Dr Laura Steckley
Reader
Social Work
Personal statement
My research interests broadly involve deepening our understanding of key areas of practice in order to improve the experiences and life chances of children and young people in residential child care. I am currently involved in research looking to identify potential threshold concepts in education for residential child care practitioners. My largest study to date involved in-depth exploration and theorisation around physical restraint in residential child care.
My teaching is mostly on residential child care, with supporting research, theory and social policy related to child development and the impact of trauma and other forms of adversity on that development. I lead up the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care and serve as Vice Convener on the University's research ethics committee.
I joined the University of Strathclyde in 2003 and am simultaneously part of the School of Social Work & Social Policy and CELCIS (the Centre of Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland). Before coming to the University, I worked in direct practice, management and training in residential treatment for adolescents in the United States and residential child care here in Scotland.
Prize And Awards
Publications
- Whose interests and who's interested? : Care ethics, mature care and participatory research with children and young people
- Steckley Laura
- Handbook of Social Work Research with Children and Young People (2026) (2026)
- Developing a Holding Environment in Residential Child Care and Education : A Knowledge Transfer Project between the University of Strathclyde and Seamab to Reduce the Use of Physical Restraint
- Remy Cecile, Steckley Laura, Webster Elaine
- (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00097010
- The Reflection and Action Learning Forum (RALF) : Full Report
- Steckley Laura, Deeley Sarah, Watson Gemma
- (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00092932
- The Reflection and Action Learning Forum Project (RALF) Final Report : Summary
- Steckley Laura, Deeley Sarah, Watson Gemma
- (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00092936
- Support for developing your relational practice : Understanding it as a threshold concept.
- Steckley Laura
- Child & Youth Care Aspects of Relational Practice (2025) (2025)
- Young people being heard in their residential house
- Cryne Adrienne, Steckley Laura
- Relational Child and Youth Care Practice Vol 37, pp. 132-149 (2025)
Professional Activities
- Cross-Faculty Connections: Growing Networks and Building Opportunities with and for Children and Young People
- Participant
- 26/2/2026
- Making the unbearable bearable in trauma-informed care with Dr. Laura Steckley [video podcast]
- Recipient
- 2026
- Stories from Strathclyde: Celebrating our work with children and young people
- Participant
- 15/5/2025
- Care Visions Professional Talk [video podcast]
- Speaker
- 27/2/2025
- Transforming care: The impact of action learning in residential childcare [video podcast]
- Speaker
- 2025
- Physical Restraint in Residential Child Care
- Invited speaker
- 2025
Projects
- KTP-Solutions on Demand Limited - To embed capacity in user adoption and management methodologies to evaluate and scale the commercialisation of Connect, a Software-as-a-Service care management platform for residential care
- Butler, Joanna (Principal Investigator) Cunningham, Ian (Co-investigator) Joshi, Manish (Co-investigator) Steckley, Laura (Co-investigator)
- 04-Jan-2025 - 03-Jan-2027
- The use of physical restraint in residential child care settings
- Steckley, Laura (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 15-Jan-2025
- Holding differently, containing distress: Addressing physical restraint in Scottish residential child care
- Steckley, Laura (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2027
- CELCIS Scottish Government CORE Grant
- Burns, Claire (Principal Investigator) Doyle, Kathleen Isobel (Co-investigator) McMeeking, Joanne (Co-investigator) Ottaway, Heather (Co-investigator) Paterson, Steven (Co-investigator) Scott, Jane (Co-investigator) Steckley, Laura (Co-investigator)
- Previous awards on 130252 (new subproject required)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2027
- Scottish Physical Restraint Group (SPRAG) - RALF: a reflection and action learning forum
- McCreadie, Craig (Principal Investigator) Steckley, Laura (Co-investigator)
- 03-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2025
- An Appreciative Inquiry into Holding in Residential Child Care: Pilot Study - £3124.40
- Steckley, Laura (Principal Investigator) Deeley, Sarah (Co-investigator) Bettencourt, Michael (Co-investigator) Hollins, Lee Paul (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2023