Dr Alison Prowle

Dr Alison Prowle joined the University of Worcester Department of Children and Families in 2012. Alison has extensive experience of education, family intervention (including the role of parenting) and community development, as an academic, a front-line practitioner and as a senior manager in local government. Following several years teaching in primary and secondary phases, she became Head of Department in a large urban comprehensive school. Subsequently, she worked for a number of years in various community development roles and as a Development Manager for SureStart. In 2007, she was appointed as Integrated Services Manager for Children, Young People and Families within the education department of a Welsh Local Authority. Within this role, Alison had responsibility for a range of universal and preventative programmes including early years services, parenting and family support, integrated children's centres, play provision, pupil referral units and the education welfare service. During this time, she worked closely with Welsh Government in the development and roll out of the Flying Start Programme and Families First Initiative. Since joining the Department for Children & Families in 2012, Alison has enjoyed teaching across a number of programmes, retaining specific interests in parenting, family support, trauma-informed approaches, and childhood adversity. Alison’s research interests include researching with vulnerable populations, the impacts of forced migration and human trafficking on children and families, kinship care, multiple adversity and complex trauma.