Being autistic in care: Understanding differences in care experiences including breakdowns in placements for autistic and non-autistic children

About the project

The outcomes of autistic children in care are known to be poor. This project in collaboration with looked-after children’s services, will analyse the case files of looked-after children to identify patterns of placement breakdown.

There is very little research on the trajectories of autistic children through the care system, the patterns of their placements and why their placements breakdown. This data is vital for improving services and support for foster carers, and for the outcomes for young people.

This is an ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership funded project. You’ll work with the local authorities to develop an understanding of the challenges faced by autistic children in care and make recommendations for future policy.

This project may be of interest if you have experienced care or are neurodivergent, so we would encourage you to apply.

Potential supervisors

• Potential supervisors: Lead supervisor

Entry requirements

You require both of the following qualifications in a relevant subject area:

You must also have:

• a 2:1 honours degree (or international equivalent)
• an MSc with 2:1 honours/merit (or international equivalent)
• excellent written and verbal communication skills for close liaison with partners in the local authority
• an understanding of the care system or autism
• an understanding of statistical methods for analysing and collating data
• an interest in using creative methods for sharing data in novel ways

International applicants

If English isn't your first language, you'll need to complete an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to demonstrate your competence in English.

You'll need to achieve a Band G, IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in all components.

Fees and funding

Full tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of £17,668 for up to 3.5 years.

There is also access to additional support for training and fieldwork.

How to apply

You must submit 2 application forms to:

• University of Southampton
• ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

University of Southampton application

Apply to University of Southampton

You need to:

• choose programme type (Research), 2023/24, Faculty of Social Sciences
• choose PhD in Education (Full time)
• add name of the supervisor (Professor Sarah Parsons) in section 2

ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

Apply to ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

You must have submitted an application to us before completing the ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership form.

Faculty of Social Sciences

Email: fss-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk

ESRC South Coast Doctoral Partnership

Email: scdtp@soton.ac.uk

Project leader

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Professor Sarah Parsons.

• email: s.j.parsons@soton.ac.uk
• phone: +44 (0)23 8059 2977

Research areas