Multicultural Understandings of Child Development and SEN across NW London
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Authors
Dr Roxanna Glennon
Dr Rosalie Warnock
Dr Josie Hamper
Contact
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Issue Date
06-May-26
Type
Conference Abstract
Language
Keywords
Neighbourhood health & place-based working , Working with people and communities , Embedded researchers
Alternative Title
Abstract
Background
Multicultural understandings of child development and SEND across NW London' is a new 18-month research project led by Brent Council in partnership with Brent Parent Carer Forum (PCF) and King's College London.
Objectives
Working with parents/carers and healthcare workers across NW London (Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Ealing, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster), the project will:
1) Develop research-led training materials to upskill healthcare workers in the NW London ICB, improving their cultural competency and understanding of diverse conceptions of child development, diagnosis and SEND across their communities. This will help to address health inequalities and improve standards of care for families with disabled or neurodivergent children.
2) Publish findings in academic journals, to push the boundaries of place-based participatory research on health inequalities; successful co-production of diverse urban knowledges; the research-local authority-policy interface; and share detailed empirical findings on multicultural conceptions of child development and SEND across NW London.
Methods
This is a participatory project, in which PCF members and other community members will receive training to run community-led research. The community researchers will shape the research questions and project findings. Findings will be shared in video format, led by community researchers, who will educate healthcare workers to better support families with disabled or neurodivergent children in their communities. This includes cultural, linguistic, religious, socio-economic, and practical considerations. Modelling a feminist ethic of care and reciprocity, all community researchers and participants will be paid for their time and expertise by experience.
Discussion Points
This paper will introduce the project and set out why it matters. This is a first-of-its-kind project to examine multicultural understandings of child development and SEND. NHS and educational definitions of child development and SEND are western-centric and typically modelled on white, middle-class boys. This is inadequate for the diverse, multicultural and multi-lingual population of NW London. Participatory research design will ensure that NW London community members are the ones shaping the training that healthcare workers need to support them and their children better. This is essential if we are to properly understand and address health inequalities across the ICB.