Darren Sharpe | University of East London (original) (raw)
Darren is a Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Institute for Connected Communities (ICC) based at the University of East London (UEL) and holds a UCL Policy Fellowship with Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE), which is a knowledge exchange and research project that explores how to support effective and sustained engagement between academics and policy professionals across the higher education sector. His expertise includes participatory research with children, young people and vulnerable adults to help shape, inform and influence policy and practice in public care. During his time at UEL he also worked as a Senior Consultant at the Institute of Public Care, Oxford Brookes University supporting Local Authority Directors to tackle the social care challenges facing children, young people and families.
Darren is a social scientist with over 25 years’ experience in applied research to promote health, wellbeing and citizenship to help reduce social inequalities. In recognition of his work, Darren received the UEL VC&P Global Engagement Award and the UEL PVC for Impact and Innovation Award for Local-Global Engagement in 2021. Darren leads several COVID-19 studies investigating interventions that target the wider social determinants of health in children, young people and vulnerable adults. His research spans the entire life course, with a specific focus on service improvement and transformation. He has served as a researcher-in-residence in public and third sector organisations in order to co-produced and test new social models of health and social care among underserved communities. Examples include the Tower Hamlets Communities Driving Change programme, which examines how to embed community development approaches in local authorities, and the Connect Hackney Ageing Better programme which is testing a suite of community activities to reduce loneliness and social isolation amongst older people, and finally, Youth Safeguarding Network programme ran in Rwanda, Zambia, South Africa and Sierra Leone, which examines how best to unlock community assets to address the mental health and social needs of disabled and disadvantaged youth. Darren has led research, consultancy, and training on patient and public involvement in health and social care transformation, including research which has shaped the national roll-out of the NIHR sponsored Young Commissioner model.
Darren is also recognised as a world leading expert in young people’s involvement in research leading to policy developments and his work features in the Guardian, Observer, Financial Times, BBC radio and Euro News and more. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate level in Evidence Based Public Health and Co-production in Community Health. Darren’s research is interdisciplinary and inter-professional, and he works with a wide range of research methods from participatory action research through to implementation science. His research has led to direct impact on policy, practice and the public through, for example, EU guidance in the use of social media to help reduce the risk of youth suicide in Europe, and integration into NICE guidelines of findings from a young commissioner’s model into a tool kit published by NHS England (‘How to develop youth forums in the NHS’). He is on the editorial board on the journal of Youth Voices and has published extensively and has secured funding from national and international bodies such as NIHR, ESRC, Erasmus Plus, and British Academy as well as local health trusts and charities.
Address: Institute For Connected Communities (ICC)
The University of East London
Stratford Campus
Water Lane
London
E15 4LZ
Tel: +44 (0)208 223 4045
Fax: +44 (0)208 223 4282
Mob: +44 (0)7535 633977
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Papers by Darren Sharpe
Involving Children and Young People in Health and Social Care Research, 2012
Additional file 1. Copy of the Kick Out COVID-19 survey.
Complexities of Researching with Young People, 2019
IntroductionChildren and young people have the right to participate in research on matters that a... more IntroductionChildren and young people have the right to participate in research on matters that affect them, and their contribution improves research quality and insights from findings. Discrete participatory approaches are used across different disciplines. This review will provide a synthesis of existing literature from different disciplines by working with young people and adults experienced in participatory research to develop a broad definition of child and youth led research and to identify best practice.Methods and AnalysisComprehensive searches will be conducted in eight electronic databases (PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, Embase, SocINDEX, ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (Proquest), Social Care Online and SCOPUS). Grey literature reports will also be sourced using Google searching. Eligible studies will be English language primary studies and reviews on collaborative research with children and young people (aged 5-25 years). Qualitative and quantitative data ...
Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 2017
Arts-for-health initiatives are associated with improvements in mental health, wellbeing and soci... more Arts-for-health initiatives are associated with improvements in mental health, wellbeing and social inclusion; however, research amongst young people is sparse. The aim of the study was to conduct a mixed-methods evaluation of a participatory arts programme for young people with, or at risk of, mental ill health. The Zinc Arts ArtZone programme involved working with individuals aged 11-25 in South East England, engaging them in arts activities over tenweek courses in community and secure unit settings. 122 course participants completed pre/post measures of mental illness severity and wellbeing, and 34 participants took part in interviews and focus groups. Mental illness severity significantly decreased and mental wellbeing significantly increased. Participants reported social and emotional benefits including decreased social isolation and increased social inclusion and mental wellbeing. Participatory arts interventions may serve as a useful tool in tackling increasing mental ill health amongst young people.
This paper is a synopsis of the workshop presented at the SSRG 2009 Manchester annual conference.... more This paper is a synopsis of the workshop presented at the SSRG 2009 Manchester annual conference. All the information detailed has been captured from our initial experience in piloting the Young Researcher Network (YRN), a project of the National Youth Agency. The paper is structured around questions of why, who, how, and where to involve children and young people in research. This paper provides public authorities and interested parties with sound guidance and useful practical tips on how to work with established, emerging, and advanced groups of young researchers. This paper aims to help you think through more complex questions of where children and young people’s voices count and add value to your organization.
We are becoming quite familiar with (if not somewhat de-sensitised to) repeated warnings that you... more We are becoming quite familiar with (if not somewhat de-sensitised to) repeated warnings that young people in Britain are increasingly disillusioned with democratic politics, rejecting the institutions of national government, and leaving British democracy in a state of relative crisis as a consequence. In particular, this youth generation is often singled-out for critical attention-condemned either for their declining presence at the ballot booths, or for their active participation in recent high-profile student protests and youth-led occupations of public spaces in major cities across the country.
Introduction Zinc Arts is a dynamic, leading arts and education charity that promotes inclusion t... more Introduction Zinc Arts is a dynamic, leading arts and education charity that promotes inclusion through “arts without exception”. Zinc Arts runs a wide range of creative courses (including music, sculpture, drama, spray painting, stop-frame animation, film, and visual arts) and is underpinned by the ethos that the arts can be a very positive and powerful force in individual’s lives; awakening them creatively, inspiring future choices, providing a voice for self-expression, serving as a tool for learning, stimulating change, and resulting in a product which serves as an end in itself. ArtZone, a three-year arts programme run by Zinc Arts, involved working with young people aged 11-25 with or at risk of mental ill health through engaging them with a wide range of arts activities. The programme enabled Zinc Arts to deliver a mixture of six-to-ten week outreach projects to an array of organisations who work with young people in both secure and non-secure mental health services. Anglia R...
Dale of the Department for Education, and Sally Bartolo. In addition we would like to thank Birgi... more Dale of the Department for Education, and Sally Bartolo. In addition we would like to thank Birgit Larsson for her work on the focus group analysis and Professor June Thoburn and Jenny Clifton for their insightful comments on various drafts of the report. Our thanks also go to those who, for reasons of confidentiality, cannot be named; the staff and managers in the participating agencies who were committed to the project and who helped us to recruit young people to interview, who gave us access to their schools, who helped us to access and understand the internet forum, and who helped us to organise the practitioner focus groups. Our thanks go to those professionals who took part in a stakeholder seminar towards the end of the research, which helped us to refine the model and develop recommendations for practice. Essential to the success of the project was the involvement of a team of young researchers and we would like to acknowledge them for their commitment and insights, and for being an integral part of the research team over the course of the two years. Their honesty, concern for participants' wellbeing, and passion about the research has enriched the research process and the analysis throughout. Finally we would like to thank the children, young people, parents and practitioners who spoke to us so generously about their experiences. We hope that this report does justice to their views. ABOUT THE OFFICE OF THE CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER The Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) is a national organisation led by the Children's Commissioner for England, Dr Maggie Atkinson. The post of Children's Commissioner for England was established by the Children Act 2004. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) underpins and frames all of our work. The Children's Commissioner has a duty to promote the views and interests of all children in England, in particular those whose voices are least likely to be heard, to the people who make decisions about their lives. She also has a duty to speak on behalf of all children in the UK on nondevolved issues which include immigration, for the whole of the UK, and youth justice, for England and Wales. One of the Children's Commissioner's key functions is encouraging organisations that provide services for children always to operate from the child's perspective. Under the Children Act 2004 the Children's Commissioner is required both to publish what she finds from talking and listening to children and young people, and to draw national policymakers' and agencies' attention to the particular circumstances of a child or small group of children which should inform both policy and practice. The Office of the Children's Commissioner has a statutory duty to highlight where we believe vulnerable children are not being treated appropriately in accordance with duties established under international and domestic legislation. Our vision A society where children and young people's rights are realised, where their views shape decisions made about their lives and they respect the rights of others. Our mission We will promote and protect the rights of children in England. We will do this by involving children and young people in our work and ensuring their voices are heard. We will use our statutory powers to undertake inquiries, and our position to engage, advise and influence those making decisions that affect children and young people.
This report examines Chelmsford night-time economy, and focuses particularly on its impact on eme... more This report examines Chelmsford night-time economy, and focuses particularly on its impact on emergency services. The research was prompted by a concern to improve access to early pastoral care and medical treatment for individuals engaged in the night-time economy before seeking non-emergency use of A&E. The document is based on research commissioned by the Safer Chelmsford Partnership and undertaken by Anglia Ruskin University in 2014. The report makes evidence based recommendations to help mitigate risk and reduce the current demand on emergency services. The report has been developed for stakeholders with a strategic role and/or statutory duty to improve the safety, health and well-being of individuals engaged in the night-time economy.
Educational Review, 2018
This paper examines Audrey Osler and Hugh Starkey's 2003 article on cosmopolitan citizenship four... more This paper examines Audrey Osler and Hugh Starkey's 2003 article on cosmopolitan citizenship fourteen years after its publication. Since its publication young people's disconnection from political life has increasingly become a cause for concern for most, if not all, Western democracies (Rose & Miller, 1993, Piven & Cloward, 2000, Stolle & Hooghe 2004, Milner et al 2014). Specifically, this article examines the implications for young people's political life in Leicester following a period of local, regional and national political changes. Osler and Starkey's (2003) study has shown how some South Asian young people occupy 'outsiders-within' status in Leicester's 'common culture' (and all the sub-cultures that exist within it) and see their ethnic communities from a range of voyeuristic positions. Young, South Asian participants in the study have not distanced themselves from the South Asian community entirely, but the way participants have approached narrating their self-identities has not necessarily been forged in, or determined upon, how 'Indian' or 'Pakistani' identities are conceived by the common culture. Consequently, two questions arise. Firstly, what is the impact of developing cosmopolitan citizenship among young people forging new types of ethnic identities in Leicester? Secondly, what types of educational approaches (formal and informal) would be important to help strengthen young people's political engagement? The paper concludes, that the ongoing challenge for educators is to strengthen mutual understanding between students from different communities and backgrounds by drawing on their lived experience within the caveat of promoting cosmopolitan citizenship.
Nursing Older People, 2019
There is a need for the provision of professional development opportunities for nurses working wi... more There is a need for the provision of professional development opportunities for nurses working within care homes in the UK especially at a time when there is a growing demand for nurses within both health and social care settings. This article presents the key findings from an evaluation of a short professional development programme that was offered to a group of care home nurses working in East London. The findings indicate that most of those who attended the programme reported that it was likely that their practice would improve as result.
Involving Children and Young People in Health and Social Care Research, 2012
Additional file 1. Copy of the Kick Out COVID-19 survey.
Complexities of Researching with Young People, 2019
IntroductionChildren and young people have the right to participate in research on matters that a... more IntroductionChildren and young people have the right to participate in research on matters that affect them, and their contribution improves research quality and insights from findings. Discrete participatory approaches are used across different disciplines. This review will provide a synthesis of existing literature from different disciplines by working with young people and adults experienced in participatory research to develop a broad definition of child and youth led research and to identify best practice.Methods and AnalysisComprehensive searches will be conducted in eight electronic databases (PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, Embase, SocINDEX, ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (Proquest), Social Care Online and SCOPUS). Grey literature reports will also be sourced using Google searching. Eligible studies will be English language primary studies and reviews on collaborative research with children and young people (aged 5-25 years). Qualitative and quantitative data ...
Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 2017
Arts-for-health initiatives are associated with improvements in mental health, wellbeing and soci... more Arts-for-health initiatives are associated with improvements in mental health, wellbeing and social inclusion; however, research amongst young people is sparse. The aim of the study was to conduct a mixed-methods evaluation of a participatory arts programme for young people with, or at risk of, mental ill health. The Zinc Arts ArtZone programme involved working with individuals aged 11-25 in South East England, engaging them in arts activities over tenweek courses in community and secure unit settings. 122 course participants completed pre/post measures of mental illness severity and wellbeing, and 34 participants took part in interviews and focus groups. Mental illness severity significantly decreased and mental wellbeing significantly increased. Participants reported social and emotional benefits including decreased social isolation and increased social inclusion and mental wellbeing. Participatory arts interventions may serve as a useful tool in tackling increasing mental ill health amongst young people.
This paper is a synopsis of the workshop presented at the SSRG 2009 Manchester annual conference.... more This paper is a synopsis of the workshop presented at the SSRG 2009 Manchester annual conference. All the information detailed has been captured from our initial experience in piloting the Young Researcher Network (YRN), a project of the National Youth Agency. The paper is structured around questions of why, who, how, and where to involve children and young people in research. This paper provides public authorities and interested parties with sound guidance and useful practical tips on how to work with established, emerging, and advanced groups of young researchers. This paper aims to help you think through more complex questions of where children and young people’s voices count and add value to your organization.
We are becoming quite familiar with (if not somewhat de-sensitised to) repeated warnings that you... more We are becoming quite familiar with (if not somewhat de-sensitised to) repeated warnings that young people in Britain are increasingly disillusioned with democratic politics, rejecting the institutions of national government, and leaving British democracy in a state of relative crisis as a consequence. In particular, this youth generation is often singled-out for critical attention-condemned either for their declining presence at the ballot booths, or for their active participation in recent high-profile student protests and youth-led occupations of public spaces in major cities across the country.
Introduction Zinc Arts is a dynamic, leading arts and education charity that promotes inclusion t... more Introduction Zinc Arts is a dynamic, leading arts and education charity that promotes inclusion through “arts without exception”. Zinc Arts runs a wide range of creative courses (including music, sculpture, drama, spray painting, stop-frame animation, film, and visual arts) and is underpinned by the ethos that the arts can be a very positive and powerful force in individual’s lives; awakening them creatively, inspiring future choices, providing a voice for self-expression, serving as a tool for learning, stimulating change, and resulting in a product which serves as an end in itself. ArtZone, a three-year arts programme run by Zinc Arts, involved working with young people aged 11-25 with or at risk of mental ill health through engaging them with a wide range of arts activities. The programme enabled Zinc Arts to deliver a mixture of six-to-ten week outreach projects to an array of organisations who work with young people in both secure and non-secure mental health services. Anglia R...
Dale of the Department for Education, and Sally Bartolo. In addition we would like to thank Birgi... more Dale of the Department for Education, and Sally Bartolo. In addition we would like to thank Birgit Larsson for her work on the focus group analysis and Professor June Thoburn and Jenny Clifton for their insightful comments on various drafts of the report. Our thanks also go to those who, for reasons of confidentiality, cannot be named; the staff and managers in the participating agencies who were committed to the project and who helped us to recruit young people to interview, who gave us access to their schools, who helped us to access and understand the internet forum, and who helped us to organise the practitioner focus groups. Our thanks go to those professionals who took part in a stakeholder seminar towards the end of the research, which helped us to refine the model and develop recommendations for practice. Essential to the success of the project was the involvement of a team of young researchers and we would like to acknowledge them for their commitment and insights, and for being an integral part of the research team over the course of the two years. Their honesty, concern for participants' wellbeing, and passion about the research has enriched the research process and the analysis throughout. Finally we would like to thank the children, young people, parents and practitioners who spoke to us so generously about their experiences. We hope that this report does justice to their views. ABOUT THE OFFICE OF THE CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER The Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) is a national organisation led by the Children's Commissioner for England, Dr Maggie Atkinson. The post of Children's Commissioner for England was established by the Children Act 2004. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) underpins and frames all of our work. The Children's Commissioner has a duty to promote the views and interests of all children in England, in particular those whose voices are least likely to be heard, to the people who make decisions about their lives. She also has a duty to speak on behalf of all children in the UK on nondevolved issues which include immigration, for the whole of the UK, and youth justice, for England and Wales. One of the Children's Commissioner's key functions is encouraging organisations that provide services for children always to operate from the child's perspective. Under the Children Act 2004 the Children's Commissioner is required both to publish what she finds from talking and listening to children and young people, and to draw national policymakers' and agencies' attention to the particular circumstances of a child or small group of children which should inform both policy and practice. The Office of the Children's Commissioner has a statutory duty to highlight where we believe vulnerable children are not being treated appropriately in accordance with duties established under international and domestic legislation. Our vision A society where children and young people's rights are realised, where their views shape decisions made about their lives and they respect the rights of others. Our mission We will promote and protect the rights of children in England. We will do this by involving children and young people in our work and ensuring their voices are heard. We will use our statutory powers to undertake inquiries, and our position to engage, advise and influence those making decisions that affect children and young people.
This report examines Chelmsford night-time economy, and focuses particularly on its impact on eme... more This report examines Chelmsford night-time economy, and focuses particularly on its impact on emergency services. The research was prompted by a concern to improve access to early pastoral care and medical treatment for individuals engaged in the night-time economy before seeking non-emergency use of A&E. The document is based on research commissioned by the Safer Chelmsford Partnership and undertaken by Anglia Ruskin University in 2014. The report makes evidence based recommendations to help mitigate risk and reduce the current demand on emergency services. The report has been developed for stakeholders with a strategic role and/or statutory duty to improve the safety, health and well-being of individuals engaged in the night-time economy.
Educational Review, 2018
This paper examines Audrey Osler and Hugh Starkey's 2003 article on cosmopolitan citizenship four... more This paper examines Audrey Osler and Hugh Starkey's 2003 article on cosmopolitan citizenship fourteen years after its publication. Since its publication young people's disconnection from political life has increasingly become a cause for concern for most, if not all, Western democracies (Rose & Miller, 1993, Piven & Cloward, 2000, Stolle & Hooghe 2004, Milner et al 2014). Specifically, this article examines the implications for young people's political life in Leicester following a period of local, regional and national political changes. Osler and Starkey's (2003) study has shown how some South Asian young people occupy 'outsiders-within' status in Leicester's 'common culture' (and all the sub-cultures that exist within it) and see their ethnic communities from a range of voyeuristic positions. Young, South Asian participants in the study have not distanced themselves from the South Asian community entirely, but the way participants have approached narrating their self-identities has not necessarily been forged in, or determined upon, how 'Indian' or 'Pakistani' identities are conceived by the common culture. Consequently, two questions arise. Firstly, what is the impact of developing cosmopolitan citizenship among young people forging new types of ethnic identities in Leicester? Secondly, what types of educational approaches (formal and informal) would be important to help strengthen young people's political engagement? The paper concludes, that the ongoing challenge for educators is to strengthen mutual understanding between students from different communities and backgrounds by drawing on their lived experience within the caveat of promoting cosmopolitan citizenship.
Nursing Older People, 2019
There is a need for the provision of professional development opportunities for nurses working wi... more There is a need for the provision of professional development opportunities for nurses working within care homes in the UK especially at a time when there is a growing demand for nurses within both health and social care settings. This article presents the key findings from an evaluation of a short professional development programme that was offered to a group of care home nurses working in East London. The findings indicate that most of those who attended the programme reported that it was likely that their practice would improve as result.