We are aiming to ensure that policy and practice respects parents and children's rights while supporting parents to fulfill their responsibilities to their children.
This evaluation of two local voluntary chaplaincys and the Methodist Chaplaincy Development Project was undertaken with Sue Porter. It developed a narrative evaluation method called 'Mug of Tea stories' in which stories showing the impact of the Chaplaincy/CDP were told in the length of time it takes to drink a mug of tea. This methodology was shown to provide in-depth understanding of the significance of these projects and to be useful for the evaluation of a wide range of church projects.
Beth has a long-term interest in easy information for adults with learning difficulties. Prior to her current focus on research around positive support for parents with learning difficulties, Beth has undertaken work in a wide range of areas relating to service provision for adults with learning difficulties and disabled children. These include transition, supported housing, short breaks for disabled children.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
How do Adult and Learning Disability social workers engage with parents with learning difficulties?
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/03/2022 to 31/03/2024
Substituted parenting: What does this mean in the family court context?
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/11/2021 to 30/04/2023
Fathers with Learning Disabilities
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
As adults with learning disabilities are living more independently in community settings, more are choosing to start a family and have children, but because of their learning disability sometimes need…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/09/2015 to 01/09/2016
Tackling disabling practices: co-production and change
Role
Researcher
Description
It is based at Norah Fry Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Bristol, and led by Val Williams. Our work also involves key partners including Disability Rights UK…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/04/2015 to 31/05/2018
Evaluation of the Parent Pioneers Project
Principal Investigator
Description
The NFRC research centre is evaluating the Mencap Parent Pioneers Project. The Parent Pioneers project is piloting a model of preventative support for parents with learning difficulties which includes enabling…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/04/2012 to 01/01/2017
Thesis supervisions
“It’s not that big of a problem...so we’re not going to do anything.” An inclusive grounded theory study exploring the help-seeking behaviours of adolescents in school for their emotional well-being.
Supervisors
‘Once we’ve just connected, we are broken apart’
Supervisors
Teaching Assistants’ experiences of supporting pupils in a mainstream primary school context
Supervisors
"It is also about living as well [and] with all of that homework you don't get the chance to...find what you actually want to do with your life"
Supervisors
“My Dad wants me to do the scrap, but I don’t want to”
Supervisors
Primary school teacher mental health and well-being and support for this throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
Supervisors
An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the experiences of fairness amongst adults with learning disabilities when engaging with services responding to domestic violence and abuse.
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
07/06/2023What is Substituted parenting?
Easy read summary: Substituted parenting
Easy read summary: Substituted parenting
Executive summary: Substituted parenting
Executive summary: Substituted parenting
Policy briefing: Substituted parenting
Policy briefing: Substituted parenting
Substituted parenting
Substituted parenting
Teaching
I have in the past run Masters level units regarding 'Introduction to Qualitative Methods' and 'Inclusive Research with Disabled People' and undergraduate unit 'Disability and Society'. All of these unit drew on my extensive experience of applied social research with disabled people.
I am currently programme director for the Masters in Policy Research and Masters in Social Work Research.