Biography
Name: Louise Kay
University: University of Nottingham
Title of research: Educational and employment outcomes of looked after and vulnerable children in boarding schools
Flagship datasets using: LEO
Supervisor: Professor David Murphy
Please tell us about your PhD project
This PhD aims to research the educational achievements and labour market outcomes for looked after and other vulnerable children (LAVC) in England who have attended boarding schools. Education and labour market outcomes for LAVCs are poor and the chances of becoming not employed or not in education or training outweigh those who have never lived in or at the edge of care (DfE, 2021). This study hopes to inform policy for better outcomes for LAVCs. Using the LEO dataset, I hope to establish where there is educational value in sending LAVCs to boarding school as well as any economic benefit.
What is your key takeaway from the ADR UK PhD Annual Gathering 2025?
We’re all in this together! It was great to hear about all our different projects and to establish connections between them.
Are there any speakers, session or presentation that particularly resonated with you? And why?
Professor Sinead Brophy’s keynote speech was excellent. I was particularly taken with the unicorn donkey (IYKYK) – we just need to keep plodding; forwards is forwards it doesn’t matter the speed.
How has the event impacted your perspective on your research?
I connected with Beth and Richmond who are also looking at children who have experienced care, and talking with them has made me realise that we are all viewing looked after children from different perspectives and from different personal experiences too. I am definitely going to keep in contact with them. Listening to their research ideas left me motivated and inspired.
Did the event inspire any new ideas for your current or future research? Can you please share with us your next steps for your research following the event?
Yes, I had never really thought about the ‘how’ when it comes to impact, so it was great to hear from the research fellows about how they communicated their findings through the use of comic strips and cartoons.
I will be applying for access to the datasets and working on my literature review.