Mr David Westlake

2025

• Westlake, D. et al. 2025. A Cluster randomised controlled trial of social workers in schools in England. Research on Social Work Practice (10.1177/10497315251338227)
• Westlake, D. et al. 2025. A cluster randomised controlled trial of Social Workers in Schools (SWIS) in England. Research on Social Work Practice

2024

• Schroeder, E. et al. 2024. The cost-effectiveness and cost-consequences of a school-based social worker intervention: a within-trial economic evaluation. Children and Youth Services Review 166, article number: 107928. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107928)
• Powell, S., Fitz-Symonds, S., Wilkins, D., Westlake, D., Long, F., Lilly, E. and Diaz, C. 2024. Understanding how and under what circumstances parental advocates support parents to participate in decision-making: a scoping review. Child Care in Practice 30(4), pp. 517-536. (10.1080/13575279.2024.2354823)
• Westlake, D. and Daly, A. 2024. Editorial: Journal of Children's Services Special Edition: the intersection of education and formal and community-based children's services. Journal of Children's Services 19(3), pp. 137-141. (10.1108/JCS-09-2024-088)
• Bennett, V. et al. 2024. Student perspectives on school-based social workers: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Children's Services 19(3), pp. 189-221. (10.1108/JCS-04-2023-0021)
• Westlake, D. et al. 2024. The basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: Protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation. PLoS ONE 19(10), article number: e0303837. (10.1371/journal.pone.0303837)
• Westlake, D. et al. 2024. Social workers in schools: A feasibility study of three local authorities. Journal of Social Work 24(5), pp. 607-626. (10.1177/14680173241258927)
• Meindl, M. and Westlake, D. 2024. Evaluation of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court in Wales pilot: Final Report. Project Report. Cardiff: CASCADE.
• Schroeder, E. et al. 2024. The cost-effectiveness and cost-consequences of a school-based social worker intervention: a within-trial economic evaluation. [Online]. SSRN. (10.2139/ssrn.4776734)
• Holland, S. et al. 2024. Basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: annual report, 2023 to 2024. Welsh Government. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/basic-income-care-leavers-wales-pilot-evaluation-annual-report-2023-2024
• Sanders, M., Westlake, D., Ellingwood, J., Bancroft, K. and Bennett, V. 2024. Pilot trial protocol: Police in corridors. Youth Endowment Fund Charitable Fund. Available at: https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/funding/who-we-fund/national-police-chiefs-council-2/

2023

• Devine, R., Benson, K., Fitz-Symonds, S., Westlake, D., Campbell, K. and Diaz, C. 2023. Peer parental advocacy: A narrative review of the literature. Journal of Children's Services 18(3/4), pp. 244-260. (10.1108/JCS-08-2022-0020)
• Fitz-Symonds, S., Evans, L., Tobis, D., Westlake, D. and Diaz, C. 2023. Mechanisms for support: A realist evaluation of peer parental advocacy in England. The British Journal of Social Work (10.1093/bjsw/bcad200)
• Adara, L. et al. 2023. The Social Workers in Schools Trial: An evaluation of school based social work.. Project Report. Early Intervention Foundation.
• Diaz, C., Fitz-Symonds, S., Evans, L., Westlake, D., Devine, R., Mauri, D. and Davies, B. 2023. The perceived impact of peer parental advocacy on child protection practice: a mixed-methods evaluation. Project Report. [Online]. What Works for Early Intervention and Children’s Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/The-perceived-impact-of-peer-parental-advocacy-on-child-protection-practice_FINAL-with-cover_16-Jan.pdf

2022

• Westlake, D., Corliss, C., Thompson, S., Meindl, M., Diaz, C., Talwar, R. and Folkes, L. 2022. Devolved budgets in Children’s Social Care: A logic model based on three pilot evaluations. British Journal of Social Work 52(7), pp. 3999-4020. (10.1093/bjsw/bcac019)
• Meindl, M., Hosch, M. and Westlake, D. 2022. An evaluation of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court in Wales pilot: Interim report. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff University. Available at: https://cascadewales.org/research/evaluation-of-the-family-drug-and-alcohol-court-in-wales-pilot/
• Westlake, D. et al. 2022. Evaluating a school-based intervention through routine local authority data and national school data: challenges and opportunities. Presented at: International Population Data Linkage Conference 2022, 7 - 9 September 2022, Vol. 7. Vol. 3., (10.23889/ijpds.v7i3.1886)
• Westlake, D. et al. 2022. The SWIS trial: protocol of a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of school based social work. PLoS ONE 17(6), article number: e0265354. (10.1371/journal.pone.0265354)

2021

• Jones, R. K. and Westlake, D. 2021. Independent visiting with children in care during the pandemic: disruptions and discoveries. Qualitative Social Work 20(1-2), pp. 383-389. (10.1177/1473325020981087)
• Diaz, C., Westlake, D. and Evans, L. 2021. The perceived impact of peer parental advocacy on child protection practice: a pilot evaluation. What Works for Children's Social Care. Available at: http://whatworks-csc.org.uk/research-project/the-perceived-impact-of-peer-parental-advocacy-on-child-protection-practice-a-pilot-evaluation/

2020

• Westlake, D. et al. 2020. Social workers in schools: an evaluation of pilots in three local authorities in England. Project Report. [Online]. London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Social-Workers-in-Schools_pilot-study_full-report_May-2020.pdf
• Westlake, D. et al. 2020. Devolved budgets: an evaluation of pilots in three local authorities in England. Project Report. [Online]. London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Devolved_Budgets_Full_Report_March_2020_FINAL.pdf
• Forrester, D., Killian, M., Westlake, D. and Sheehan, L. 2020. Patterns of practice: an exploratory factor analysis of child and family social worker skills. Child and Family Social Work 25(1), pp. 108-117. (10.1111/cfs.12664)
• Westlake, D. 2020. Direct observation in practice: co-developing an evidence-informed practice tool to assess social work communication. Journal of Children's Services 15(3), pp. 123-140. (10.1108/JCS-08-2019-0043)

2019

• Forrester, D. et al. 2019. What is the relationship between worker skills and outcomes for families in child and family social work?. British Journal of Social Work 49(8), pp. 2148-2167. (10.1093/bjsw/bcy126)

2018

• Wilkins, D., Jones, R. and Westlake, D. 2018. 'The activity does not archive well': Comparing audio and written records of supervision case discussions in Children's Services. Journal of Children's Services 13(3/4), pp. 93-109. (10.1108/JCS-03-2018-0005)
• Wilkins, D., Jones, R. and Westlake, D. 2018. The activity does not archive well: comparing audio and written records of supervision case discussions in Children’s Services. Journal of Children's Services 13(3/4), pp. 93-109. (10.1108/jcs-03-2018-0005)
• Forrester, D. et al. 2018. A randomized controlled trial of training in motivational Interviewing for child protection. Children and Youth Services Review 88, pp. 180-190. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.014)
• Westlake, D., Silverwood, V., Wallace, S., Mayhew-Manistre, L. and Forrester, D. 2018. Safely reducing the need for children to enter care: telephone interviews with local authorities in England. Project Report. [Online]. London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Reducing_the_number_of_children_in_statutory_care_telephone_interviews_with_local_authorities.pdf

2017

• Killian, M., Forrester, D., Westlake, D. and Antonopoulou, P. 2017. Validity of the Working Alliance Inventory within child protection services. Research on Social Work Practice 27(6), pp. 704-715. (10.1177/1049731515596816)
• Westlake, D. and Jones, R. K. 2017. Breaking down language barriers: a practice-near study of social work using interpreters. The British Journal of Social Work 48(5), pp. 1388–1408,. (10.1093/bjsw/bcx073)