Every Child/Youth Matters, a government programme for welfare reform; the research findings of a pilot study conducted for a PhD research project that is focused on: exploring the impact of the Every Child/Youth Matters programmes on professional practice across the agencies of education, social services, health and youth justice

Much has already been written and will continue to be written about the rationale for the Every Child Matters/Youth Matters (ECM/YM) programme (hereafter referred to as ECM). I chose it as the focus of my research proposal because I have a deep interest in the underlying principles that have led to the introduction of the ECM programmes as a result of my professional background. I have been a teacher and manager in schools for over thirty years and I worked as an Ofsted inspector from 2001 – 2005. As well as my research work, I also work in schools as an educational consultant for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL). My research for this PhD thesis focuses on just how the sweeping changes proposed through ECM are being implemented and the impact they may or not be having on the working practice of professionals across the welfare agencies. The main purpose of this paper is to: • outline the processes of analysis and interpretation of these findings, for which I used selected tools from the Grounded Theory process; • explain how I was able to induct three hypotheses from the research findings and how these helped me to shape the focus and direction of my final study; • summarise the findings from my Pilot Study, which comprised a series of loosely structured interviews with professionals and young people from across the agencies concerned. One of my intentions is to ground my writing and research firmly in the field of the workers, managers, children, parents and young people who are the direct recipients of the ECM agendas. These findings are drawn from original data and are in no way shaped around or attributable to what the legislation and government documentation tells us should be happening.