Dr Vicky Sharley
PhD (Cardiff), BSc (Plym.), PG Cert (Cardiff)
Expertise
Vicky is Co-Director of the Faculty Research Centre for Childhoods & Social Justice at the University of Bristol. She is Regional Editor (UK & Europe) at 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 lead-author of the Good-Practice Guide ‘Working with Children who have Experienced Neglect’ published by Coram BAAF (2023). Vicky sits on the national Joint University Social Work Association (JUSWA) International Committee, International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) International Committee, is a member of the Racial Justice Family Network, and the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Children and Families Group.
Since 2014, Vicky has been collaborating internationally with colleagues at the University of Namibia. Recent project successes include 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
Global Positioning Fund (Faculty)
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/03/2026 to 31/08/2026
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
Thesis supervisions
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
08/02/2026Barriers to effectively safeguarding and protecting children from Gypsy and Traveller backgrounds
British Journal of Social Work
Glocal Social Work Education
The Routledge International Handbook of Glocal Social Work
Blog - How Connected is Practice and Research in Children's Social Work?
Blog - The Perivoli Schools Trust Early Child Care and Education Model: Exploring lived experiences and wider social impacts in Namibia
Repealing the Presumption of Parental Involvement in Private Child Care Law Cases
Teaching
In 2025-26, Vicky is teaching on three Units on the MSc Social Work programme: Knowledge and Skills for Social Work Practice 1, Contexts, Values and Law, and Social Work Studies 2. Vicky also leads the Unit 'Family Support' on the BSc Childhood Studies programme. Vicky supervises students’ undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations on an annual basis in addition to providing PhD supervision.
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.
