We are pleased to announce that Sarah Cattan has been appointed as a Research Fellow at Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK). With funding from ADR UK, Research Fellows will conduct research using the Ministry of Justice and Department for Education linked dataset. These projects can generate new insights that would otherwise be impossible, to inform better decisions across policy and practice.
Sarah's project, 'From early years to adolescence: how the sequencing of public investment shapes education and youth justice outcomes', will investigate how access to services during early childhood and adolescence combine to shape young people's educational outcomes and involvement with the justice system. Focusing on Sure Start children's centres and youth clubs in England, the project will examine outcomes including educational attainment, school attendance and exclusions, and contact with the youth justice system. The findings could help policymakers understand how to sequence investment in children's services across different stages of childhood to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.
Sarah joined the IFS as a Research Fellow in 2012, after completing her PhD in Economics at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on the origins of inequality within and across generations.
More from IFS
Understand this issue
Policy analysis
Academic research
